Bill Dana
Encyclopedia
Bill Dana is an American
comedian
, actor
, and screenwriter
. He often appeared on television shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show
, frequently in the guise of a heavily-accented Mexican character named José Jiménez. Dana often portrayed the Jiménez character as an astronaut.
Ironically, there was also a NASA
astronaut
named Bill Dana, who twice piloted the North American X-15
rocket plane into space in the late 1960s.
. He is of Hungarian-Jewish descent.
Dana began his career as a page at NBC
's famous Studio 6B while performing comedy in nightclubs around New York with partner Gene Wood
. In the 1950s, he performed on The Imogene Coca
Show, The Danny Thomas Show
, and The Martha Raye
Show, as well as writing for and producing The Spike Jones
Show.
Dana's career took a major turn when he began writing stand-up routines for the young comedian Don Adams
, including the now well-known "Would you believe?" jokes popularized by Get Smart
. From there, he was brought in as a writer for the Steve Allen Show, where he created the José Jiménez character for the show's "Man in the Street" segments.
On an Ed Sullivan Show appearance, Dana related a story of how a woman recognized him on the street, but only knew him as José Jiménez, and asked what his real name was. Instead of his stage name, "Bill Dana", he gave her his real name, "William Szathmary". The woman rejoined: "Wow, no wonder you changed it to Jiménez!"
In the NBC sitcom The Bill Dana Show
(1963–1965), a spinoff of The Danny Thomas Show, Dana's José Jiménez character became a bumbling bellhop at a posh New York hotel. His snooty, irritable boss was played by Jonathan Harris
. The cast also included Don Adams
as a hopelessly inept house detective, in an early incarnation of what was to become his "Maxwell Smart" character on Get Smart
.
Before appearing in front of a television camera for the first time on The Steve Allen Show in 1959, Dana had been a prolific comedy writer, an activity he continued into the 1980s, producing material for other actors on stage and screen. Dana wrote the script for the Get Smart
theatrical film The Nude Bomb
. His brother, Irving Szathmary, wrote the famous theme for the Get Smart television series.
In 1966, Dana wrote the animated TV-movie
Alice in Wonderland (or What’s a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?)
, in which he also supplied the voice of The White Knight (using his José Jiménez voice). That same year, the Jiménez character was animated for the Paramount
cartoon I Want My Mummy, written by Dana in collaboration with Howard Post
.
In May 1967, Dana hosted his own late-night talk show, The Las Vegas Show
, on the new United Network
. Originated live from the Hotel Hacienda
in Las Vegas, Nevada
, the program was cancelled by the end of May when the United Network folded.
Joey Forman
's 1968 parody album about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
, called The Mashuganishi Yogi ("mashugana" meaning crazy or bizarre in Yiddish), was produced by Dana, and includes a cameo of Dana as Jiménez, as well as a cover appearance. The album is a mock news conference, an extended question-and-answer session. The ersatz Puerto Rican–accented Jiménez asks the ersatz Indian-accented Yogi: "Why do you talk so funny?"
In 1970, responding to changing times, Dana stopped portraying the José Jiménez character; however, he played the character again on the 1988 revival of The Smothers Brothers
Comedy Hour. Dana wrote the script for possibly the best known episode of the hit sitcom All in the Family
, entitled "Sammy's Visit", which featured Sammy Davis Jr.
The José Jiménez character was part of several scenes in the 1983 film The Right Stuff. The government officials watch The Ed Sullivan Show
before recruiting the Navy pilots. Sullivan is talking to Jiménez. ("Is that your crash helmet?" "Oh, I hope not!") Later during medical testing, a large, Hispanic worker (played by NFL
offensive tackle Anthony Muñoz
) in the hospital observes Alan Shepard
(Scott Glenn
) being perhaps a little too amused by the character. The hospital worker gets a measure of revenge when it comes time for Shepard to receive an enema.
Dana would also have a recurring role on The Golden Girls
as Sophia Petrillo
's brother Angelo. He also played her father in a flashback. In addition, he played Wendell Balaban on Too Close for Comfort
, as well as Howie Mandel
's father on the series St. Elsewhere
.
Dana reprised the role of Bernardo the servant on the CBS
TV series Zorro and Son, but his performance was different from Gene Sheldon
's silence on the 1950s live-action show. Both series were produced by Walt Disney Productions
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. He often appeared on television shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
, frequently in the guise of a heavily-accented Mexican character named José Jiménez. Dana often portrayed the Jiménez character as an astronaut.
Ironically, there was also a NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
named Bill Dana, who twice piloted the North American X-15
North American X-15
The North American X-15 rocket-powered aircraft/spaceplane was part of the X-series of experimental aircraft, initiated with the Bell X-1, that were made for the USAAF/USAF, NACA/NASA, and the USN. The X-15 set speed and altitude records in the early 1960s, reaching the edge of outer space and...
rocket plane into space in the late 1960s.
Life and career
Dana was born William Szathmary in Quincy, MassachusettsQuincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
. He is of Hungarian-Jewish descent.
Dana began his career as a page at NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's famous Studio 6B while performing comedy in nightclubs around New York with partner Gene Wood
Gene Wood
Eugene Edward "Gene" Wood was an American television personality, known primarily for his work as an announcer on various game shows. From the 1960s to the 1990s, he announced many game shows, primarily Mark Goodson–Bill Todman productions such as Family Feud, Card Sharks, Password, and Beat the...
. In the 1950s, he performed on The Imogene Coca
Imogene Coca
Imogene Fernandez de Coca was an American comic actress best known for her role opposite Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows....
Show, The Danny Thomas Show
The Danny Thomas Show
The Danny Thomas Show is an American sitcom which ran from 1953-1957 on ABC and from 1957-1964 on CBS...
, and The Martha Raye
Martha Raye
Martha Raye was an American comic actress and standards singer who performed in movies, and later on television....
Show, as well as writing for and producing The Spike Jones
Spike Jones
Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and other Warner Brothers cartoon characters, performed a drunken, hiccuping verse for 1942's "Clink! Clink! Another Drink"...
Show.
Dana's career took a major turn when he began writing stand-up routines for the young comedian Don Adams
Don Adams
Don Adams was an American actor, comedian and director. In his five decades on television, he was best known as Maxwell Smart in the television situation comedy Get Smart , which he also sometimes directed and wrote. Adams won three consecutive Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Smart...
, including the now well-known "Would you believe?" jokes popularized by Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
. From there, he was brought in as a writer for the Steve Allen Show, where he created the José Jiménez character for the show's "Man in the Street" segments.
On an Ed Sullivan Show appearance, Dana related a story of how a woman recognized him on the street, but only knew him as José Jiménez, and asked what his real name was. Instead of his stage name, "Bill Dana", he gave her his real name, "William Szathmary". The woman rejoined: "Wow, no wonder you changed it to Jiménez!"
In the NBC sitcom The Bill Dana Show
The Bill Dana Show
The Bill Dana Show was a United States comedy series starring Bill Dana and Jonathan Harris. The plot followed the daily lifestyle of Latin American, Jose Jiminez, as a bellhop in a New York hotel...
(1963–1965), a spinoff of The Danny Thomas Show, Dana's José Jiménez character became a bumbling bellhop at a posh New York hotel. His snooty, irritable boss was played by Jonathan Harris
Jonathan Harris
Jonathan Harris was an American stage and film character actor. Two of his best-known roles were as the timid accountant Bradford Webster in the TV version of The Third Man, and the comic villain Dr. Zachary Smith, in the 1960s sci-fi television series, Lost in Space...
. The cast also included Don Adams
Don Adams
Don Adams was an American actor, comedian and director. In his five decades on television, he was best known as Maxwell Smart in the television situation comedy Get Smart , which he also sometimes directed and wrote. Adams won three consecutive Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Smart...
as a hopelessly inept house detective, in an early incarnation of what was to become his "Maxwell Smart" character on Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
.
Before appearing in front of a television camera for the first time on The Steve Allen Show in 1959, Dana had been a prolific comedy writer, an activity he continued into the 1980s, producing material for other actors on stage and screen. Dana wrote the script for the Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
theatrical film The Nude Bomb
The Nude Bomb
The Nude Bomb is a 1980 comedy film based on the television series Get Smart. It starred Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, and was directed by Clive Donner...
. His brother, Irving Szathmary, wrote the famous theme for the Get Smart television series.
In 1966, Dana wrote the animated TV-movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
Alice in Wonderland (or What’s a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?)
Alice in Wonderland (or What’s a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?)
The New Alice in Wonderland is a forty-eight-and-a-half-minute animated TV-movie, written by Bill Dana , produced by Hanna-Barbera, and broadcast on the ABC network on March 30, 1966, in an hour slot...
, in which he also supplied the voice of The White Knight (using his José Jiménez voice). That same year, the Jiménez character was animated for the Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
cartoon I Want My Mummy, written by Dana in collaboration with Howard Post
Howard Post
Howard Post , aka Howie Post, was an American animator, cartoonist and comic strip and comic book writer-artist....
.
In May 1967, Dana hosted his own late-night talk show, The Las Vegas Show
The Las Vegas Show
The Las Vegas Show is an American late night television program broadcast on the short-lived United Network. The two hour long talk show, hosted by comedian Bill Dana, was supposed to be the flagship program of a planned fourth television network....
, on the new United Network
Overmyer Network
The Overmyer Network was a short-lived television network. It was intended to be a fourth national network in the United States, competing with the Big Three television networks. The network was founded by self-made millionaire Daniel H. Overmyer, who built five UHF stations from 1965-67...
. Originated live from the Hotel Hacienda
Hacienda (resort)
The Hacienda was a Paradise, Nevada hotel/casino that operated on the Las Vegas Strip from 1956 to 1996. It was one of four Hacienda properties owned by Standard Motels, Inc., with the other three being located in Fresno, Bakersfield, and Indio, California. The other Haciendas also featured the...
in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, the program was cancelled by the end of May when the United Network folded.
Joey Forman
Joey Forman
Joey Forman was an American comedian and comic actor. He first attracted attention in Las Vegas as the opening act for Mickey Rooney...
's 1968 parody album about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi , born Mahesh Prasad Varma , developed the Transcendental Meditation technique and was the leader and guru of the TM movement, characterised as a new religious movement and also as non-religious...
, called The Mashuganishi Yogi ("mashugana" meaning crazy or bizarre in Yiddish), was produced by Dana, and includes a cameo of Dana as Jiménez, as well as a cover appearance. The album is a mock news conference, an extended question-and-answer session. The ersatz Puerto Rican–accented Jiménez asks the ersatz Indian-accented Yogi: "Why do you talk so funny?"
In 1970, responding to changing times, Dana stopped portraying the José Jiménez character; however, he played the character again on the 1988 revival of The Smothers Brothers
Smothers Brothers
The Smothers Brothers are Thomas and Richard , American singers, musicians, comedians and folk heroes. The brothers' trademark act was performing folk songs , which usually led to arguments between the siblings...
Comedy Hour. Dana wrote the script for possibly the best known episode of the hit sitcom All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
, entitled "Sammy's Visit", which featured Sammy Davis Jr.
The José Jiménez character was part of several scenes in the 1983 film The Right Stuff. The government officials watch The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
before recruiting the Navy pilots. Sullivan is talking to Jiménez. ("Is that your crash helmet?" "Oh, I hope not!") Later during medical testing, a large, Hispanic worker (played by NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
offensive tackle Anthony Muñoz
Anthony Muñoz
Michael Anthony Muñoz , is a Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive tackle who played most of his career for the National Football League's Cincinnati Bengals...
) in the hospital observes Alan Shepard
Alan Shepard
Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. was an American naval aviator, test pilot, flag officer, and NASA astronaut who in 1961 became the second person, and the first American, in space. This Mercury flight was designed to enter space, but not to achieve orbit...
(Scott Glenn
Scott Glenn
Theodore Scott Glenn is an American actor. His roles have included Wes Hightower in Urban Cowboy , astronaut Alan Shepard in The Right Stuff ,Emmett in Silverado , Commander Bart Mancuso in The Hunt for Red October , Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs and The Wise Man in Sucker Punch -Early...
) being perhaps a little too amused by the character. The hospital worker gets a measure of revenge when it comes time for Shepard to receive an enema.
Dana would also have a recurring role on The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
as Sophia Petrillo
Sophia Petrillo
Sophia Petrillo is a fictional character from the TV series The Golden Girls, and its spin-offs The Golden Palace and Empty Nest. She was portrayed by Estelle Getty for 10 years and 258 episodes and was arguably the breakout character of the show...
's brother Angelo. He also played her father in a flashback. In addition, he played Wendell Balaban on Too Close for Comfort
Too Close for Comfort (TV series)
Too Close for Comfort is an American television sitcom which ran on the ABC network and later in first-run syndication from November 11, 1980 to September 27, 1986. It was modeled after the British series Keep It in the Family, which debuted nine months before Too Close for Comfort debuted in the U.S...
, as well as Howie Mandel
Howie Mandel
Howard Michael "Howie" Mandel is a Canadian stand-up comedian, television host, and actor. He is well known as host of the NBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. Before his career as a game show host, Mandel was best known for his role on...
's father on the series St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood...
.
Dana reprised the role of Bernardo the servant on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
TV series Zorro and Son, but his performance was different from Gene Sheldon
Gene Sheldon
Gene Sheldon was an American film and television actor and musician. He is best remembered as the mute servant Bernardo on Walt Disney's live-action TV series Zorro .-Biography and career:...
's silence on the 1950s live-action show. Both series were produced by Walt Disney Productions
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
.