Ed Wynn
Encyclopedia
Ed Wynn was a popular American
comedian
and actor
noted for his Perfect Fool comedy character, his pioneering radio
show of the 1930s, and his later career as a dramatic actor.
Wynn began his career in vaudeville
in 1903 and was a star of the Ziegfeld Follies
starting in 1914. During The Follies of 1915, W. C. Fields
allegedly caught Wynn mugging for the audience under the table during his "Pool Room" routine and knocked him unconscious with his cue . Wynn wrote, directed, and produced many Broadway
shows in the subsequent decades, and was known for his silly costumes and props as well as for the giggly, wavering voice he developed for the 1921 musical review, The Perfect Fool.
. His father, who manufactured and sold women's hats, was born in Bohemia
-Czechoslovakia
. His mother, of Romanian
and Turkish ancestry, came from Istanbul
, Turkey. Wynn attended Central High School (Philadelphia)
until age 15. He ran away from home in his teens, worked as a hat salesman and as a utility boy, and eventually adapted his middle name "Edwin" into his new stage name, "Ed Wynn", to save his family the embarrassment of having a low comedian as a relative.
He hosted a popular radio show, The Fire Chief
for most of the 1930s, heard in North America
on Tuesday nights, sponsored by Texaco
gasoline
. Like many former vaudeville performers who turned to radio in the same decade, the stage-trained Wynn insisted on playing for a live studio audience, doing each program as an actual stage show, using visual bits to augment his written material, and in his case, wearing a colorful costume with a red fireman's helmet. He usually bounced his gags off announcer/straight man Graham McNamee
; Wynn's customary opening, "Tonight, Graham, the show's gonna be different," became one of the most familiar tag-lines of its time. Sample joke: "Graham, my uncle just bought a new second-handed car... he calls it Baby! I don't know, it won't go anyplace without a rattle!"
Wynn reprised his Fire Chief radio character in two movies, Follow the Leader (1930) and The Chief (1933). Near the height of his radio fame he founded his own short-lived radio network
, the Amalgamated Broadcasting System
, which lasted only five weeks in 1933 and nearly destroyed the comedian. According to radio historian Elizabeth McLeod, the failed venture left Wynn deep in debt, divorced, and finally suffering a nervous breakdown.
Wynn was offered the title role in MGM's 1939 screen adaptation of The Wizard of Oz
, but turned it down, as did his Ziegfeld contemporary W. C. Fields. The part went to Frank Morgan
.
shows, on CBS, and won an Emmy Award
in 1949. Buster Keaton
, Lucille Ball
, and The Three Stooges all made guest appearances with Wynn. This was the first CBS variety television show to originate in Los Angeles, with programs filmed via kinescope
for distribution in the Midwest and East. Wynn was also a rotating host of NBC
's Four Star Revue from 1950 through 1952.
After the end of Wynn's third television series, The Ed Wynn Show (a short-lived situation comedy on NBC
's 1958-59 schedule), his son, actor Keenan Wynn
, encouraged him to make the career change rather than retire. The comedian reluctantly began a career as a dramatic actor in television and movies. Father and son appeared in three productions, the first of which was the 1956 Playhouse 90
broadcast of Rod Serling
's play Requiem for a Heavyweight
. Ed was terrified of straight acting and kept goofing his lines in rehearsal. When the producers wanted to fire him, star Jack Palance
said he would quit if they fired Ed. (However, unbeknownst to Wynn, supporting player Ned Glass
was his secret understudy in case something did happen before air time.) On live broadcast night, Wynn surprised everyone with his pitch-perfect performance, and his quick ad libs to cover his mistakes. A dramatization of what happened during the production was later staged as an April 1960 Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
episode, "The Man In the Funny Suit", starring both senior and junior Wynns, with key figures involved in the original production also portraying themselves. Ed and his son also worked together in the Jose Ferrer
film The Great Man
, with Ed again proving his unexpected skills in drama.
Requiem established Wynn as serious dramatic actor who could easily hold his own with the best. His role in The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) won him an Academy Award
nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Also in 1959, Wynn appeared on Serling's TV series The Twilight Zone
in "One for the Angels
". Serling, a longtime admirer, had written that episode especially for him, and Wynn later starred in the episode "Ninety Years Without Slumbering
". For the rest of his life, Ed skillfully moved between comic and dramatic roles. He appeared in feature films and anthology television, endearing himself to new generations of fans.
cartoon short Shuffle Off to Buffalo, and as a pot of jam in the 1934 Betty Boop short Betty in Blunderland
.
' Cinderfella
. His performance as Paul Beaseley in the 1958 film The Great Man
earned him nominations for a "Best Supporting Actor" Golden Globe Award
and a "Best Foreign Actor" BAFTA Award. The following year saw him receive his first (and only) nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
for his role as Mr. Dussell in The Diary of Anne Frank (1959).Six years later he would also appear in the epic motion picture masterpiece The Greatest Story Ever Told
.
in Walt Disney
's film, Alice in Wonderland
, but many baby boomer children remember him most fondly for his brief appearances as The Toymaker alongside Mouseketeer Annette Funicello
and Tommy Sands
in Walt Disney's Babes in Toyland
released in 1961.
Possibly his best-remembered film appearance, though, was as Uncle Albert in Walt Disney's Mary Poppins
(1964). His segment involved the eccentric man floating around just beneath the ceiling in uncontrollable mirth, singing "I Love to Laugh" and was one of the film's highlights.
Re-teaming with the Disney team the following year, in That Darn Cat! (1965) featuring Dean Jones
, Wynn filled out the character of Mr. Hofstedder, the watch jeweler with his bumbling charm. His final performance, as Rufus in Walt Disney's The Gnome-Mobile
was released a few months after his death.
In addition to Disney films, Wynn was also a popular character in the Disneyland production The Golden Horseshoe Review.
of throat cancer
, aged 79. He was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park
in Glendale
, and his gravestone reads "Dear God, Thanks... Ed Wynn".
's Wally Gator
's voice, performed by Daws Butler
, was an impersonation of the Perfect Fool, as was Paul Frees
's Captain Peter Peachfuzz
character in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
. Other notable characters inspired by Wynn include: Doctor Blinky in H.R. Pufnstuf
, Mayor McCheese in commercials for "McDonaldland
", and Multo in the PBS
animated series Zula Patrol. He is frequently imitated by Ralph Garman
of the "Hollywood Babble-On" podcast on Kevin Smith
's SModcast network.
Those Calloways (1965)
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
noted for his Perfect Fool comedy character, his pioneering radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
show of the 1930s, and his later career as a dramatic actor.
Wynn began his career in vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
in 1903 and was a star of the Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
starting in 1914. During The Follies of 1915, W. C. Fields
W. C. Fields
William Claude Dukenfield , better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler and writer...
allegedly caught Wynn mugging for the audience under the table during his "Pool Room" routine and knocked him unconscious with his cue . Wynn wrote, directed, and produced many Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
shows in the subsequent decades, and was known for his silly costumes and props as well as for the giggly, wavering voice he developed for the 1921 musical review, The Perfect Fool.
Early life
Ed Wynn was a Jewish-American comedian who was born Isaiah Edwin Leopold in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. His father, who manufactured and sold women's hats, was born in Bohemia
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...
-Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. His mother, of Romanian
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
and Turkish ancestry, came from Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey. Wynn attended Central High School (Philadelphia)
Central High School (Philadelphia)
Central High School is a public secondary school in the Logan section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Central, the second-oldest continuously public high school in the United States , was founded in 1836 and is a four-year university preparatory magnet school...
until age 15. He ran away from home in his teens, worked as a hat salesman and as a utility boy, and eventually adapted his middle name "Edwin" into his new stage name, "Ed Wynn", to save his family the embarrassment of having a low comedian as a relative.
Radio
Although many gag writers later provided material for Wynn's performances in radio, television and movies, he was proud to boast that every line he ever spoke during his early career as a stage performer was written by himself.He hosted a popular radio show, The Fire Chief
Texaco Star Theater
Texaco Star Theater is an American comedy-variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. It was one of the first successful examples of American television broadcasting, remembered as the show that gave Milton Berle the nickname "Mr...
for most of the 1930s, heard in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on Tuesday nights, sponsored by Texaco
Texaco
Texaco is the name of an American oil retail brand. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owns the Havoline motor oil brand....
gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
. Like many former vaudeville performers who turned to radio in the same decade, the stage-trained Wynn insisted on playing for a live studio audience, doing each program as an actual stage show, using visual bits to augment his written material, and in his case, wearing a colorful costume with a red fireman's helmet. He usually bounced his gags off announcer/straight man Graham McNamee
Graham McNamee
Graham McNamee was a pioneering broadcaster in American radio, the medium's most recognized national personality in its first international decade....
; Wynn's customary opening, "Tonight, Graham, the show's gonna be different," became one of the most familiar tag-lines of its time. Sample joke: "Graham, my uncle just bought a new second-handed car... he calls it Baby! I don't know, it won't go anyplace without a rattle!"
Wynn reprised his Fire Chief radio character in two movies, Follow the Leader (1930) and The Chief (1933). Near the height of his radio fame he founded his own short-lived radio network
Radio network
There are two types of radio networks currently in use around the world: the one-to-many broadcast type commonly used for public information and mass media entertainment; and the two-way type used more commonly for public safety and public services such as police, fire, taxicabs, and delivery...
, the Amalgamated Broadcasting System
Amalgamated Broadcasting System
The Amalgamated Broadcasting System was a radio network established on September 25, 1933 by two men: American comedian and radio star Ed Wynn, the "Fire Chief" of the original Fire Chief Program program on NBC and CBS; and Hungarian-born violinist Ota Gygi.Wynn had been concerned with two things:...
, which lasted only five weeks in 1933 and nearly destroyed the comedian. According to radio historian Elizabeth McLeod, the failed venture left Wynn deep in debt, divorced, and finally suffering a nervous breakdown.
Wynn was offered the title role in MGM's 1939 screen adaptation of The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
, but turned it down, as did his Ziegfeld contemporary W. C. Fields. The part went to Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
.
Television
In the 1949-50 season, Ed Wynn hosted one of the first comedy-variety televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
shows, on CBS, and won an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
in 1949. Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
, Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
, and The Three Stooges all made guest appearances with Wynn. This was the first CBS variety television show to originate in Los Angeles, with programs filmed via kinescope
Kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor...
for distribution in the Midwest and East. Wynn was also a rotating host of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Four Star Revue from 1950 through 1952.
After the end of Wynn's third television series, The Ed Wynn Show (a short-lived situation comedy on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's 1958-59 schedule), his son, actor Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn was an American character actor. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he rarely had a lead role, he got prominent billing in most of his film and TV parts....
, encouraged him to make the career change rather than retire. The comedian reluctantly began a career as a dramatic actor in television and movies. Father and son appeared in three productions, the first of which was the 1956 Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
broadcast of Rod Serling
Rod Serling
Rodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
's play Requiem for a Heavyweight
Requiem for a Heavyweight
Requiem for a Heavyweight was a teleplay written by Rod Serling and produced for the live television show Playhouse 90 on 11 October 1956. Six years later, it was adapted as a 1962 feature film starring Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason and Mickey Rooney....
. Ed was terrified of straight acting and kept goofing his lines in rehearsal. When the producers wanted to fire him, star Jack Palance
Jack Palance
Jack Palance , was an American actor. During half a century of film and television appearances, Palance was nominated for three Academy Awards, all as Best Actor in a Supporting Role, winning in 1991 for his role in City Slickers.-Early life:Palance, one of five children, was born Volodymyr...
said he would quit if they fired Ed. (However, unbeknownst to Wynn, supporting player Ned Glass
Ned Glass
Ned Glass was an American character actor who appeared in more than eighty films and on television more than one hundred times, frequently playing nervous, cowardly or weasely characters...
was his secret understudy in case something did happen before air time.) On live broadcast night, Wynn surprised everyone with his pitch-perfect performance, and his quick ad libs to cover his mistakes. A dramatization of what happened during the production was later staged as an April 1960 Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse is an American television anthology series produced by Desilu Productions. The show ran on CBS television between 1958 and 1960...
episode, "The Man In the Funny Suit", starring both senior and junior Wynns, with key figures involved in the original production also portraying themselves. Ed and his son also worked together in the Jose Ferrer
José Ferrer
José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón , best known as José Ferrer, was a Puerto Rican actor, as well as a theater and film director...
film The Great Man
The Great Man
The Great Man is a 1956 drama film directed by José Ferrer and based on a novel by Al Morgan. It was loosely based on the controversial career of Arthur Godfrey, the beloved TV and radio host whose image had been tarnished by a number of cast firings and Godfrey's contentious battles with the...
, with Ed again proving his unexpected skills in drama.
Requiem established Wynn as serious dramatic actor who could easily hold his own with the best. His role in The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) won him an Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Also in 1959, Wynn appeared on Serling's TV series The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
in "One for the Angels
One for the Angels
"One for the Angels" is the second episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Plot summary:A salesman, Lou Bookman, is told by Death that he is to die at midnight. Mr...
". Serling, a longtime admirer, had written that episode especially for him, and Wynn later starred in the episode "Ninety Years Without Slumbering
Ninety Years Without Slumbering
"Ninety Years Without Slumbering" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. The title comes from the lyrics of the song My Grandfather's Clock.-Synopsis:...
". For the rest of his life, Ed skillfully moved between comic and dramatic roles. He appeared in feature films and anthology television, endearing himself to new generations of fans.
Cartoons
Wynn had been caricatured in 1933 in the Merrie MelodiesMerrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
cartoon short Shuffle Off to Buffalo, and as a pot of jam in the 1934 Betty Boop short Betty in Blunderland
Betty in Blunderland
Betty in Blunderland is a 1934 Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop.-Plot:Betty falls asleep doing a jigsaw puzzle of Alice and the white rabbit. She "awakes" just in time to follow the rabbit through the looking glass into a modern wonderland...
.
Films
He appeared as the Fairy Godfather in Jerry LewisJerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
' Cinderfella
Cinderfella
Cinderfella is a comedy film version of the classic Cinderella story, with several of the roles reversed. It was released December 16, 1960 by Paramount Pictures and stars Jerry Lewis as Fella.-Plot:...
. His performance as Paul Beaseley in the 1958 film The Great Man
The Great Man
The Great Man is a 1956 drama film directed by José Ferrer and based on a novel by Al Morgan. It was loosely based on the controversial career of Arthur Godfrey, the beloved TV and radio host whose image had been tarnished by a number of cast firings and Godfrey's contentious battles with the...
earned him nominations for a "Best Supporting Actor" Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
and a "Best Foreign Actor" BAFTA Award. The following year saw him receive his first (and only) nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
for his role as Mr. Dussell in The Diary of Anne Frank (1959).Six years later he would also appear in the epic motion picture masterpiece The Greatest Story Ever Told
The Greatest Story Ever Told
The Greatest Story Ever Told is a 1965 American epic film produced and directed by George Stevens and distributed by United Artists. It is a retelling of the story of Jesus Christ, from the Nativity through the Resurrection. This film is notable for its large ensemble cast and for being the last...
.
Work with Disney
Wynn provided the voice of the Mad HatterMad Hatter
Hatta, the Hatter is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the story's sequel, Through the Looking-Glass. He is often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Carroll...
in Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
's film, Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland (1951 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a 1951 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney and based primarily on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with a few additional elements from Through the Looking-Glass. Thirteenth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was released in New...
, but many baby boomer children remember him most fondly for his brief appearances as The Toymaker alongside Mouseketeer Annette Funicello
Annette Funicello
Annette Joanne Funicello is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, and went on to appear in a series of beach party films.-Early life and early stardom:...
and Tommy Sands
Tommy Sands
Tommy Adrian Sands is an American pop music singer and actor.-Early life:Born into a musical family in Chicago, Illinois, Sands' father was a pianist and his mother a big-band singer. While still young, he moved with his family to Shreveport, Louisiana...
in Walt Disney's Babes in Toyland
Babes in Toyland (1961 film)
Babes in Toyland is a 1961 Christmas musical film in Technicolor, directed by Jack Donohue, produced by Walt Disney, and distributed to theatres by Buena Vista Distribution. It stars Ray Bolger as Barnaby, Annette Funicello as Mary Contrary, Tommy Sands as Tom Piper, and Ed Wynn as the Toymaker.The...
released in 1961.
Possibly his best-remembered film appearance, though, was as Uncle Albert in Walt Disney's Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins (film)
Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by...
(1964). His segment involved the eccentric man floating around just beneath the ceiling in uncontrollable mirth, singing "I Love to Laugh" and was one of the film's highlights.
Re-teaming with the Disney team the following year, in That Darn Cat! (1965) featuring Dean Jones
Dean Jones
Dean Jones is the name of:*Dean Jones , an Australian cricketer*Dean Jones , an American actor*Dean Jones , the singer of Extreme Noise TerrorSee also:*Jones...
, Wynn filled out the character of Mr. Hofstedder, the watch jeweler with his bumbling charm. His final performance, as Rufus in Walt Disney's The Gnome-Mobile
The Gnome-Mobile
The Gnome-Mobile is a 1967 Disney musical film, directed by Robert Stevenson. It was one of the last films personally produced by Walt Disney....
was released a few months after his death.
In addition to Disney films, Wynn was also a popular character in the Disneyland production The Golden Horseshoe Review.
Death
Wynn died June 19, 1966 in Beverly Hills, CaliforniaBeverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
of throat cancer
Esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...
, aged 79. He was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park
Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California. It is the original location of Forest Lawn, a chain of cemeteries in Southern California. The land was formerly part of Providencia Ranch.-History:...
in Glendale
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
, and his gravestone reads "Dear God, Thanks... Ed Wynn".
Legacy
The distinctive voice which Wynn created for his "Perfect Fool" character has remained much imitated. Hanna-BarberaHanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
's Wally Gator
Wally Gator
Wally Gator is one of the segments from The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series. The other segments that compose this trilogy are Lippy the Lion & Hardy Har Har and Touché Turtle and Dum Dum. The segment consisted of 52 episodes over two seasons....
's voice, performed by Daws Butler
Daws Butler
Charles Dawson "Daws" Butler was a voice actor originally from Toledo, Ohio. He worked mostly for Hanna-Barbera and originated the voices of many famous animated cartoon characters, including Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, and Huckleberry Hound.Daws Butler trained many working actors...
, was an impersonation of the Perfect Fool, as was Paul Frees
Paul Frees
Paul Frees was an American voice actor and character actor.-Biography:He was born Solomon Hersh Frees in Chicago...
's Captain Peter Peachfuzz
Peter Peachfuzz
Capt. Peter “Wrong Way” Peachfuzz was a supporting character on the animated television programs Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show, now known collectively as The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show...
character in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959 to June 28, 1964 on the ABC and NBC television networks...
. Other notable characters inspired by Wynn include: Doctor Blinky in H.R. Pufnstuf
H.R. Pufnstuf
H.R. Pufnstuf was a children's television series produced by Sid and Marty Krofft in the United States. It was the first Krofft live-action, life-size puppet program. The seventeen episodes were originally broadcast September 6, 1969 to September 4, 1971...
, Mayor McCheese in commercials for "McDonaldland
McDonaldland
McDonaldland was a fantasy world used in the marketing for McDonald's restaurants. It was based on the "total concept and feel" of Sid and Marty Krofft's H.R. Pufnstuf television program. McDonaldland was inhabited by Ronald McDonald and other characters...
", and Multo in the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
animated series Zula Patrol. He is frequently imitated by Ralph Garman
Ralph Garman
Ralph Garman is an American actor, comedian, and radio host best known as the host of The Joe Schmo Show, for his voice work in Family Guy, and as the entertainment reporter and impressionist for the Kevin and Bean morning show on Los Angeles radio station, KROQ-FM...
of the "Hollywood Babble-On" podcast on Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
's SModcast network.
Quotations
- "A comedian says funny things. A comic says things funny."
- "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Heck, I'll take that and more!"
- "Life is for the living!"
Broadway and films
- The Deacon and the Lady (1910) - musical - actor/performer
- Ziegfeld FolliesZiegfeld FolliesThe Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
of 1914 (1914) - revueRevueA revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
- actor/performer - Ziegfeld Follies of 1915 (1915) - revue - actor/performer
- The Passing Show of 1916 (1916) - revue - actor/performer
- Sometime (1918) - playPlay (theatre)A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
- actor - Ed Wynn's Carnival (1920) - revue - composer, lyricist, book-writer and performer/actor
- The All-Star Idlers of 1921 (1921) - revue - actor/performer
- The Perfect Fool (1921) - revue - composer, lyricist, book-writer, director and actor/performer
- The Grab Bag (1924) - revue - producer, composer, lyricist, book-writer and actor/performer
- Manhattan Mary (1927) - musical - actor in the role of "Crickets"
- Simple SimonSimple Simon (musical)Simple Simon is a Broadway musical with book by Guy Bolton, and Ed Wynn, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, music by Richard Rodgers, produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, and starring Ed Wynn....
(1930) - musical - co-book-writer and actor- Revived in 1931 (was also producer in addition to above roles)
- The Laugh Parade (1931) - revueRevueA revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
- producer, co-book-writer, director, originator and star actor/performer - The Chief (1933) - actor (as Henry Summers)
- Alice Takat (1936) - play - producer
- Hooray for What!Hooray for What!Hooray for What! is an anti-war musical with music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by E. Y. Harburg and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It introduced the song "Down With Love".-Productions:...
(1937) - musical - actor in the role of "Chuckles" - Morose Thoughts (1941) - revue - producer, book co-author, and actor
- Boys and Girls Together (1940) - revue - producer, co-book-writer, originator, director and actor/performer
- Laugh, Town, Laugh! (1942) - revue - producer, book-writer and director
- Stage Door CanteenStage Door CanteenStage Door Canteen is a musical film produced by Sol Lesser Productions and distributed by United Artists. It was directed by Frank Borzage and features many cameo appearances by celebrities, and the majority of the film is essentially a filmed concert although there is also a storyline to the...
(1943) - as himself - Alice in WonderlandAlice in Wonderland (1951 film)Alice in Wonderland is a 1951 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney and based primarily on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with a few additional elements from Through the Looking-Glass. Thirteenth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was released in New...
(1951) - voice actor (as Mad HatterMad HatterHatta, the Hatter is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the story's sequel, Through the Looking-Glass. He is often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Carroll...
) - Marjorie MorningstarMarjorie Morningstar (film)Marjorie Morningstar is a 1958 melodrama film based on the 1955 novel of the same name. The film, released by Warner Bros. and directed by Irving Rapper tells a fictional coming of age story about a young Jewish girl in New York City in the 1950s...
(1958) - actor (as uncle Samson) - The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) - actor (as Fritz PfefferFritz PfefferFriedrich "Fritz" Pfeffer was a German dentist and Jewish refugee who hid with Anne Frank during the Nazi Occupation of the Netherlands, and who perished in the Neuengamme concentration camp in Northern Germany...
) - CinderfellaCinderfellaCinderfella is a comedy film version of the classic Cinderella story, with several of the roles reversed. It was released December 16, 1960 by Paramount Pictures and stars Jerry Lewis as Fella.-Plot:...
(1960) - actor (as the fairy godfather) - Babes in ToylandBabes in Toyland (1961 film)Babes in Toyland is a 1961 Christmas musical film in Technicolor, directed by Jack Donohue, produced by Walt Disney, and distributed to theatres by Buena Vista Distribution. It stars Ray Bolger as Barnaby, Annette Funicello as Mary Contrary, Tommy Sands as Tom Piper, and Ed Wynn as the Toymaker.The...
(1961) - actor (as The Toy Maker) - The Absent-Minded ProfessorThe Absent-Minded ProfessorThe Absent-Minded Professor is a 1961 black-and-white Walt Disney Productions film based on the short story A Situation of Gravity, by Samuel W. Taylor....
(1961 film) - actor (as Fire Chief) - Son of FlubberSon of FlubberSon of Flubber is the 1963 black-and-white sequel to the Walt Disney children's movie comedy The Absent-Minded Professor , also starring Fred MacMurray as a scientist who has perfected a high-bouncing substance, Flubber that can levitate an automobile and cause athletes to bounce into the sky...
(1963 film) - actor (as Dept. of Agriculture agent) - Mary PoppinsMary Poppins (film)Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by...
(1964) - actor (as Uncle Albert) - That Darn Cat! (1965) - actor (as Mr. Hofstedder)
- Those CallowaysThose CallowaysThose Calloways is a 1965 American film adaption of a book by Paul Annixter. Annixter and his wife Jane were writers of books for young readers. The film was produced by Disney and directed by Norman Tokar...
(1965) - actor (as Ed Parker) - The Daydreamer (film) (1966) - voice actor (as The Emperor)
- The Gnome-MobileThe Gnome-MobileThe Gnome-Mobile is a 1967 Disney musical film, directed by Robert Stevenson. It was one of the last films personally produced by Walt Disney....
(1967) - actor (as Rufus) - released after his death
Listen to
Those Calloways (1965)
External links
- Ed Wynn on Great Character Actors site
- The Ed Wynn Show at Classic TV Info.
- Four Star Revue/All Star Revue at Classic TV Info.