Ed Wynn | |
|---|---|
 Wynn in the television programAll Star Revue (1951) | |
| Born | Isaiah Edwin Leopold[1] (1886-11-09)November 9, 1886[1] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.[1] |
| Died | June 19, 1966(1966-06-19) (aged 79)[1] |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park,Glendale, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1903–1966 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | Keenan Wynn |
| Relatives |
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Isaiah Edwin Leopold (November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966), better known asEd Wynn, was an American actor and comedian. He began his career invaudeville in 1903 and was known for hisPerfect 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 aPeabody Award and anEmmy Award.
Wynn was born Isaiah Edwin Leopold inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, to a Jewish family. His father, Joseph, amilliner, was born inBohemia. His mother, Minnie Greenberg, ofTurkish andRomanian descent, came fromIstanbul.[3] Wynn attendedCentral 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".[1]
Wynn began his career invaudeville in 1903[4][5] and was a star of theZiegfeld Follies starting in 1914. DuringThe Follies of 1915,W. C. Fields allegedly caught Wynnmugging for the audience under the table during Fields'sPool Room routine and knocked Wynn unconscious with his cue.[5] Wynn wrote, directed, and produced manyBroadway 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 revueThe Perfect Fool. Wynn became a very active member ofThe Lambs Club[6] in 1919.[7]
In the early 1930s, Wynn hosted theradio showThe Fire Chief,[8] heard in North America on Tuesday nights, sponsored byTexaco 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 manGraham 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) andThe Chief (1933). Near the height of his radio fame (1933) he founded his own short-lived radio network theAmalgamated 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 roleThe Wizard inMGM's 1939 screen adaptation ofThe Wizard of Oz, but turned it down, as did his Ziegfeld contemporaryW. C. Fields. The part went toFrank Morgan.[citation needed]
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 1949–1950 season, Wynn hostedThe Ed Wynn Show, one of the first network, comedy-variety television shows, on CBS, and won both aPeabody Award and anEmmy Award in 1949.Buster Keaton,Carmen Miranda,Lucille Ball,Desi Arnaz,Hattie McDaniel andThe 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 theWest Coast, but filmed viakinescope for distribution in theMidwestern United States and the Eastern United States, as the nationalcoaxial cable had yet to be completed.[10] Wynn was also a rotating host ofNBC'sFour Star Revue from 1950 through 1952.
After the end of Wynn's third television series,The Ed Wynn Show (a short-lived situation comedy onNBC's 1958–59 schedule), his son, actorKeenan 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 1956Playhouse 90 broadcast ofRod Serling's playRequiem for a Heavyweight. Ed was terrified of straight acting, and kept goofing his lines in rehearsal. When the producers wanted to fire him, starJack Palance said he would quit if they fired Ed. (However, unbeknownst to Wynn, supporting playerNed Glass was his secret understudy in case somethingdid 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 1960Westinghouse 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 directorRalph Nelson). Ed and his son also worked together in theJose Ferrer filmThe 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 inThe Diary of Anne Frank (1959) received anAcademy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.[citation needed]
Also in 1959, Wynn appeared on Serling's TV seriesThe 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]
Wynn was caricatured in theMerrie Melodies cartoon shortsShuffle Off to Buffalo (1933),I've Got to Sing a Torch Song (1933), and as a pot of jam in theBetty Boop shortBetty in Blunderland (1934).
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He appeared as the Fairy Godfather inJerry Lewis'sCinderfella. His performance as Paul Beaseley in the 1958 filmThe Great Man earned him nominations for aGolden Globe Award for "Best Supporting Actor" and aBAFTA Award for "Best Foreign Actor". The following year he received his first (and only) nomination for anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Mr. Dussell inThe Diary of Anne Frank (1959). Six years later he appeared in the Bible epicThe Greatest Story Ever Told.
Wynn provided the voice of theMad Hatter inWalt Disney's filmAlice in Wonderland (1951) and played The Toymaker alongsideAnnette Funicello andTommy Sands in the Christmas operetta filmBabes in Toyland released in 1961.
In Walt Disney'sMary 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—inThat Darn Cat! (1965), featuringDean Jones andHayley Mills—Wynn filled out the character of Mr. Hofstedder, the watch jeweler with his bumbling charm. He also had brief roles inThe Absent Minded Professor (as thefire chief, in a scene alongside his sonKeenan Wynn, who played the film's antagonist) andSon of Flubber (as county agricultural agent A.J. Allen). His final performance, as Rufus in Walt Disney'sThe Gnome-Mobile, was released a year and one month after his death.
In addition to Disney films, Wynn was also an actor in the Disneyland productionThe Golden Horseshoe Revue.
Wynn was married three times. He first married actressHilda Keenan on September 5, 1914. They eventually divorced on May 13, 1937, after 23 years of marriage.[11] Together, they had a son, actorKeenan Wynn.[11] He married his second wife, Frieda Mierse, on June 25, 1937, but divorced 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 aFreemason at Lodge No. 9 in Pennsylvania.[13][14]
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Wynn died on June 19, 1966, inBeverly Hills, California, ofesophageal cancer, at the age of 79.[1] He is interred atForest Lawn Memorial Park inGlendale.
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]
Wynn's distinctive voice continues to be emulated by countless actors and comedians, includingAlan Tudyk for the character King Candy inDisney's animated filmWreck-It Ralph.[16]
Wynn was posthumously named aDisney Legend on August 10, 2013.[17]
In the graphic adventure gameKing's Quest VI, the character Jollo is based on his style.
| Year | Award | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Emmy Award for Best Live Show | The Ed Wynn Show | Won |
| 1957 | Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture | The Great Man | Nominated |
| 1959 | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor | The Diary of Anne Frank | Nominated |
Wynn, Ed: 135, 139, 143, 145, 153, 159,172, 174, 193.
