Ed Wynn (born Isaiah Edwin Leopold on November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966) was an American comedian and actor noted for his Perfect Fool comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a dramatic actor.

Wynn began his career in vaudeville in 1903 and was a star of the Ziegfeld Follies starting in 1914. During The Follies of 1915, W. C. Fields allegedly caught Wynn mugging for the audience under the table during his "Pool Room" routine and knocked him unconscious with his cue. Wynn wrote, directed, and produced many Broadway shows in the subsequent decades, and was known for his silly costumes and props as well as for the giggly, wavering voice he developed for the 1921 musical review, The Perfect Fool.

Biography

Il eut ses premiers succès à Broadway dans The Perfect Fool (1921), sera de la distribution de l'émission radiophonique Texaco's Fire Chief de 1932 à 1939 avant de se tourner vers le petit écran dans les années 1950 où il jouera dans Requiem for a Heavyweight (dont le rôle lui vaudra un prix Emmy en 1956) et au cinéma, notamment dans The Diary of Anne Frank (film pour lequel, il sera nommé à l'Oscar). Parmi ses derniers films, notons The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) et Mary Poppins (1964).

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