Ed Wynn
Born
November 9, 1886
Died
June 19, 1966 (79 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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.

Boulevard! A Hollywood Story
Self (archive footage)
2021

Shemp Cocktail: A Toast to the Original Stooge
Self (archive footage)
2008

That's Entertainment, Part II
(archive footage)
1976

Hooray for Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
1976

The Gnome-Mobile
Rufus
1967

The Daydreamer
The Emperor (voice)
1966

That Darn Cat!
Mr. Hofstedder
1965

The Greatest Story Ever Told
Old Aram
1965

Dear Brigitte
The Captain
1965

Mary Poppins
Uncle Albert
1964

Those Calloways
Ed Parker
1964

The Patsy
Ed Wynn
1964

For the Love of Willadean
Alfred
1964

The Sound of Laughter
College Professor
1963

Son of Flubber
A.J. Allen
1963

The Golden Horseshoe Revue
Self
1962

The New March of Dimes Presents: The Scene Stealers
Self
1962

Backstage Party
Self
1961

Babes in Toyland
Toymaker
1961

The Absent-Minded Professor
Fire Chief
1961

Cinderfella
Fairy Godfather
1960

Miracle On 34th Street
Kris Kringle
1959

Meet Me in St. Louis
Grandpa
1959

The Diary of Anne Frank
Albert Dussell
1959

Marjorie Morningstar
Uncle Samson
1958
On Borrowed Time
'Gramps' Northrup
1957

The Great Man
Paul Beaseley
1956

Requiem for a Heavyweight
Army
1956

Alice in Wonderland
Mad Hatter (voice)
1951

Operation Wonderland
Self
1951

Stage Door Canteen
Ed Wynn
1943

The Three Stooges: Live and Hilarious
1941

The Chief
Henry Summers
1933

Turn Back the Clock
Cigar Store Customer (uncredited)
1933

Hollywood on Parade
Self
1932

Follow the Leader
Cricket
1930

Rubber Heels
Homer Thrush
1927

Reflections on Alice
Mad Hatter (voice) / Self

The Hollywood Palace
Self - Host · (1 episode)
1964

Burke's Law
Zachary Belden · (1 episode)
1963

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · (1 episode)
1962

Startime
(1 episode)
1959

The Twilight Zone
Lou Bookman · (1 episode)
1959

The Twilight Zone
Sam Forstmann · (1 episode)
1959

Bonanza
Professor Phineas T. Klump · (1 episode)
1959

Rawhide
Bateman · (1 episode)
1959

77 Sunset Strip
Feigenstein · (1 episode)
1958

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Self · (1 episode)
1958

The Ed Wynn Show
John Beamer · (16 episodes)
1958

Wagon Train
Cappy Darrin · (1 episode)
1957

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Self · (1 episode)
1956

Playhouse 90
Army · (1 episode)
1956

The Steve Allen Show
Self · (2 episodes)
1956

The 20th Century Fox Hour
John Hodges · (1 episode)
1955

The Wonderful World of Disney
A.J. Allen (archive footage) · (1 episode)
1954

The Wonderful World of Disney
The Mad Hatter (voice) (archive footage) · (1 episode)
1954

The Wonderful World of Disney
Self · (2 episodes)
1954

The Wonderful World of Disney
Alfred · (2 episodes)
1954

December Bride
Self · (1 episode)
1954

General Electric Theater
Professor Franz · (1 episode)
1953

General Electric Theater
Max Grossblatt · (1 episode)
1953

This Is Your Life
Self · (1 episode)
1952

Hallmark Hall of Fame
Gramps · (1 episode)
1951

The Red Skelton Show
Self · (1 episode)
1951

The Red Skelton Show
Self / Colonel Jungle-Rot Freeloader · (1 episode)
1951

The Red Skelton Show
Muggsy · (2 episodes)
1951

The Red Skelton Show
Fairy Godfather · (1 episode)
1951

The Red Skelton Show
Guest Host · (1 episode)
1951
Four Star Revue
Host · (1 episode)
1950

The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self · (3 episodes)
1950

The Bob Hope Show
Self · (1 episode)
1950

What's My Line?
Self - Mystery Guest · (1 episode)
1950
The Ed Wynn Show
Host · (39 episodes)
1949

The Emmy Awards
Self · (1 episode)
1949

The Ed Sullivan Show
Self · (4 episodes)
1948