Paul Winchell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Paul Winchell
Winchell in 1951
Born	Paul Wilchinsky (1922-12-21)December 21, 1922 New York City, U.S.
Died	June 24, 2005(2005-06-24) (aged 82) Moorpark, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor comedian humanitarian inventor ventriloquist
Years active	1938–1999
Spouse(s)	Dorothy Movitz (divorced) Nina Russel ​ ​ (m. 1961; div. 1972)​ Jean Freeman ​ (m. 1974)​
Children	3, including April Winchell

Paul Winchell (born Paul Wilchinsky; December 21, 1922 – June 24, 2005) was an American actor, comedian, and ventriloquist. He was also an inventor and helped people through his humanitarian work. His career was very successful in the 1950s and 1960s.

From 1950 to 1954, he hosted The Paul Winchell Show on NBC. Later, from 1965 to 1968, he hosted the popular children's TV series Winchell-Mahoney Time. Paul Winchell also appeared on many famous TV shows, like Perry Mason and The Brady Bunch.

He was also well-known for his voice acting in cartoons. He was the original voice of Tigger in Disney's Winnie-the-Pooh movies. He also voiced Dick Dastardly and Gargamel in Hanna-Barbera cartoons.

Paul Winchell was also an inventor. He was the first person to create and patent a mechanical artificial heart that could be placed inside the body. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in television.

Paul Winchell's Early Life

Paul Wilchinsky was born in New York City on December 21, 1922. His father was a tailor. His grandparents were immigrants from Poland and Austria-Hungary.

When Paul was young, he dreamed of becoming a doctor. However, his family could not afford medical school because of the Great Depression. When he was 6, he got polio, which made his legs weak.

How Paul Winchell Started Ventriloquism

When Paul was about 12 or 13, he saw an advertisement for a ventriloquism kit in a magazine. It only cost ten cents! At school, he asked his art teacher if he could get credit for making a ventriloquist's dummy. The teacher agreed. Paul named his dummy Jerry Mahoney to thank his teacher, Jero Magon.

Paul then read magazines to find jokes and create a comedy act. In 1938, he performed his act on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour and won first prize. Part of his prize was a tour with the Major Bowes Review. A bandleader named Ted Weems saw Paul perform and offered him a job. Paul accepted and became a professional performer at just 14 years old.

Paul Winchell's Career

Ventriloquist Work and Famous Dummies

Winchell with Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff (right) in 1958.

Paul Winchell's most famous ventriloquist dummies were Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff. Jerry Mahoney was carved by a figure maker named Frank Marshall. Paul later had copies of Jerry's head made. One of these copies became the Jerry Mahoney seen on TV.

Paul also had a clever idea for his dummies. He would have actors put their hands into the dummies' sleeves. This made it look like the dummies were moving their own hands while they talked! The original Jerry Mahoney and one Knucklehead Smiff dummy are now kept at the Smithsonian Institution.

Paul's first radio show with Jerry Mahoney was in 1943. He also created a character called Ozwald, who looked like Humpty Dumpty. To create Ozwald, Paul would paint eyes and a nose on his chin. Then, he would cover the rest of his face with a "body" costume. Finally, the camera image was turned upside down, making his chin look like a head!

In the 1950s, Paul Winchell hosted children's shows like The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show. He also hosted shows for adults, always with his dummy friends. His Saturday morning show was sponsored by Tootsie Roll. It had a clubhouse theme and a secret password: "SCOTTY WOTTY DOO DOO".

In 1956, Paul moved to ABC and hosted Circus Time. He later returned to Winchell-Mahoney on Sunday afternoons. Famous guests like The Three Stooges even appeared on his show!

Voice Acting Roles

After 1968, Paul Winchell became very busy doing voices for animated TV shows. For Hanna-Barbera, he voiced many characters. These included Dick Dastardly in Wacky Races and Dastardly and Muttley in their Flying Machines. He was also Fleegle on The Banana Splits Adventure Hour and Gargamel on The Smurfs.

He also voiced Bubi Bear in Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch! and Goober the Dog in Goober and the Ghost Chasers.

For Disney, Paul Winchell was the voice of Tigger in the Winnie-the-Pooh movies. He even won a Grammy Award for his performance as Tigger in Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too. He also voiced Shun Gon, a Siamese cat, in The Aristocats and Boomer the woodpecker in The Fox and the Hound. He was the original voice of Zummi Gummi on Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears.

Paul also voiced Sam-I-Am in Green Eggs and Ham from the TV special Dr. Seuss on the Loose. In commercials, he was the voice of Burger Chef, the Scrubbing Bubbles, and Mr. Owl for Tootsie Roll Pops.

Live-Action TV and Movies

Paul Winchell, often with Jerry Mahoney, was a frequent guest on the game show What's My Line? in 1956. He also made guest appearances on many TV series. These included The Polly Bergen Show, The Virginian, The Lucy Show, and The Donna Reed Show. He played Homer Winch on The Beverly Hillbillies and Claude Wilbur on The Dick Van Dyke Show.

He appeared in a 1960 movie with Three Stooges shorts called Stop!, Look and Laugh. He was also in the Jerry Lewis movie Which Way to the Front?. In the late 1960s, he appeared in a sketch on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in.

Winchell-Mahoney Time

Paul Winchell's most famous TV show was Winchell-Mahoney Time, which aired from 1965 to 1968. It was a children's show written by his wife, Nina Russel. On the show, Paul played many characters. He was Knucklehead Smiff's father, Bonehead Smiff. He also played himself, acting as a friend and adult helper to Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff.

He also created a funny character called "Mr. Goody-good." He made this character by painting eyes and a nose on his chin. Then, he covered his face with a small costume, and the camera image was turned upside down. This made his chin look like a tiny head with a huge mouth!

The show was made at KTTV in Los Angeles. Paul Winchell later tried to buy the tapes of the show. However, the company that owned them, Metromedia, destroyed the tapes instead. Paul sued Metromedia and won a large amount of money in court.

Paul's last regular TV appearances with his puppets were on Storybook Squares (a children's version of Hollywood Squares) and Runaround, another children's game show.

Other Interests and Inventions

Medical Work and Patents

Paul Winchell studied medicine at Columbia University. He later became an acupuncturist in 1974. He also worked as a medical hypnotist.

He held more than 30 patents for his inventions. One of his most important inventions was an artificial heart. He developed it with the help of Dr. Henry Heimlich, who invented the Heimlich maneuver. Paul held an early U.S. patent for this device. He later donated his heart patents to the University of Utah.

There was some discussion about how much of Paul's design Robert Jarvik used for the Jarvik-7. Dr. Heimlich said that the basic idea in both hearts was the same. However, Jarvik said he did not use any of Paul's design elements.

Paul also created other medical inventions for groups like the Leukemia Society and the American Red Cross. Some of his other inventions included a disposable razor, a blood plasma defroster, a flameless cigarette lighter, and battery-heated gloves.

Helping Others as a Philanthropist

In the 1980s, Paul Winchell was concerned about people starving in Africa. He developed a way to raise tilapia fish in small communities. These fish can live in salty water, which made them perfect for parts of Africa. Paul spoke to a government committee with other famous people like Richard Dreyfuss and Ed Asner. He wanted to get funding for his fish farming project in Africa. However, the committee decided not to fund it.

Paul Winchell's Family Life

Winchell with his older daughter and Jerry Mahoney in the Howdy Doody studio audience, c. 1948

Paul Winchell had three children. His son was Stacy Paul Winchell. He had a daughter named Stephanie from his first marriage. His daughter April Winchell is a comedian and voice actress, known as the voice of Clarabelle Cow. She was from his second marriage to actress Nina Russel. His third wife was Jean Freeman.

Paul wrote an autobiography called Winch in 2004. In the book, he shared many personal details about his life, including his struggles with depression. The book caused some disagreements between Paul and his children. His daughter April publicly defended her mother after the book was published.

Paul Winchell's Death

Paul Winchell passed away on June 24, 2005, at the age of 82. He died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Moorpark, California.

His autobiography, "Winch The Autobiography," published in 2004, talked about the difficult experiences he had with his mother when he was young. These experiences continued to affect him for many years.

Paul was survived by his wife, his children, and three grandchildren. His body was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at his home.

After Paul's death, other voice actors took over his famous roles. Jim Cummings became the full-time voice of Tigger. Tom Kenny and Peter Woodward took on the role of Dick Dastardly. Hank Azaria, Rainn Wilson, and Mark Irons became the voice of Gargamel.

Filmography

Film Roles

Television Roles

Video Game Roles

Theme Park Roles

Images for kids

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  Winchell in 1951

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  Winchell with Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff (right) in 1958.

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  Winchell with his older daughter and Jerry Mahoney in the Howdy Doody studio audience, c. 1948

See also

In Spanish: Paul Winchell para niños