|
Better known as "Senor Wences", the ventriloquist was a well-known fixture on the popular Ed Sullivan Show, speaking with a Spanish accent to his hand puppet, Johnny, and the popular "puppet-in-a-box", Pedro, created when one of his puppets was damaged in transit and only the head survived. Their banter -- with Wences asking "S'OK?" and Pedro answering "S'awright!" -- was a catchphrase with Sullivan audiences during the 1950s and '60s. Johnny really was a hand puppet: he consisted only of Wences' hand with a drawn-on mouth and a tiny wig over the top of his fist. But what a talented hand: Wences would give Johnny a puff from a cigarette and Johnny would blow smoke rings. In addition to his many appearances with Sullivan, Wences toured with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, and often played in Las Vegas. Wences, who was born in Penarada, Spain, died April 20 at his home in New York City. He was 103. From This is True for 18 April 1999 Suggestions for further reading:
 By: James Maguire List Price: $24.95 Amazon Price: $24.95 Editorial Review: A perfect mirror of its time, "The Ed Sullivan Show" ran from 1948 to 1971, echoing this period's every chapter: the birth of television, the conformist 1950s, the dawn of the rock era - featuring a hip-shaking Elvis and the Beatles' U.S. debut - and finally, the tumultuous late 1960s. Through it all, Sullivan presented his signature mix of highbrow and corn pone, Borsht Belt and Middle America, from Fred Astaire to Richard Pryor, Walt Disney to Janis Joplin. He was the variety show producer as curator of national culture. Like his show, Sullivan's life was a mirror of its time, and IMPRESARIO, the first major biography of this iconic showman, tells his story as an engaging narrative. From his birth in a Jewish-Irish ghetto in Harlem to his career as a Broadway gossip columnist, his years in the sweat-and-sawdust vaudeville circuit, his stint in Hollywood and his struggles in television, the man behind the scenes is revealed: mercurial and tyrannical, yet also charming and deeply sentimental - this introvert who hungered for a mass audience was defined by his contradictions. The pucker-faced showman who was so uncomfortable in the spotlight's glare took dictatorial control of his show's every aspect, shaping it down to the last punch line. He proved so gifted at this that some 40 million viewers watched year after year, making Sullivan an unofficial Minister of Culture. Yet paradoxically, his supposedly staid Sunday night variety show proved to be an agent of social change, especially when Sullivan gave the ultimate subversive force - rock `n' roll - his hallowed stamp of approval. Impressively researched - including interviews with top performers like Joan Rivers, George Carlin, and Carol Burnett - IMPRESARIO tells the story of a pioneering showman who both shaped and reflected American culture at the birth of the modern media age. For the love of Lennon.(General News)(Beatles devotees gather for an annual c... List Price: $5.95 Amazon Price: $5.95 Editorial Review: This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by Thomson Gale on October 17, 2005. The length of the article is 649 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser. Citation Details Title: For the love of Lennon.(General News)(Beatles devotees gather for an annual celebration in honor of the musician) Publication: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) (Newspaper) Date: October 17, 2005 Publisher: Thomson Gale Page: b1 Distributed by Thomson Gale  By: Samuel Charters List Price: $10.95 Amazon Price: $10.95 The night that changed the world: forty years ago, The Beatle's first America... List Price: $5.95 Amazon Price: $5.95 Editorial Review: This digital document is an article from Music Trades, published by Music Trades Corp. on May 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1415 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser. Citation Details Title: The night that changed the world: forty years ago, The Beatle's first American appearance on television made Ed Sullivan "the show that launched a thousand purchase orders.".(The Percussion Market) Publication: Music Trades (Magazine/Journal) Date: May 1, 2004 Publisher: Music Trades Corp. Volume: 152 Issue: 4 Page: 74(4) Distributed by Thomson Gale Oh, lordy, look what's 40: has the Super Bowl really been around that long? Y... By: Seth Elkin List Price: $5.95 Amazon Price: $5.95 Editorial Review: This digital document is an article from The Sporting News, published by Thomson Gale on February 3, 2006. The length of the article is 563 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser. Citation Details Title: Oh, lordy, look what's 40: has the Super Bowl really been around that long? You bet it has--and so has the ever-growing need to entertain its TV audience.(KNOW IT ALL) Author: Seth Elkin Publication: The Sporting News (Magazine/Journal) Date: February 3, 2006 Publisher: Thomson Gale Volume: 230 Issue: 5 Page: 12(1) Distributed by Thomson Gale |
About the HUs
About This is True
Prev: "Wilma Flinstone" voice Jean Vander Pyl Next: Laser inventor Arthur Schawlow |