American actor and comedian (1886?1966)
Ed Wynn
|
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Born
| (
1886-11-09
)
November 9, 1886
[1]
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Died
| June 19, 1966
(1966-06-19)
(aged 79)
[1]
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Resting place
| Forest Lawn Memorial Park
,
Glendale, California
, U.S.
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Occupations
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Years active
| 1903?1966
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Spouses
| -
-
Frieda Mierse
(
m.
;
div.
)
-
Dorothy Elizabeth Nesbitt
(
m.
;
div.
)
|
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Children
| Keenan Wynn
|
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Relatives
| |
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Isaiah Edwin Leopold
(November 9, 1886 ? June 19, 1966), better known as
Ed Wynn
, was an American actor and comedian. He began his career in
vaudeville
in 1903 and was known for his
Perfect Fool
comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a dramatic actor, which continued into the 1960s.
[2]
His variety show (1949?1950),
The Ed Wynn Show
, won a
Peabody Award
and an
Emmy Award
.
Background
[
edit
]
Wynn was born Isaiah Edwin Leopold in
Philadelphia
,
Pennsylvania
, to a Jewish family. His father, Joseph, a
milliner
, was born in
Bohemia
. His mother, Minnie Greenberg, of Romanian and Turkish ancestry, came from
Istanbul
.
[3]
Wynn attended
Central High School
in 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 lowly comedian as a relative.
[1]
Career
[
edit
]
Wynn began his career in
vaudeville
in 1903
[4]
[5]
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 Fields's
Pool Room
routine and knocked Wynn unconscious with his cue.
[5]
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 revue
The Perfect Fool
. Wynn became a very active member of
The Lambs Club
[6]
in 1919.
[7]
Radio
[
edit
]
In the early 1930s, Wynn hosted the popular
radio show
The Fire Chief
,
[8]
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; a 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!"
[
citation needed
]
Wynn reprised his Fire Chief radio character in two films,
Follow the Leader
(1930) and
The Chief
(1933). Near the height of his radio fame (1933) he founded his own short-lived radio network the
Amalgamated Broadcasting System
, which lasted only five weeks, nearly destroying the comedian. According to radio historian Elizabeth McLeod, the failed venture left Wynn deep in debt, divorced and finally, suffering a nervous breakdown.
[9]
Wynn was offered the title role
The Wizard
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
.
[
citation needed
]
Television
[
edit
]
Ed Wynn first appeared on television on July 7, 1936, in a brief, ad-libbed spot with Graham McNamee during an NBC experimental television broadcast. In the 1949?50 season, Wynn hosted
The Ed Wynn Show
, one of the first network, comedy-variety television shows, on CBS, and won both a
Peabody Award
and an
Emmy Award
in 1949.
Buster Keaton
,
Carmen Miranda
,
Lucille Ball
,
Desi Arnaz
,
Hattie McDaniel
and
The Three Stooges
all made guest appearances with Wynn. This was the first CBS variety television show to originate from Los Angeles, which was seen live on the
West Coast
, but filmed via
kinescope
for distribution in the
Midwestern United States
and the
Eastern United States
, as the national
coaxial cable
had yet to be completed.
[10]
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 a career change rather than retire. The comedian reluctantly began a career as a dramatic actor in television and films. 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 (including Rod Serling and director
Ralph Nelson
). Ed and his son also worked together in the
Jose Ferrer
film
The Great Man
, with Ed again proving his unexpected skills in drama.
[
citation needed
]
Requiem
established Wynn as a serious dramatic actor who could easily hold his own with the best. His performance in
The Diary of Anne Frank
(1959) received an
Academy Award
nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
[
citation needed
]
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 in 1963 starred in the S5 E12 episode "
Ninety Years Without Slumbering
". For the rest of his life, Wynn skillfully moved between comic and dramatic roles. He appeared in feature films and anthology television, endearing himself to new generations of fans.
[
citation needed
]
Cartoons
[
edit
]
Wynn was caricatured in the
Merrie Melodies
cartoon shorts
Shuffle Off to Buffalo
(1933),
I've Got to Sing a Torch Song
(1933), and as a pot of jam in the
Betty Boop
short
Betty in Blunderland
(1934).
Films
[
edit
]
He appeared as the Fairy Godfather in
Jerry Lewis
's
Cinderfella
. His performance as Paul Beaseley in the 1958 film
The Great Man
earned him nominations for a
Golden Globe Award
for "Best Supporting Actor" and a
BAFTA Award
for "Best Foreign Actor". The following year he received 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 appeared in the Bible epic
The Greatest Story Ever Told
.
Disney
[
edit
]
Wynn provided the voice of the
Mad Hatter
in
Walt Disney
's film
Alice in Wonderland
(1951) and played The Toymaker alongside
Annette Funicello
and
Tommy Sands
in the Christmas operetta film
Babes in Toyland
released in 1961.
In Walt Disney's
Mary Poppins
(1964), he played eccentric Uncle Albert floating around just beneath the ceiling in uncontrollable mirth, singing "
I Love to Laugh
".
Re-teaming with the Disney team the following year?in
That Darn Cat!
(1965), featuring
Dean Jones
and
Hayley Mills
?Wynn filled out the character of Mr. Hofstedder, the watch jeweler with his bumbling charm. He also had brief roles in
The Absent Minded Professor
(as the
fire chief
, in a scene alongside his son
Keenan Wynn
, who played the film's antagonist) and
Son of Flubber
(as county agricultural agent A.J. Allen). 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 an actor in the Disneyland production
The Golden Horseshoe Revue
.
Personal life
[
edit
]
Wynn was married three times. He first married actress
Hilda Keenan
on September 5, 1914. They eventually divorced on May 13, 1937, after twenty-three years of marriage.
[11]
Together, they had a son, actor
Keenan Wynn
.
[11]
He married his second wife, Frieda Mierse, on June 25, 1937, but would divorce her only two years later on December 12, 1939.
[11]
He married his third and final wife Dorothy Elizabeth Nesbitt on July 31, 1946. She filed for divorce from Wynn on February 1, 1955, and it was finalized on March 1, 1955.
[12]
Wynn was a
Freemason
at Lodge No. 9 in Pennsylvania.
[13]
[14]
Death
[
edit
]
Wynn died on June 19, 1966, in
Beverly Hills, California
, of
esophageal cancer
, at the age of 79.
[1]
He is interred at
Forest Lawn Memorial Park
in
Glendale
.
His bronze grave marker reads:
Dear God: Thanks... Ed Wynn
Red Skelton
, who was discovered by Wynn, stated: "His death is the first time he ever made anyone sad."
[15]
Legacy
[
edit
]
Wynn's distinctive voice continues to be emulated by countless actors and comedians, including
Alan Tudyk
for the character King Candy in
Disney
's animated film
Wreck-It Ralph
.
[16]
Wynn was posthumously named a
Disney Legend
on August 10, 2013.
[17]
In the graphic adventure game
King's Quest VI
, the character Jollo is based on his style.
Broadway and films
[
edit
]
- The Deacon and the Lady
(1910) ?
musical
? actor/performer
- Ziegfeld Follies
of 1914
(1914) ?
revue
? actor/performer
- Ziegfeld Follies of 1915
(1915) ? revue ? actor/performer
- The Passing Show of 1916
(1916) ? revue ? actor/performer
- Sometime
(1918) ? play ? 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"
- Rubber Heels
(1927) ? actor (as Homer Thrush)
- Simple Simon
(1930) ? musical ? co-book-writer and actor
- Revived in 1931 (was also producer in addition to above roles)
- Follow the Leader
(1930) ? actor (as Crickets)
- The Laugh Parade
(1931) ?
revue
? producer, co-book-writer, director, originator and star actor/performer
- Turn Back the Clock
(1933) ? actor (as Cigar Store Customer), uncredited
- The Chief
(1933) ? actor (as Henry Summers)
- Alice Takat
(1936) ? play ? producer
- Hooray for What!
(1937) ? musical ? actor in the role of "Chuckles"
- Boys and Girls Together
(1940) ? revue ? producer, co-book-writer, originator, director and actor/performer
- Morose Thoughts
(1941) ? revue ? producer, book co-author, and actor
- Laugh, Town, Laugh!
(1942) ? revue ? producer, book-writer and director
- Stage Door Canteen
(1943) ? himself (Ed Wynn)
- Alice in Wonderland
(1951) ? voice actor (as
Mad Hatter
)
- Playhouse 90
episode "
Requiem for a Heavyweight
" (1956) ? actor (as Army)
- The Great Man
(1956) ? actor (as Paul Beaseley)
- Marjorie Morningstar
(1958) ? actor (as Uncle Samson)
- The Diary of Anne Frank
(1959) ? actor (as
Fritz Pfeffer
)
- Wagon Train
episode "The Cappy Darrin Story" (1959) ? actor (as Cappy Darrin)
- Peabody's Improbable History
episode "King Arthur" (1959) ? voice actor (as Frantic Man)
- The Twilight Zone
episode "
One for the Angels
" (1959) ? actor (as Lou Bookman)
- Miracle on 34th Street
(1959) ? actor (as Kris Kringle)
- Startime
episode "The Greatest Man Alive" (1960) ? actor (as Amos Benedict)
- Cinderfella
(1960) ? actor (as the fairy godfather)
- The Absent-Minded Professor
(1961) ? actor (as Fire Chief)
- Babes in Toyland
(1961) ? actor (as The Toy Maker)
- Rawhide
episode "Twenty-Five Santa Clauses" (1961) ? actor (as Bateman)
- The Sound of Laughter
(1962) ? actor (as host and narrator)
- Son of Flubber
(1963) ? actor (as Dept. of Agriculture agent)
- 77 Sunset Strip
episode "5: Part 1" (1963) ? actor (as Feigenstein)
- The Twilight Zone
episode "
Ninety Years Without Slumbering
" (1963) ? actor (as Sam Forstmann)
- Burke's Law
episode "Who Killed Avery Lord?" (1964) ? actor (as Zachary Belden)
- For the Love of Willadean
(1964) ? actor (as Alfred)
- The Patsy
(1964) ? actor (as Ed Wynn)
- Mary Poppins
(1964) ? actor (as Uncle Albert)
- Slattery's People
episode "Question: What Ever Happened to Ezra?" (1964) ? actor (as Ezra Tallicott)
- Dear Brigitte
(1965) ? actor (as The Captain and Narrator)
- Those Calloways
(1965) ? actor (as Ed Parker)
- Bonanza
episode "The Ponderosa Birdman" (1965) ? actor (as Professor Phineas T. Klump)
- The Greatest Story Ever Told
(1965) ? actor (as Old Aram)
- That Darn Cat!
(1965) ? actor (as Mr. Hofstedder)
- The Daydreamer
(1966) ? voice actor (as The Emperor)
- The Red Skelton Hour
- guest star (1966)
- Combat!
episode "The Flying Machine" (1966) ? actor (as Lt. Brannigan)
- Vacation Playhouse
episode "You're Only Young Twice" (1967) ? actor (as Professor Hubert Abernathy)
- The Gnome-Mobile
(1967) ? actor (as Rufus) ?
released after his death
(final film role)
Awards and nominations
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"Ed Wynn Biography"
.
Turner Classic Movies
. Archived from
the original
on March 31, 2019.
- ^
Obituary
Variety
, June 22, 1966, page 71.
- ^
Neill, Wilfred T. (January 2, 1979).
"Famed comedian Ed Wynn once owned theater in New Port Richey"
.
St. Petersburg Times
. Retrieved
September 19,
2008
.
- ^
"New York Hoorays for Ed Wynn"
.
Life
. December 20, 1937. pp. 44?46
. Retrieved
February 24,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"August Clown"
.
Life
. July 26, 1948. pp. 70?74
. Retrieved
May 31,
2011
.
- ^
Hardee, Lewis J. Jr. (2010) [1st pub. 2006].
The Lambs Theatre Club
(2nd ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina:
McFarland Publishing
.
ISBN
978-0-7864-6095-3
.
Wynn, Ed: 135, 139, 143, 145, 153, 159,
172
, 174, 193.
- ^
"Member Roster"
.
The Lambs
. November 6, 2015. (Member Roster 'W'). Archived from
the original
on May 31, 2022
. Retrieved
December 3,
2021
.
- ^
"Ed Wynn The Fire Chief"
.
Radio Echoes
. Retrieved
February 24,
2022
.
- ^
McLeod, Elizabeth.
"Tonight The Program's Gonna Be Different!The Life and Times of Ed Wynn, The Fire Chief"
.
Old Time Radio Researchers Group
. Retrieved
June 2,
2015
.
- ^
"The Ed Wynn Show, 1950"
.
Internet Archive ? Moving Image Archive
. Retrieved
December 8,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
c
"ED WINN WEDS HERE; Comedian, Divorced a Month Ago, Marries Frieda Mierse"
.
latimes.com
. June 16, 1937
. Retrieved
October 14,
2022
.
- ^
"Wife Of Comedian Ed Wynn Files Suit To End Marriage"
. February 1, 1955
. Retrieved
October 14,
2022
.
- ^
"Waller Newsletter 0907"
.
www.mastermason.com
. Retrieved
March 17,
2023
.
- ^
"Ed Wynn"
.
freemasonry.bcy.ca
. Retrieved
March 17,
2023
.
- ^
"Comedians: The First Time He Made Anyone Sad"
.
Time
. July 1, 1966
. Retrieved
February 24,
2022
.
- ^
Cerabona, Ron (April 29, 2013).
"Giving Voice to an Old-Timer"
.
The Sydney Morning Herald
. Retrieved
August 7,
2016
.
- ^
Brigante, Ricky (July 13, 2013).
"Steve Jobs, Dick Clark, Billy Crystal, John Goodman among Disney Legends Awards recipients announced for 2013 D23 Expo"
.
Inside the Magic
. Retrieved
February 24,
2022
.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Ed Wynn
.
Wikiquote has quotations related to
Ed Wynn
.
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International
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Artists
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