Ed Wynn

Isaiah Edwin Leopold November 9 1886 June 19 1966 better known as Ed Wynn was an American actor and comedian noted for his Perfect Fool comedy character his pioneering radio show of the 1930s and his later career as a dramatic actor Ed Wynn first appeared on television on July 7 1936 in a brief adlibbed spot with Graham McNamee during an NBC experimental television broadcast In the 194950 season Ed Wynn hosted one of the first network comedyvariety television shows on CBS and won both a Peabody Award and 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 from Los Angeles which was seen live on the west coast but filmed via kinescope for distribution in the Midwest and East as the national coaxial cable had yet to be completed Wynn was also a rotating host of NBCs Four Star Revue from 1950 through 1952 After the end of Wynns third television series The Ed Wynn Show a shortlived situation comedy on NBCs 195859 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 movies Father and son appeared in three productions the first of which was the 1956 Playhouse 90 broadcast of Rod Serlings 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 pitchperfect 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 Requiem established Wynn as a 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 Serlings 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 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