Paul Winchell
American actor (1922–2005)
Paul Winchell (né Wilchinsky; December 21, 1922 – June 24, 2005) was an American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, humanitarian, and inventor whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. From 1950 to 1954, he hosted The Paul Winchell Show, which also used two other titles during its prime time run on NBC: The Speidel Show, and What's My Name? From 1965 to 1968, Winchell hosted the children's television series Winchell-Mahoney Time.
He made guest appearances on television series from the late 1950s to the mid 1970s, such as Perry Mason, The Dick Van Dyke Show, McMillan & Wife, The Brady Bunch, The Donna Reed Show, and appearances as Homer Winch on The Beverly Hillbillies. In animation, Winchell was the original voice of Tigger, Dick Dastardly, Gargamel, Scrubbing Bubbles, and other characters.
He also had medical training and became one of the first people to patent a mechanical artificial heart, implantable in the chest cavity (US Patent #3097366 of 1963). Winchell has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in television.
Early life, family and education
Born Paul Wilchinsky in New York City on December 21, 1922, he was the son of Solomon Wilchinsky and Clara Fuchs. His father was a tailor. His grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Congress Poland and Austria-Hungary.
The public source identifies “Paul Winchell” as american actor (1922–2005). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Paul, Winchell and American.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q731316. VIAF identifies the subject as 21320702. The Library of Congress control number is n91078561. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1922, 2005, 1950 and 1954.
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This entry incorporates text from “Paul Winchell” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.