Paul Winchell

Born Paul Wilchinsky on December 21, 1922, the son of Sol and Clara Wilchinsky, Paul Winchell grew up to be the most beloved ventriloquist of American children. Ironically, as famous as Paul was, his dummy, Jerry Mahoney, was probably more famous. Not since Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy in the previous two decades had a ventriloquist and his dummy known equal celebrity.

Entering the spotlight on the Edward Bowes "Original Amateur Hour" (1948), he began working soon after in a review show in which Major Bowes would showcase the winners of his radio program. He started his television career on the CBS program The Bigelow Show (1948) in 1948; The Paul Winchell Show (1950), originally called "The Spiedel Show," in 1950; and, finally, the best-known of his shows Winchell-Mahoney Time (1965). With a clubhouse premise, his dummies Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff--another of Paul's characters--as the clubhouse leaders, and the music of the bandleader Milton Delugg. A new innovation of Winchell's was to replace the dummy's hands with those of puppeteers who were hidden behind the dummies in a crate. Winch also played many serous dramatic roles on television without his dummy sidekicks.

What may be even more famous is that he created the voice of Tigger for the Walt Disney Company's "Winnie The Pooh" motion-picture series, based on the famous books by A.A. Milne. He played the role behind the scenes until 1999, when he was replaced by Jim Cummings, who also voiced Pooh from the time that Sterling Holloway died. He was also the voice of many other world-famous cartoon characters.

A little-known fact about Winchell is that he was one of the original inventors of an artificial heart--years before the first successful transplant with such of a device--an automobile that runs on battery power, a method for breeding tilapia, and many other inventions that are still around today.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: MeanDean

The Aristocats

7.3

The Fox and the Hound

7.1

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

7.2

The Flintstones

7.4

The Smurfs

6.9

The Jetsons

7.2

Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin

7.2

Garfield and Friends

7.2

The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

7.7

Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears

7.4

Wacky Races

7.3

Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year

6.9

The Brady Bunch

6.7

Perry Mason

7.7

The Beverly Hillbillies

6.8

Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day

7.3

Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines

7.2

Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving

6.8

Hong Kong Phooey

6.3

Spider-Man

7.2

Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too

8.0

Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore

6.7

The Lucy Show

7.0

The Perils of Penelope Pitstop

6.2

Winnie the Pooh & Christmas Too

6.9

Heathcliff

6.4

Droopy, Master Detective

5.5

Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You

6.9

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

6.5

Which Way to the Front?

4.8

Here's Lucy

6.7

The Smurfs Christmas Special

6.4

The Banana Splits Adventure Hour

7.2

What's My Line?

6.8

77 Sunset Strip

6.7

McMillan & Wife

7.1

My Smurfy Valentine

7.3

The Ed Sullivan Show

6.6

Winnie the Pooh: Un-Valentine's Day

7.0

The Smurfs Springtime Special

6.7

Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose

6.8

The Dean Martin Show

7.3

Winnie the Pooh: Frankenpooh

7.4

Dr. Seuss on the Loose

7.1

Love, American Style

6.0

A Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving

6.6

The Flintstones: Wind-Up Wilma

6.9

The Donna Reed Show

6.1

Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!

6.9

The Smurfic Games

6.8

In Search of Dr. Seuss

7.8

The Colgate Comedy Hour

7.0

Nanny and the Professor

6.0

Ghost Story

7.1

Yogi's Treasure Hunt

7.2

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: The Story Behind the Masterpiece

6.0

The Lone Ranger

6.4

The Mike Douglas Show

5.1

Killarney Blarney

5.0

Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch

6.8

Everything's on Ice

4.8

Blue Aces Wild

5.0

Goober and the Ghost Chasers

5.6

Stop! Look! and Laugh!

4.3

The Magical World of Winnie the Pooh: A Great Day of Discovery

8.0

The Hollywood Palace

4.5

Clue Club

4.0

A Christmas Story

3.0

The Banana Splits in Hocus Pocus Park

5.2

The Robonic Stooges

4.3

Lights Out

5.3

Joe Forrester

7.0

Winnie the Pooh: Spookable Fun

9.0

The Smurfs: Baby's First Christmas

4.5

The Tiny Tree

6.0

Winnie the Pooh: Playtime - Pooh Party

8.5

Here Are the Smurfs

7.0

The Oddball Couple

8.0

Kingdom Chums - Little David's Adventure

10.0

Gummi Bears: A New Beginning

6.0

Hanna-Barbera's All-Star Comedy Ice Revue

5.0

Wake, Rattle, and Roll

6.0

Your Show of Shows

5.5

Trollkins

6.0

Fender Bender 500

6.0

The Paul Winchell Show

7.0

The Wizard of Id

0.0

Goldilocks

0.0

The 1st Annual NBC Yummy Awards

0.0

Winnie the Pooh Playtime: Cowboy Pooh

0.0

The Man from Clover Grove

0.0

Vernon's Volunteers

0.0

Pearl of Love

0.0

Romeo and Smurfette

0.0

Circus Time

0.0

The Bigelow Show

0.0

Shake, Rattle and Roll

0.0