Paul Winchell (December 21, 1922 – June 24, 2005) was an American ventriloquist, actor, and comedian whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. From 1950-1954, he hosted The Paul Winchell Show, which also used two other titles during its prime time run on NBC, The Speidel Show, and What's My Name?. From 1965-1968, Winchell hosted the children's television series, Winchell-Mahoney Time.Winchell made guest appearances on Emmy Award-winning television series from the late 1950s to the mid 1970s, such as Perry Mason, The Dick Van Dyke Show, McMillan & Wife, The Donna Reed Show, and two appearances as Homer Winch on The Beverly Hillbillies in 1962. In animation, he was the original voice of Tigger, Dick Dastardly, Gargamel, and other characters.Winchell, who had medical training, was also an inventor, becoming the first person to build and patent a mechanical artificial heart, implantable in the chest cavity (US Patent #3097366). He has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in television.
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| 1 | His most famous puppets each had a distinctive name for him. Jerry Mahoney called him "Winch" and Knucklehead Smiff referred to him as "Mr. Winkle". |
| 2 | Formerly courted June Foray. |
| 3 | Was the voice for the "scrubbing bubbles" mascot for Dow Bathroom Cleaner, and after Dow sold its consumer products line to S.C. Johnson, the product was renamed to Scrubbing Bubbles. |
| 4 | Recounts, in his autobiography, "Winch", about overcoming a severe childhood stutter, and tells about being severely abused by his mother. He had horrendous relationships with all of his children, according to his daughter, April Winchell, as told on her website (www.aprilwinchell.com) and book. |
| 5 | Died one day before the death of John Fiedler, who was the voice of Piglet in the animated Winnie the Pooh specials and films. |
| 6 | He won a $17.8-million jury verdict in his lawsuit against Metromedia Inc. over Metromedia's destruction of the only remaining tapes of his Winchell-Mahoney Time (1965) children's television series. Metromedia, which produced the show from 1964 to 1968, erased the 288 tapes in a dispute with Winchell over the syndication rights. |
| 7 | Published the book "Ventriloquism for Fun and Profit" in 1954. |
| 8 | Other famous cartoon voices over the years included Gargamel in "The Smurfs," the mustache-twirling Dick Dastardly of Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines (1969) and Boomer in The Fox and the Hound (1981). |
| 9 | Credits his British born third wife Jean who came up with Tigger's signature phrase "TTFN: Ta-ta for now". |
| 10 | Earned a 1974 Grammy award for Best Children's Recording with "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" from the feature Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974). He was also nominated for an Annie award for the animated feature Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin (1997). |
| 11 | Became the voice for Tigger in 1968 for the Walt Disney Company's Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968) which earned an Academy Award for best animated short. He retired the vocal role after 33 years with "Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving" in 1999 at the age of 76. Jim Cummings, who voiced Pooh since the death of Sterling Holloway, took over the role of Tigger. |
| 12 | Started his career with a puppet named Terry in 1936 on radio's "Major Bowes Original Amateur Hour," and earned first prize. When Paul was not satisfied with the figure that Frank Marshall had carved for him, It looked like Paul, he created Jerry Mahoney by modifying a stock figure (Noseyboy) from the Frank Marshall's line of dummies. His dim-witted Knucklehead Smiff puppet debuted in 1950 on TV's "The Spiedel Show," which was later renamed "What's My Name?" was a Jerry Mahoney that "Winch" later modified himself. |
| 13 | Held patents on over 30 devices, a flameless cigarette lighter, an invisible garter belt, a method of breeding Tilapia fish so that poorer countries could feed their citizens, and an indicator to show when frozen food had gone bad after a power outage. As for his major achievement, the artificial heart, which he built in 1963, was donated to the University of Utah for research. The first implant on a human happened in 1982.Paul Winchell invented the disposable razor which he neglected to get a patent on. when friends told him "Who would buy a razor just to throw it away?" Paul abandoned the idea, later to Winch's dismay, a major razor company proved Paul was right! |
| 14 | Attended Columbia University, then studied and practiced acupuncture and hypnosis, the latter of which he used on his son Stacy when he underwent a tonsillectomy. |
| 15 | Named television's most versatile performer by Look magazine in 1952 and 1953. |
| 16 | Was extremely shy as a youth and had a stuttering problem. Awed by famed ventriloquist Edgar Bergen (who became his idol) and his monocled dummy Charlie McCarthy as a youth, Paul learned to throw his own voice and gradually overcame his speech impediment. |
| 17 | Second wife, Nina Russel, was an actress. Their child April Winchell was born in 1960, and has done her father proud by becoming a top-notch vocal artist of her own. She has voiced "Clarabelle Cow", "Baby Herman's Mother", "Peg" in the Goof Troop (1992) series, and "Cruelle De Vil" for Disney; and contributed voices for such TV shows as The Simpsons (1989), and films such as Men in Black (1997). |
| 18 | Winchell worked for years developing his ideas on artificial hearts and was mentioned in the news stories about the Utah man who got the first artificial heart and later when the Jarvik heart came to the fore. He hold several patents in artificial organ development. |
| 19 | Father of five children: Stephanie and Stacy (with first wife, Dottie Morse); April Winchell (with second wife, Nina Russel); and has adopted Larry and Keith (through his third wife, Jean Freeman). He's also got three grandchildren. |
| 20 | Skilled voice-over artist for many Disney and Hanna-Barbera films. |
| 21 | His puppet side-kicks, Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff, are now in the Smithsonian Institution. |
| 22 | Ventriloquist star from 1950s and 1960s television and films. |
| 23 | Winchell was an amateur medical inventor who patented an artificial human heart. |
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| Sing Along Songs: Sing a Song with Pooh Bear and Piglet Too | 2003 | Video short | |
| Winnie the Pooh: Imagine That, Christopher Robin | 1999 | Video short | Tigger (voice) |
| Winnie the Pooh Friendship: Clever Little Piglet | 1999 | Video | Tigger (voice) |
| Winnie the Pooh Friendship: Pooh Wishes | 1999 | Video short | Tigger (voice) |
| Winnie the Pooh Learning: Working Together | 1999 | Video | Tigger (voice) |
| Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You | 1999 | TV Movie | Tigger (voice) |
| Winnie the Pooh Playtime: Fun 'N Games | 1998 | Video | Tigger (voice) |
| Winnie the Pooh Playtime: Happy Pooh Day | 1998 | Video | Tigger (voice) |
| A Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving | 1998 | Video short | Tigger (voice) |
| Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin | 1997 | Video | Tigger (voice) |
| Winnie the Pooh Un-Valentine's Day | 1995 | Video | Tigger (voice) |
| Garfield and Friends | 1991-1994 | TV Series | Gramps / Mr. Baggett |
| Winnie the Pooh Playtime: Cowboy Pooh | 1994 | Video | Tigger (voice) |
| Winnie the Pooh Playtime: Detective Tigger | 1994 | Video | Tigger (voice) |
| Winnie the Pooh & Christmas Too | 1991 | TV Short | Tigger (voice) |
| Wake, Rattle & Roll | 1990 | TV Series | Dick Dastardly (1990) (voice) |
| Adventures of the Gummi Bears | 1985-1990 | TV Series | Zummi Gummi / Nip / Shepherd / ... |
| The Smurfs | 1981-1989 | TV Series | Gargamel Baby Smurf |
| Winnie the Pooh Friendship: Tigger-ific Tales | 1988 | Video short | Tigger (voice) |
| Yogi's Treasure Hunt | 1985-1988 | TV Series | Dick Dastardly |
| Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose | 1987 | TV Movie | Dread Baron (voice) |
| The Kingdom Chums: Little David's Adventure | 1986 | TV Movie | King Saul (voice) |
| Smurfquest | 1986 | TV Movie | Gargamel (voice) |
| The Jetsons | 1985 | TV Series | Dr. Input |
| Here Are the Smurfs | 1984 | TV Movie | Gargamel (voice) |
| Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore | 1983 | Short | Tigger (voice) |
| The Smurfic Games | 1983 | TV Movie | Gargamel (voice) |
| The Smurfs Christmas Special | 1982 | TV Movie | Gargamel (voice) |
| Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color | 1982 | TV Series | Tigger (segment "Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too") |
| Meatballs and Spaghetti | 1982 | TV Series voice | |
| The Smurfs Springtime Special | 1982 | TV Short | Gargamel (voice) |
| Spider-Man | 1982 | TV Series | Silvermane |
| My Smurfy Valentine | 1982 | TV Movie | Gargamel (voice) |
| Trollkins | 1981 | TV Series | Mayor Lumpkin |
| The Flintstones: Wind-Up Wilma | 1981 | TV Short | Umpire / Thief / Reporter (voice) |
| The Fox and the Hound | 1981 | | Boomer (voice) |
| Heathcliff | 1980 | TV Series | Marmaduke (1981-1982) (voice) |
| The Super Globetrotters | 1979 | TV Series | Bad Blue Bart |
| Casper and the Angels | 1979 | TV Series voice | |
| To Catch a Halibut | 1978 | Short | Fearless Freddy (voice) |
| The Robonic Stooges | 1978 | TV Series | Moe (voice) |
| All-Star Comedy Ice Revue | 1978 | TV Movie | Bubi Bear / Fleego (voice) |
| Fred Flintstone and Friends | 1977 | TV Series voice | |
| C B Bears | 1977 | TV Series | Shake (voice) |
| The Skatebirds | 1977 | TV Series | Moe Howard Woofer (voice) |
| The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh | 1977 | | Tigger (voice) |
| Clue Club | 1976 | TV Series | Woofer |
| Joe Forrester | 1976 | TV Series | |
| The Man from Clover Grove | 1975 | | Jefferson Swickle |
| The Tiny Tree | 1975 | TV Short | Turtle (voice) |
| The Oddball Couple | 1975 | TV Series | Fleabag (voice) |
| Adams of Eagle Lake | 1975 | TV Series | Monty |
| Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too | 1974 | Short | Tigger (voice) |
| Hong Kong Phooey | 1974 | TV Series | Mr. Shrink / The Mayor |
| Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch | 1974 | TV Series | Revs |
| These Are the Days | 1974 | TV Series voice | |
| Little Boa Peep | 1974 | Short | Dr. Owlsley-Hoot / Ed / Caterpillar / ... (voice, uncredited) |
| Goober and the Ghost Chasers | 1973 | TV Series | Goober / Stage Manager / Macbeth's Ghost |
| Yogi's Gang | 1973 | TV Series | |
| Dr. Seuss on the Loose | 1973 | TV Short | Sneetches / Sam-I-Am / Green Eggs and Ham Hater (voice) |
| Blue Aces Wild | 1973 | Short | Wizard (voice) |
| Killarney Blarney | 1973 | Short | Jamie / Timmy (voice) |
| Circle of Fear | 1973 | TV Series | Mr. Carlson |
| A Christmas Story | 1972 | TV Movie | Goober (voice) |
| The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie | 1972 | TV Series | Ronk / Mr. McGurk / Haji / ... |
| McMillan & Wife | 1972 | TV Series | TV Interviewer |
| The New Scooby-Doo Movies | 1972 | TV Series | Voice |
| Love, American Style | 1969-1972 | TV Series | Sam Mayberry (segment "Love and the New Act") / Harry Watkins (segment "Love and Lover's Lane") / Harvey (segment "Love and the Nutsy Girl") / ... |
| Why We Have Elections, or The Kings of Snark | 1972 | Short | Narrator (voice, uncredited) |
| Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch! | 1971 | TV Series | Bubi Bear |
| The Brady Bunch | 1971 | TV Series | Skip Farnum |
| The Wizard of Id | 1970 | | The King of Id / Peasant (voice) |
| Nanny and the Professor | 1970 | TV Series | Herbert T. Peabody |
| The AristoCats | 1970 | | Shun Gon- Chinese Cat (voice) |
| Which Way to the Front? | 1970 | | Schroeder |
| Goldilocks | 1970 | TV Short | Bobcat, other animals (voice) |
| The Perils of Penelope Pitstop | 1969-1970 | TV Series | Clyde / Softy |
| Here's Lucy | 1969-1970 | TV Series | Carlo, The Tailor / French Knife Thrower / Little Old Jeweler |
| Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines | 1969-1970 | TV Series | Dick Dastardly / The General |
| The Pink Panther Show | 1969 | TV Series | Fearless Freddy the Shark Hunter (1976-1977) (voice) |
| Vernon's Volunteers | 1969 | TV Movie | Chief Vernon |
| The Flying Nun | 1969 | TV Series | Claudio |
| Laugh-In | 1968-1969 | TV Series | Lucky Pierre |
| Wacky Races | 1968-1969 | TV Series | Dick Dastardly / Clyde / Pvt. Meekley |
| The Banana Splits Adventure Hour | 1969 | TV Series | Fleegle |
| Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day | 1968 | Short | Tigger (voice) |
| The Virginian | 1968 | TV Series | Jingo |
| The Lucy Show | 1967 | TV Series | Doc Putman |
| The Dick Van Dyke Show | 1966 | TV Series | Claude Wilbur |
| Day in Court | 1964 | TV Series | |
| Perry Mason | 1964 | TV Series | Henry Clement |
| The Donna Reed Show | 1963 | TV Series | Mr. Morton / Auctioneer |
| 77 Sunset Strip | 1963 | TV Series | Skeets Riley |
| The Beverly Hillbillies | 1962 | TV Series | Homer Winch |
| Saints and Sinners | 1962 | TV Series | The Promoter |
| Dan Raven | 1960 | TV Series | Morgan |
| The Lineup | 1959 | TV Series | |
| Season's Greetings | 1953 | TV Movie | |
| Lights Out | 1949 | TV Series | |
| Everything's on Ice | 1939 | | Voice of Dummy |
| Pearl of Love | 1925 | | Atkinson |
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story | 2009 | Documentary performer: "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" | |
| Halloween Is Grinch Night | 1977 | TV Short performer: "Grinch is Gonna Get You / Members of the Un-human Race / The Spooks Tour" | |
| The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh | 1977 | performer: "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers", "Hip-Hip Pooh-ray!" | |
| The Tiny Tree | 1975 | TV Short performer: "Tell It To A Turtle" | |
| Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too | 1974 | Short performer: "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" | |
| The AristoCats | 1970 | performer: "Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat" | |
| Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day | 1968 | Short performer: "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" | |
| The Beverly Hillbillies | 1962 | TV Series performer - 1 episode | |
| Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall | 1956 | TV Series performer - 1 episode | |
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: The Story Behind the Masterpiece | 2002 | Video documentary short | Himself - Voice of 'Tigger' |
| The Disney Family Album | 1985 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Runaround | 1972 | TV Series | Host |
| The Hollywood Squares | 1969-1972 | TV Series | Himself / Himself - Center Square |
| Della | 1969-1970 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Steve Allen Show | 1970 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Joey Bishop Show | 1969 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Storybook Squares | 1969 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Linkletter Show | 1968 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| Talking Pictures | 1968 | TV Movie | Himself |
| The Dean Martin Show | 1967 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Lucy Show | 1966 | TV Series | Himself / Doc Putman |
| Winchell-Mahoney Time | 1965 | TV Series | Himself / Mr. Mahoney / Mr. Knucklehead (voice) |
| The Hollywood Palace | 1964 | TV Series | Himself - Ventriloquist |
| Your First Impression | 1963 | TV Series | Himself |
| Candid Camera | 1961 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| The Jack Paar Tonight Show | 1961 | TV Series | Himself |
| Stop! Look! and Laugh! | 1960 | | Himself - Ventriloquist |
| The Arthur Murray Party | 1957-1960 | TV Series | Himself |
| Keep Talking | 1959 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Polly Bergen Show | 1957 | TV Series | Himself - Guest Ventrilquist |
| The Pat Boone-Chevy Showroom | 1957 | TV Series | Himself |
| What's My Line? | 1952-1956 | TV Series | Himself - Guest Panelist / Jerry Mahoney |
| The Julius LaRosa Show | 1956 | TV Series | Himself |
| Person to Person | 1956 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall | 1956 | TV Series | Himself - Ventriloquist |
| The Paul Winchell Show | 1950-1956 | TV Series | Himself - Host / Himself |
| I've Got a Secret | 1953-1955 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| The Colgate Comedy Hour | 1951-1955 | TV Series | Himself / Himself - Ventriloquist |
| Texaco Star Theatre | 1949-1954 | TV Series | Himself - Ventriloquist |
| The Dave Garroway Show | 1954 | TV Series | Himself |
| All Star Summer Revue | 1952 | TV Series | Himself - Host |
| All Star Revue | 1952 | TV Series | Himself - Host |
| The Saturday Night Revue with Jack Carter | 1951 | TV Series | Himself |
| Your Show of Shows | 1950 | TV Series | Himself - Guest Performer |
| The Ed Sullivan Show | 1948-1950 | TV Series | Himself - Ventriloquist / Himself |
| Cavalcade of Stars | 1949-1950 | TV Series | Himself - Guest Ventriloquist / Himself |
| The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse | 1948 | TV Series | Himself - Guest Ventriloquist |
| The Bigelow Show | 1948 | TV Series | Himself (regular performer) |
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$850,000
