Charlie says

[jamiep]

In the 1970s and possibly early 1980s there was a series of cartoons featuring a little boy and his pet cat Charley.

When the little boy did something silly the cat would make a silly noise and tell him off. The boy would then translate starting "Charley says..."

So "Charley says" is a light-hearted way of saying I'm about to tell you something really obvious.

YouTube - Charley Says

[susiedqq]

And then, there's Charlie Weaver, the actor. One role he had was as a storyteller

[susiedqq]

Sorry, it was Cliff Arquette as the character, Charlie Weaver.

[Elchanan]

Jamiep: Spot on. I simply googled "Prodigy Charlie says", and it is clear that they have sampled the boy of this series, though at least at one place it is referred to as a series of TV-commercials. Anyway - this is definitely the right Charlie. Thanks.

Elchanan

[susiedqq]

Gee, I thought it might be Charlie, from "Charlie's Angels"