Jose Jimenez
Encyclopedia
José Jiménez was a fictional character
created and performed by comedian Bill Dana on The Steve Allen Show
in 1959 and who became increasingly popular during the 1960s. This character introduced himself with the catch phrase: "My name — José Jiménez".
During the course of his José Jiménez acts, Bill Dana (who is of Hungarian
-Jewish ancestry, unlike the Hispanic
character he played) took his character through various roles including elevator operator, sailor, and submariner until settling into the most famous occupation that José would hold — astronaut
.
Perhaps surprisingly, the character of José Jiménez caught on amongst the seven Mercury astronauts, and Dana became good friends with them. "Okay, José, you're on your way!" Deke Slayton
quipped as Alan Shepard
's famous first flight launched, in reference to the astronaut parody. For his role as José the Astronaut, Dana was officially made an honorary Mercury
astronaut. (Ironically, there was a real test pilot named Bill Dana, who flew as high as 59 miles up and qualified for NASA's Astronaut Badge
.)
As time passed, Dana realized that such ethnic humor was becoming offensive, and Hispanic groups began protesting Dana's portrayal of the dim-witted Hispanic character. In 1970, Dana announced to ten thousand Mexican-Americans attending a cultural pride festival that "after tonight, José Jiménez is dead," later holding a mock funeral for José on Sunset Boulevard
. In 1997 Dana received an image award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition.
(played by Scott Glenn
) uses the catchphrase in radio talk while piloting his airplane in for a carrier landing. Later he is warned by a very large and intimidating Hispanic medical aide that the way he uses it is offending people, and he stops.
In the 1987 film The Pink Chiquitas
, one of the characters reads a passage from a book describing an expedition by the "explorer" José Jiménez.
Bronson Pinchot
plays a television reporter named Jorge Jiménez in the 1990 TV-movie
Jury Duty, who is obviously a mixture of José Jiménez and Geraldo Rivera
.
In a 1992 episode of Seinfeld
, entitled 'The Boyfriend (part 1)', character George Costanza
(played by Jason Alexander
) affects a José Jiménez accent while speaking to an unemployment officer.
In his demo of the song "Wonderful Toys" written for the aborted Batman
musical, Jim Steinman
does a parody of Eminem
, which includes the lines "My name is — my name is — my names is — José Jiménez!". The song is meant to be sung by The Joker. http://media.jimsteinman.com/audio/02WonderfulToys.mp3
In the Farscape
season 4 episode, "Unrealized Reality," the lead character, John Crichton (who commonly quotes pop culture throughout his misadventures), experiences another possible reality of a scene from the first episode of the series. When asked his name, instead of saying John Crichton he replies, "My name José Jiménez."
In the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000
, the puppet character of Crow uses the phrase "My name José Jiménez."
In the third episode of the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, called "We Have Cleared The Tower", someone mentions Bill Dana during the Apollo 7
pre-launch breakfast. This inspires Commander Wally Schirra
(played by Mark Harmon
) to recite some of Jose Jimenez's lines, to the great amusement of everyone at the table.
In a cameo appearance in the Get Smart
episode, "Supersonic Boom," Dana alludes indirectly to Jimenez, in that his only line was "Sorry fella, don't speak Spanish. Boy, are you in the wrong neighborhood."
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
created and performed by comedian Bill Dana on The Steve Allen Show
The Steve Allen Show
The Steve Allen Show is an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on ABC, and in first-run syndication from 1962 to 1964....
in 1959 and who became increasingly popular during the 1960s. This character introduced himself with the catch phrase: "My name — José Jiménez".
During the course of his José Jiménez acts, Bill Dana (who is of Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
-Jewish ancestry, unlike the Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
character he played) took his character through various roles including elevator operator, sailor, and submariner until settling into the most famous occupation that José would hold — astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
.
Jose Jimenez: "My name — Jose Jimenez."
Ed Sullivan: "Well, now I see you have some of your space equipment with you. Uh, what is that called, the crash helmet?"
Jose Jimenez: "Oh, I hope not."
Ed Sullivan: "Now, what do you consider the most important thing in rocket travel?"
Jose Jimenez: "To me the most important thing in the rocket travel is the blast-off."
Ed Sullivan: "The blast-off."
Jose Jimenez: "I always take a blast before I take off. Otherwise I wouldn't go near that thing."
Perhaps surprisingly, the character of José Jiménez caught on amongst the seven Mercury astronauts, and Dana became good friends with them. "Okay, José, you're on your way!" Deke Slayton
Deke Slayton
Donald Kent Slayton , better known as Deke Slayton, was an American World War II pilot and later, one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts....
quipped as Alan Shepard
Alan Shepard
Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. was an American naval aviator, test pilot, flag officer, and NASA astronaut who in 1961 became the second person, and the first American, in space. This Mercury flight was designed to enter space, but not to achieve orbit...
's famous first flight launched, in reference to the astronaut parody. For his role as José the Astronaut, Dana was officially made an honorary Mercury
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
astronaut. (Ironically, there was a real test pilot named Bill Dana, who flew as high as 59 miles up and qualified for NASA's Astronaut Badge
Astronaut Badge
The Astronaut Badge is a badge of the United States, awarded to military and civilian pilots who have completed training and performed a successful spaceflight...
.)
As time passed, Dana realized that such ethnic humor was becoming offensive, and Hispanic groups began protesting Dana's portrayal of the dim-witted Hispanic character. In 1970, Dana announced to ten thousand Mexican-Americans attending a cultural pride festival that "after tonight, José Jiménez is dead," later holding a mock funeral for José on Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
. In 1997 Dana received an image award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition.
José Jiménez in popular culture
In the 1983 film The Right Stuff, Alan ShepardAlan Shepard
Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. was an American naval aviator, test pilot, flag officer, and NASA astronaut who in 1961 became the second person, and the first American, in space. This Mercury flight was designed to enter space, but not to achieve orbit...
(played by Scott Glenn
Scott Glenn
Theodore Scott Glenn is an American actor. His roles have included Wes Hightower in Urban Cowboy , astronaut Alan Shepard in The Right Stuff ,Emmett in Silverado , Commander Bart Mancuso in The Hunt for Red October , Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs and The Wise Man in Sucker Punch -Early...
) uses the catchphrase in radio talk while piloting his airplane in for a carrier landing. Later he is warned by a very large and intimidating Hispanic medical aide that the way he uses it is offending people, and he stops.
In the 1987 film The Pink Chiquitas
The Pink Chiquitas
The Pink Chiquitas is a 1987 Canadian comedy film about a pink meteor which lands near a small town, turning its female residents into nymphomaniacs...
, one of the characters reads a passage from a book describing an expedition by the "explorer" José Jiménez.
Bronson Pinchot
Bronson Pinchot
Bronson Alcott Pinchot is an American actor. He has appeared in several feature films, including Risky Business, Beverly Hills Cop , The First Wives Club, True Romance, Courage Under Fire and It's My Party...
plays a television reporter named Jorge Jiménez in the 1990 TV-movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
Jury Duty, who is obviously a mixture of José Jiménez and Geraldo Rivera
Geraldo Rivera
Geraldo Rivera is an American attorney, journalist, author, reporter, and former talk show host...
.
In a 1992 episode of Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
, entitled 'The Boyfriend (part 1)', character George Costanza
George Costanza
George Louis Costanza is a character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Jason Alexander. He has variously been described as a "short, stocky, slow-witted, bald man" , "Lord of the Idiots" , and as "the greatest sitcom character of all time"...
(played by Jason Alexander
Jason Alexander
Jay Scott Greenspan , better known by his professional name of Jason Alexander, is an American actor, writer, comedian, television director, producer, and singer. He is best known for his role as George Costanza on the television series Seinfeld, appearing in the sitcom from 1989 to 1998...
) affects a José Jiménez accent while speaking to an unemployment officer.
In his demo of the song "Wonderful Toys" written for the aborted Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
musical, Jim Steinman
Jim Steinman
James Richard "Jim" Steinman is an American composer, lyricist, and Grammy Award-winning record producer responsible for several hit songs. He has also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer...
does a parody of Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
, which includes the lines "My name is — my name is — my names is — José Jiménez!". The song is meant to be sung by The Joker. http://media.jimsteinman.com/audio/02WonderfulToys.mp3
In the Farscape
Farscape
Farscape is an Australian-American science fiction television series filmed in Australia and produced originally for the Nine Network. The series was conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment...
season 4 episode, "Unrealized Reality," the lead character, John Crichton (who commonly quotes pop culture throughout his misadventures), experiences another possible reality of a scene from the first episode of the series. When asked his name, instead of saying John Crichton he replies, "My name José Jiménez."
In the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
, the puppet character of Crow uses the phrase "My name José Jiménez."
In the third episode of the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, called "We Have Cleared The Tower", someone mentions Bill Dana during the Apollo 7
Apollo 7
Apollo 7 was the first manned mission in the American Apollo space program, and the first manned US space flight after a cabin fire killed the crew of what was to have been the first manned mission, AS-204 , during a launch pad test in 1967...
pre-launch breakfast. This inspires Commander Wally Schirra
Wally Schirra
Walter Marty Schirra, Jr. was an American test pilot, United States Navy officer, and one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts chosen for the Project Mercury, America's effort to put humans in space. He is the only person to fly in all of America's first three space programs...
(played by Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon is an American actor who has been starring in American television programs and films since the mid-1970s, after a career as a collegiate football player with the UCLA Bruins. Since 2003, Harmon has starred as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the CBS series NCIS.-Early life:Harmon was born Thomas...
) to recite some of Jose Jimenez's lines, to the great amusement of everyone at the table.
In a cameo appearance in the Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
episode, "Supersonic Boom," Dana alludes indirectly to Jimenez, in that his only line was "Sorry fella, don't speak Spanish. Boy, are you in the wrong neighborhood."