Danny Wells facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Danny Wells
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Wells in 2009
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| Born |
Jack Westelman
April 7, 1941 |
| Died | November 28, 2013 (aged 72) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1972–2013 |
Jack Westelman (born April 7, 1941 – died November 28, 2013), known as Danny Wells, was a Canadian actor. He was famous for playing Charlie, the friendly bartender on the TV show The Jeffersons. He was also well-known for his role as Luigi in the live-action and cartoon series The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!.
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Discovering Danny Wells: Early Acting Career
Danny Wells was born in Montreal, Canada on April 7, 1941. His acting journey began in 1972 on a comedy TV show called Love, American Style. He worked as an actor for over 40 years.
Wells first appeared in movies in 1975 with The Strongest Man in the World. He then acted in several popular films. These included Private Benjamin (1980) with Goldie Hawn, The Woman in Red (1984) with Gene Wilder, and Magnolia (1999). His last movie was The Last Kiss in 2006.
Most of Wells's work was on television. He appeared in more than 80 TV shows and movies. Some of these included Sanford and Son, CHiPs, The A-Team, and The Fall Guy. He also did voice acting for cartoons and video games.
Voicing Characters: From Cartoons to Video Games
Danny Wells started doing voice work in 1982. He voiced a character in the film Hey Good Looking. After that, he lent his voice to many characters in movies, TV shows, and video games. These included games like Descent 3 and Wizardry 8.
His first cartoon series was Heathcliff and The Catillac Cats in 1984. This led to the movie Heathcliff: The Movie in 1986.
Becoming Luigi: The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Wells voiced characters in other animated series like Batman: The Animated Series and Johnny Bravo. But in 1989, he became famous for playing Luigi in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. Younger audiences often remember him best for this role.
Wells once shared how popular the show became. He said it started with no advertising and quickly became the number one daytime cartoon. It even beat other popular shows at the time.
In 2002, Wells played a film executive named Jack L. Warner in the TV movie "Gleason." He also wrote music for a 1979 TV movie called Never Say Never.
Playing Charlie: The Jeffersons' Bartender
In 1975, Danny Wells got the role of "Charlie the Bartender" on the TV show The Jeffersons. His character, Charlie, owned "Charlie's Bar." This bar was in the same building where the main characters, the Jeffersons and Willises, lived.
Charlie often gave advice to the people living in the building. A funny part of the show was that someone, usually Lionel, would be having drinks with George Jefferson. Charlie would then give them the bill, but George would have already left without paying!
Charlie the Bartender became a regular character on the show. Towards the end of the series, some episodes even focused on him. In one episode, Charlie borrowed money to make his bar better. In another, George Jefferson became partners with Charlie and bought the bar. George and Louise helped Charlie get his life back on track in a later episode.
Remembering Danny Wells
Danny Wells passed away in Toronto on November 28, 2013, at the age of 72. He was buried in Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. His death was especially meaningful for fans of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. This was because 2013 was Nintendo's "Year of Luigi," celebrating 30 years of the character. His obituary said that "Danny followed his dreams ... he made them laugh." His headstone reads: "Keep 'em laughing."
Images for kids
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Wells in 2009
