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Ed Wynn

Character Actor / Radio Personality / Composer / Theatrical Producer / Theatre Director / Showman | * 11/09/1886 († 79, 06/19/1966) | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States of America (USA))
Isaiah Edwin Leopold (November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966), better known as Ed Wynn, was an American actor and comedian. He began his career in vaudeville in 1903 and was known for his Perfect Fool comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a dramatic actor, which continued into the 1960s. His variety show (1949–1950), The Ed Wynn Show, won a Peabody Award and an Emmy Award. ()

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, ad-libbed spot with Graham McNamee during an NBC experimental television broadcast. In the 1949–50 season, Ed Wynn hosted one of the first network, comedy-variety 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 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 1958–59 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 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.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 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 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.

Photo of Ed Wynn
Most frequent genres for this person: Comedies | Drama | Kids & Family

Known for these Movies & Shows

Awards & Nominations for Ed Wynn

Disney Legends Star On Hollywood Walk of Fame Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
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Movies with Ed Wynn as Actor(33)

as Self (archive footage)2021 Boulevard! A Hollywood Story
as Himself (archive footage)2008 Shemp Cocktail: A Toast to the Original Stooge
as (archive footage)1976 That's Entertainment, Part II
as Rufus1967 The Gnome-Mobile
as The Emperor (voice)1966 The Daydreamer
as The Captain1965 Dear Brigitte
as Ed Parker1965 Those Calloways
as Mr. Hofstedder1965 That Darn Cat!
as Uncle Albert1964 Mary Poppins
as College Professor1963 The Sound of Laughter
as A.J. Allen1963 Son of Flubber
as Toymaker1961 Babes in Toyland
as himself1961 Back Stage Party
as Fire Chief1961 The Absent-Minded Professor
as Fairy Godfather1960 Cinderfella
as Kris Kringle1959 Miracle On 34th Street
as Albert Dussell1959 The Diary of Anne Frank
as Grandpa1959 Meet Me in St. Louis
as Uncle Samson1958 Marjorie Morningstar
as 'Gramps' Northrup1957 On Borrowed Time
as Paul Beaseley1956 The Great Man
as Mad Hatter (voice)1951 Alice in Wonderland
as himself1951 Operation Wonderland
as himself1943 Stage Door Canteen
as Cigar Store Customer (uncredited)1933 Turn Back the Clock
as Henry Summers1933 The Chief
as himself1932 Hollywood on Parade
as Crickets1930 Follow the Leader
as Homer Thrush1927 Rubber Heels

TV Shows/Series with Ed Wynn as Actor(24)

as Self - Host1964 The Hollywood Palace
as Zachary Belden1963 Burke's Law
as Bateman1959 Rawhide
as Lou Bookman1959 The Twilight Zone
as Sam Forstmann1959 The Twilight Zone
as John Beamer1958 The Ed Wynn Show
as himself1956 The Steve Allen Show
as Army1956 Playhouse 90
as Professor Franz1953 GE Theater
as Max Grossblatt1953 GE Theater
as himself1952 This Is Your Life
as Gramps1951 Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Host1950 Four Star Revue
as Self - Mystery Guest1950 What's My Line?
as himself1948 The Ed Sullivan Show

Full Name: Ed Wynn
Born: Tuesday, 11/09 1886 (November) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States of America (USA))
Died: Sunday, 06/19 1966 (June) in Beverly Hills (aged: 79)
Zodiac sign: Scorpio (Chinese zodiac sign: Dog)
Languages: English (EN)
Record Label: RCA Victor
Spouses (current/former): Hilda Keenan, Frieda Mierse, Dorothy Elizabeth Nesbitt
Children: Keenan Wynn
Other names for Ed Wynn (nicknames, foreign languages etc.):
"Isaiah Edwin Leopold"
Ed Wynn frequently works together with these people:
Mickey Rooney (19x, Actor)
Keenan Wynn (19x, Actor)
Robert McCord (18x, Actor)
Maurice Evans (16x, Actor)
Burgess Meredith (15x, Actor)
Charlton Heston (14x, Actor)
Robert Cummings (13x, Actor)
Edgar Bergen (13x, Actor)
Fred MacMurray (12x, Actor)
Julie Harris (12x, Actress)
Shelley Berman (12x, Actor)
Walt Disney (10x, Crew)
WatchPlayStream ID: PEOPLE:4043, Added: 03/23/2018, Last updated: 03/22/2024