Takara_Soong 4 Posted June 28, 2005 (edited) From the Los Angeles Times: WINCHELL: 1922-2005 Longtime voice of Tigger also was ventriloquist, inventor - Myrna Oliver, Los Angeles Times Monday, June 27, 2005 Paul Winchell -- the voice of Tigger in "Winnie the Pooh" animated features for more than three decades, a ventriloquist who became a fixture in early children's television along with his dummies, Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff, and an inventor -- has died. He was 82. Winchell died early Friday in his sleep at his home in Moorpark (Ventura County), Burt Du Brow, a television producer and close family friend, said Saturday. Although he was a legendary ventriloquist and built a career attracting legions of followers on that dwindling art, Winchell's most durable legacy might be his rich voice as Tigger and other animated characters on television and in motion pictures. He became the lovable Tigger in 1968 for Disney's "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day," which earned an Academy Award for best animated short film. Winchell continued to voice A.A. Milne's imaginative stuffed tiger on television and the big screen through "Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving" in 1999. In recent years, Jim Cummings has voiced Tigger as well as Pooh. Winchell earned a Grammy in 1974 for the best children's recording with "The Most Wonderful Things About Tiggers" from the feature "Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too." The entertainer also has been heard as Gargamel in "The Smurfs" and as (Please stop me from cursing) Dastardly in Hanna Barbera cartoons, including "Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines. It was television that dramatically showcased Winchell's art. By the time he published his book "Ventriloquism for Fun and Profit" in 1954, he had built a base of ready buyers. Winchell debuted on NBC in 1947 with "The Paul Winchell-Jerry Mahoney Show," with a smart-mouthed puppet he had invented in his early teens. The budding ventriloquist had introduced Jerry in 1936 on radio's "Major Bowes Original Amateur Hour," earning first prize. He created the dim-witted Knucklehead Smiff in 1950 and introduced him on "The Spiedel Show," which quickly was renamed "What's My Name?" Winchell also received exposure on Ed Sullivan's show beginning in 1949, followed by invitations to variety programs, including "The Lucy Show," "The Dean Martin Show" and "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In." Chosen television's most versatile performer by Look magazine in 1952 and 1953, Winchell was also in demand as a panelist on "What's My Line?" and for guest roles on "The Beverly Hillbillies," "Perry Mason" and "Love, American Style." The canny Winchell segued into a new career voicing animated characters, beginning with roles for the 1962 series "The Jetsons." Born Paul Wilchen in New York City on Dec. 21, 1922, he was a shy youth who stuttered. Fascinated with ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his dummy pal Charlie McCarthy, Winchell learned to throw his own voice and gradually overcame his speech impediments. Winchell was also an inventor who held 30 patents, including one for an early artificial heart he built in 1963 and then donated to the University of Utah for research. Dr. Robert Jarvik and other University of Utah researchers later became well known for the Jarvik-7 which was implanted into patients after 1982. Winchell is survived by his wife of 31 years, the former Jean Freeman; five children; and three grandchildren. Edited June 28, 2005 by Takara_Soong Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
