Danny Wells
Wells in 2009
Born	Jack Westelman (1941-04-07)April 7, 1941 Montreal,Quebec, Canada
Died	November 28, 2013(2013-11-28) (aged 72) Toronto,Ontario, Canada
Occupations	Actor, comedian
Years active	1972–2013

Jack Westelman (April 7, 1941 – November 28, 2013), professionally known asDanny Wells, was a Canadian actor and comedian. He was best known for his role as Charlie, the bartender onThe Jeffersons, as well as his role asLuigi in the live-action/animated seriesThe Super Mario Bros. Super Show!.

Wells was born as Jack Westelman on April 7, 1941, inMontreal^[1] to Eli Westelman (September 13, 1913 – April 4, 1996^[2]) and Eunice Trottenberg (November 7, 1917 – September 20, 1987^[3]).^[4] He was Jewish.^[5] His acting career spanned more than four decades, beginning in 1972 on the comedy television showLove, American Style.

In 1975, Wells made his film debut inThe Strongest Man in the World. He then went on to appear in a string of successful movies includingPrivate Benjamin (1980) starringGoldie Hawn andEileen Brennan,The Woman in Red (1984) starringGene Wilder,Magnolia (1999), andThe Last Kiss (2006) where he played the Uncle ofMichael Weston's character Izzy.

Over his prolific career,^[6] Wells did most of his work in television, starring or making guest appearances in more than 80 television shows and movies, includingSanford and Son,CHiPs,The A-Team, andThe Fall Guy. In 1975, he starred in the most notable role^[7] of his career: "Charlie the Bartender", on the hit television showThe Jeffersons. Wells played Charlie as a recurring role^[8] throughout the entire 11 season run until the show was cancelled in 1985.

In the 1970s, he portrayed the store manager in television ads forKmart department stores.^{[citation needed]}

Wells began doing voice work in 1982 when he voiced the character of Stomper #1 in theRalph Bakshi filmHey Good Looking. From there he went on to voice numerous characters for film, television and video games, includingDescent 3 andWizardry 8. His first television series wasHeathcliff and The Catillac Cats (1984), which lead to the filmHeathcliff: The Movie in 1986.

In 2002, Wells starred as film executiveJack L. Warner in the made-for-television movie "Gleason" starringBrad Garrett asJackie Gleason.

As composer, Wells wrote the music for the 1979CBS TV movieNever Say Never starringGeorge Kennedy andAnne Schedeen.^[9]

Wells voiced several other animated series such asBatman: The Animated Series,Grossology andJohnny Bravo, but it was in 1989 that Wells starred in and voiced the animated character that he is perhaps best remembered by younger audiences as Luigi fromThe Super Mario Bros. Super Show!.^[10][11]

In an interview with "Slam" magazine, Wells recalled the popularity of the show: "We went on the air, three o'clock in the afternoon, with no publicity or P.R. at all. There was no pre-build-up to this show, nothing ... they just threw us out there. In three weeks, we became number one. We beat Disney, we beat everybody, without any publicity, without any help from anybody, this show went to the number one daytime cartoon show. They put us up against Mickey Mouse, it didn't matter, we beat them. It was amazing."^[12]

According to his cousin, television reviewerAlan Sepinwall, Wells worked steadily throughout the 1970s and 1980s.^[13] In 1975, Wells landed the role of "Charlie the Bartender" on theCBS television showThe Jeffersons. His character, Charlie, owned "Charlie's Bar" on the first floor of the Colby East luxury apartment building where the Jeffersons and Willises resided. On the show, Wells' character would offer advice to the residents.

Charlie the Bartender quickly became a recurring^[13] role and towards the end of the series, he even had a few central episodes written specifically for him. In season 9, episode 5 ("Charlie's Angels"), Charlie borrows money from Tom Willis (played byFranklin Cover) in hopes of upgrading his bar and increasing business by way of risque dressed waitresses. Louise (played byIsabel Sanford) and Helen (played byRoxie Roker) take offense when they feel that the changes are exploiting the women. At the beginning of the final season, Charlie is facing eviction. George becomes partners with Charlie and buys the bar. In episode 17 of season 11, ("A Secret in the Back Room") it is discovered that Charlie has been sleeping in the back room due to a serious drinking problem that has separated him from his wife. George and Louise help him get his life back together. In another episode, Charlie's bar is just breaking even. Louise plans to put the bar back in the black with a private party for a biker gang ("The Gang’s All Here").

Wells died in Toronto on November 28, 2013, ofcancer at the age of 72. He was buried inMount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery inLos Angeles,California.^[14] For fans ofThe Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, Wells' death was poignant since it wasNintendo's "Year of Luigi" and the 30th Anniversary celebration of the character (1983).^[15] His obituary states that "Danny followed his dreams ... he made them laugh."^[16] Wells' headstone inscription reads: "Keep 'em laughing."

• Danny Wells atIMDb
• Celebrities: Danny Wells^{[permanent dead link]}
• List ofThe Jeffersons Characters
• Danny Wells atFind a Grave

• 1941 births
• 2013 deaths
• Canadian male comedians
• Canadian male film actors
• Canadian expatriate male actors in the United States
• Canadian male television actors
• Canadian male voice actors
• Comedians from Montreal
• Deaths from cancer in Ontario
• Jewish Canadian comedians
• Jewish Canadian male actors
• Male actors from Montreal
• Burials at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery
• 20th-century Canadian male actors
• 21st-century Canadian male actors
• Anglophone Quebec people

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from May 2023
• Articles with hCards
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from October 2016
• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from January 2018
• Articles with permanently dead external links