Ed Wynn

from the film Stage Door Canteen (1943)
Birth name Isaiah Edwin Leopold
Born (1886-11-09)November 9, 1886
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died June 19, 1966(1966-06-19) (aged 79)
Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Medium Vaudeville, Stand-Up
Nationality American
Years active 1903–1966
Influenced Red Skelton, Daws Butler, Kevin James, Ralph Garman
Spouse Hilda Keenan
(1914-37) (divorced) 1 child
Frieda Mierse
(1937-39) (divorced)
Dorothy Elizabeth Nesbitt
(1946-55) (divorced)

Ed Wynn (November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966) 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.[1]

Wynn began his career in vaudeville in 1903 [2][3] 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.[4] 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.

Contents

Early life [link]

Ed Wynn was a Jewish-American comedian who was born Isaiah Edwin Leopold in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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.[5] Wynn attended Central High School in Philadelphia until age 15.[6] He ran away from home in his teens, worked as a hat salesman and as a utility boy,[6] 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.

Radio [link]

Although many gag writers later provided material for Wynn's performances in radio, television and movies, he was proud to boast that he had written every line he ever spoke during his early career as a stage performer.[citation needed]

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; 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!"

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 (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.[citation needed]

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.

Television [link]

In the 1949-50 season, Ed Wynn hosted one of the first comedy-variety television 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 1948-49 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.

Wynn (left) and Richard Crenna (right) in People's Magazine 1964

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.

Cartoons [link]

Wynn had been caricatured in 1933 in the Merrie Melodies cartoon short Shuffle Off to Buffalo, and as a pot of jam in the 1934 Betty Boop short Betty in Blunderland.

Films [link]

He appeared as the Fairy Godfather in Jerry Lewis' 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.

Work with Disney [link]

Wynn provided the voice of the Mad Hatter 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.

Death [link]

Wynn died June 19, 1966 in Beverly Hills, California of throat cancer,[6] aged 79. He was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, and his gravestone reads "Dear God, Thanks... Ed Wynn".

Legacy [link]

The distinctive voice which Wynn created for his "Perfect Fool" character has remained much imitated. Hanna-Barbera'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: Terrytoons' Gandy Goose, 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.

Quotations [link]

  • "A comic says funny things. A comedian 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 [link]

  • 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"
  • Simple Simon (1930) - musical - co-book-writer and actor
    • Revived in 1931 (was also producer in addition to above roles)
  • The Laugh Parade (1931) - revue - 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! (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 Canteen (1943) - as himself
  • Alice in Wonderland (1951) - voice actor (as Mad Hatter)
  • Marjorie Morningstar (1958) - actor (as uncle Samson)
  • The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) - actor (as Fritz Pfeffer)
  • Cinderfella (1960) - actor (as the fairy godfather)
  • Babes in Toyland (1961) - actor (as The Toy Maker)
  • The Absent-Minded Professor (1961 film) - actor (as Fire Chief)
  • Son of Flubber (1963 film) - actor (as Dept. of Agriculture agent)
  • Mary Poppins (1964) - actor (as Uncle Albert)
  • The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965 film) - actor (as Old Aram)
  • That Darn Cat! (1965) - actor (as Mr. Hofstedder)
  • Those Calloways (1965) - actor (as Ed Parker)
  • The Daydreamer (film) (1966) - voice actor (as The Emperor)
  • The Gnome-Mobile (1967) - actor (as Rufus) - released after his death

Listen to [link]

Those Calloways (1965)

References [link]

  1. ^ Obituary Variety, June 22, 1966, page 71.
  2. ^ "New York Hoorays for Ed Wynn" [1], LIFE, December 20, 1937, p. 46, accessed May 31, 2011.
  3. ^ "August Clown" [2], LIFE, July 26, 1948, p. 74, accessed May 31, 2011.
  4. ^ "August Clown" [3], LIFE, July 26, 1948, p. 70, accessed May 31, 2011.
  5. ^ Wilfred T. Neill (January 2, 1979). "Famed comedian Ed Wynn once owned theater in New Port Richey". St. Petersburg Times. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aZpjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=N3wDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4126,1046400. Retrieved September, 19 2008. 
  6. ^ a b c Biography of Ed Wynn at Turner Classic Movies.

External links [link]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
none
Emmy Award for Best Live Show
for The Ed Wynn Show

1950
Succeeded by
none

https://wn.com/Ed_Wynn

Be Our Guest

"Be Our Guest" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken for Walt Disney Pictures' 30th animated feature film Beauty and the Beast (1991). Recorded by American actor Jerry Orbach and English actress Angela Lansbury as Lumiere and Mrs. Potts, respectively, "Be Our Guest" is a large-scale Broadway-inspired musical number that takes place during the first half of Beauty and the Beast, performed by the castle's staff of enchanted objects in an elaborate attempt to welcome Belle. Menken initially intended for the melody of "Be Our Guest" to be temporary but was ultimately unable to compose a satisfying one with which to replace it. The song had originally been intended for Belle's father Maurice. However, "Be Our Guest" had to be entirely re-written as the story evolved in order to return its focus to Belle.

"Be Our Guest" has garnered universal acclaim from both film and music critics who, in addition to dubbing the song a show-stopper, praised its catchiness and Orbach's vocal performance while applauding the scene's unprecedented use of computer-generated imagery. "Be Our Guest" has since been extolled as one of Disney's most celebrated and popular songs, establishing itself as one of the studio's greatest and most iconic. "Be Our Guest" received nominations for both the Golden Globe and Academy Awards for Best Original Song, ultimately losing both to the film's title song. "Be Our Guest" has been ranked highly on several "best Disney song" countdown lists, garnering recognition from IGN, M and the American Film Institute. In addition to appearing in the Broadway musical adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, "Be Our Guest" was performed by Orbach live at the 64th Academy Awards, has been parodied in an episode of The Simpsons and covered by Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Chipettes.

Be Our Guest (American Horror Story)

"Be Our Guest" is the twelfth episode and season finale of the fifth season of the anthology television series American Horror Story. It aired on January 13, 2016 on the cable network FX.

Plot

A year later from the incidents in "Battle Royale", Liz Taylor reflects on the renovated and upscale Hotel Cortez. Their first guests are a couple of travel bloggers who like the rooms, however, Sally materializes and kills the husband, while Will Drake kills the wife. Liz and Iris lament the new problems that the murderous ghosts are leaving them with, and hold a meeting with the ghosts urging them to stop the murders. Sally and Will decline to stop, as they enjoy getting off on killing. James March intervenes and agrees to end it, else they would lose the hotel. Iris finds a miserable Sally and in order to cheer her, Iris gifts her a phone with WiFi connection. Sally gets addicted to social media and forgets about her own misery.

Podcasts:

Ed Wynn

ALBUMS

Born: 1886-11-09

Died: 1966-06-19

PLAYLIST TIME:

Be Our Guest

by: Beauty and the Beast Soundtrack

LUMIERE
Ma chere, Mademoiselle. It is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight.
And now we invite you to relax, let us pull up a chair as the dining room proudly presents - your dinner!
Be our guest! Be our guest!
Put our service to the test
Tie your napkin 'round your neck, cherie
And we'll provide the rest
Soup du jour
Hot hors d'oeuvres
Why, we only live to serve
Try the grey stuff
CHIP
It's delicious!
LUMIERE
Don't believe me? Ask the dishes!
They can sing, they can dance
After all, Miss, this is France
And a dinner here is never second best
Go on, unfold your menu
Take a glance and then you'll
Be our guest
Oui, our guest
Be our guest!
LUMIERE AND CHORUS
Beef ragout
Cheese souffle
Pie and pudding "en flambe"
LUMIERE
We'll prepare and serve with flair
A culinary cabaret!
You're alone
And you're scared
But the banquet's all prepared
No one's gloomy or complaining
While the flatware's entertaining
We tell jokes!
I do tricks
With my fellow candlesticks
CHORUS
And it's all in perfect taste
That you can bet
Come on and lift your glass
You've won your own free pass
To be out guest
LUMIERE
If you're stressed
It's fine dining we suggest
CHORUS
Be our guest! Be our guest! Be our guest!
Get your worries off your chest
Let us say for your entree
We've an array; may we suggest:
Try the bread! Try the soup!
When the croutons loop de loop
It's a treat for any dinner
Don't belive me? Ask the china
Singing pork! Dancing veal!
What an entertaining meal!
How could anyone be gloomy and depressed?
We'll make you shout "encore!"
And send us out for more
So, be our guest!
LUMIERE
Be our guest!
CHORUS
Be our guest!
MRS. POTTS
It's a guest! It's a guest!
Sakes alive, well I'll be blessed!
Wine's been poured and thank the Lord
I've had the napkins freshly pressed
With dessert, she'll want tea
And my dear that's fine with me
While the cups do their soft-shoein'
I'll be bubbling, I'll be brewing
I'll get warm, piping hot
Heaven's sakes! Is that a spot?
Clean it up! We want the company impressed
CHORUS
We've got a lot to do!
MRS. POTTS
Is it one lump or two?
For you, our guest!
CHORUS
She's our guest!
MRS. POTTS
She's our guest!
CHORUS
She's our guest!
Be our guest! Be our guest!
Be our guest!
LUMIERE
Life is so unnerving
For a servant who's not serving
He's not whole without a soul to wait upon
Ah, those good old days when we were useful...
Suddenly those good old days are gone
Ten years we've been rusting
Needing so much more than dusting
Needing exercise, a chance to use our skills!
Most days we just lay around the castle
Flabby, fat and lazy
You walked in and oops-a-daisy!
CHORUS
Be our guest! Be our guest!
Our command is your request
It's been years since we've had anybody here
And we're obsessed
With your meal, with your ease
Yes, indeed, we aim to please
While the candlelight's still glowing
Let us help you,
We'll keep going
Course by course, one by one
'Til you shout, "Enough! I'm done!"
Then we'll sing you off to sleep as you digest
Tonight you'll prop your feet up
But for now, let's eat up
Be our guest! Be our guest!
Be our guest!
Please, be our guest!




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