Ed Wynn (November 9, 1886 - June 19, 1966) was a popular United States entertainer, born Isaiah Edward Leopold in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was best known as a comedian, billed as The Perfect Fool (and starring in a musical revue of that name on Broadway in 1921). Wynn also wrote, directed, and produced shows.
He became a headliner on Vaudeville in the early 1910s, and was a star of the Ziegfeld Follies starting in 1914.
He hosted a popular radio show for most of the 1930s, heard in North America on Tuesday nights, sponsored by Texaco gasoline. He was often seen wearing a fireman's helmet, as the "Texaco Fire Chief".
Wynn founded his own short-lived radio network, the Amalgamated Broadcasting System, which lasted only five weeks in 1933.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s he hosted a television show, and won an Emmy Award in 1949.
After the end of his television show, Wynn worked as a dramatic actor in movies. His role in The Diary of Anne Frank won him an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor in 1959. His son, actor Keenan Wynn had encouraged him to make the career change; the two appeared in the 1957 "Playhouse 90" broadcast of Rod Serling's play "Requiem for a Heavyweight" .
Also in 1959, Wynn appeared on the TV series The Twilight Zone in the episode "One for the Angels". The episode was specifically written for Wynn by series host-producer Rod Serling, a longtime admirer.
Wynn also provided the voice of the Mad Hatter in Walt Disney's film, Alice in Wonderland. One of his best-known performances in his later years was as "Uncle Albert" in Mary Poppins.
Ed Wynn died in Beverly Hills, California.
The distinctive giggly wavering voice which Wynn created for his "Perfect Fool" character remains much imitated, especially by voice actors of animated cartoons.
Quotations
- "A comedian is not a man who says funny things. A comedian is one who says things funny."
External links
Last updated: 10-29-2005 02:13:46
