The Paul Winchell Show
Encyclopedia
The Paul Winchell Show, or The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show, was a variety program which aired on NBC
prime time from 1950
to 1954
, starring ventriloquist Paul Winchell
and his dummy, Jerry Mahoney.
The series was known as The Speidel Show from its premiere on September 18, 1950 until December 1951, when it was renamed for its star. The annual Look
television awards, named for the defunct magazine, were presented on special telecasts of The Paul Winchell Show in December 1952 and December 1953, with top names in show business making appearances.In the awards program which aired on December 20, 1953, the guests were Sid Caesar
. Imogene Coca
, John Charles Daly
, Edward R. Murrow
, and Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
. Jack Webb
was seen on a special film footage.
Winchell and Mahoney got their start in early 1940's radio in the series Major Bowe's Original Amateur Hour. They had a short-lived radio program in 1943. The two debuted on television in 1947 and in 1948, Winchell was a co-host of the prime time The Bigelow Show.
Jerry's personality was that of a sassy wise-cracking child and later adolescent. Winchell increasingly becomes exasperated with his dummy's antics and insolence.
Carol Burnett
made her television debut in a Saturday morning episode of the series in 1955.
as Circus Time. The series then moved to Sunday afternoons until 1961. It returned again to Saturday mornings from 1965 to 1968.
After his television series ended, Winchell focused the remainder of his life in the field of medicine. He patented a blood storage system and an artificial human heart. Winchell still provided the voice of Tigger in Winnie the Pooh.
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...
prime time from 1950
1950 in television
The year 1950 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1950.-Events:*February 12 – European Broadcasting Union inaugurated....
to 1954
1954 in television
The year 1954 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1954.-Events:*January 1 – NBC broadcasts the Rose Parade in NTSC color on 21 stations.*January 3 – RAI launched in Italy....
, starring ventriloquist Paul Winchell
Paul Winchell
Paul Winchell was an American ventriloquist, voice actor and comedian, whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s...
and his dummy, Jerry Mahoney.
Series premise
The program had comedy and dramatic skits, quiz questions, and a section called "What's My Name?", in which in which contestants sought to guess the identity of a celebrity based on a few clues. What's My Name? was also the title of the series in the 1952-1953 season. There was for a time a second dummy too, Knucklehead Smiff. Other cast members were Dorothy Claire, Hilda Vaughn, and Jimmy Blaine.The series was known as The Speidel Show from its premiere on September 18, 1950 until December 1951, when it was renamed for its star. The annual Look
Look (American magazine)
Look was a bi-weekly, general-interest magazine published in Des Moines, Iowa from 1937 to 1971, with more of an emphasis on photographs than articles...
television awards, named for the defunct magazine, were presented on special telecasts of The Paul Winchell Show in December 1952 and December 1953, with top names in show business making appearances.In the awards program which aired on December 20, 1953, the guests were Sid Caesar
Sid Caesar
Isaac Sidney "Sid" Caesar is an Emmy award winning American comic actor and writer known as the leading man on the 1950s television series Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour, and to younger generations as Coach Calhoun in Grease and Grease 2.- Early life :Caesar was born in Yonkers, New York,...
. 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....
, John Charles Daly
John Charles Daly
John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly (generally known as John Charles Daly or simply John Daly (February 20, 1914 – February 24, 1991) was an American journalist, game show host and radio personality, probably best known for hosting...
, Edward R. Murrow
Edward R. Murrow
Edward Roscoe Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, and Alexander Kendrick...
, and Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
Fulton J. Sheen
Servant of God Fulton John Sheen, born Peter John Sheen was an American archbishop of the Catholic Church known for his preaching and especially his work on television and radio...
. Jack Webb
Jack Webb
John Randolph "Jack" Webb , also known by the pseudonym John Randolph, was an American actor, television producer, director and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Sergeant Joe Friday in the radio and television series Dragnet...
was seen on a special film footage.
Winchell and Mahoney got their start in early 1940's radio in the series Major Bowe's Original Amateur Hour. They had a short-lived radio program in 1943. The two debuted on television in 1947 and in 1948, Winchell was a co-host of the prime time The Bigelow Show.
Jerry's personality was that of a sassy wise-cracking child and later adolescent. Winchell increasingly becomes exasperated with his dummy's antics and insolence.
Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
made her television debut in a Saturday morning episode of the series in 1955.
After prime time
After its prime time run, The Paul Winchell Show, aired on Saturday mornings for two years in "Jerry's Clubhouse" and then moved to ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
as Circus Time. The series then moved to Sunday afternoons until 1961. It returned again to Saturday mornings from 1965 to 1968.
After his television series ended, Winchell focused the remainder of his life in the field of medicine. He patented a blood storage system and an artificial human heart. Winchell still provided the voice of Tigger in Winnie the Pooh.