Product Description
"Even true talent must have its opportunity. Once it has that opportunity nothing can deter it from success. So it was with Paul Winchell, with his special kind of talent. The moment he appeared on our program as an aspiring youth, we of The Original Amateur Hour recognized that he would make a name for himself. We are happy to have presented the opportunity. Paul is a natural entertainer. His personality illumines whatever he does. He communicates a friendly spirit to his audiences and causes one to have that relaxed, receptive feeling which only the most genuine of entertainers can inspire. Having observed Paul since his earliest days in the entertainment world, I have the belief that his career, brilliant though it has been already, has merely just begun. His genius is being sharpened, brightened, year by year. Competition, keener now because of the swift page set by the tempo of television, gives newer zest to Paul's wit and action. I recall when Paul applied for an audition to the staff of The Original Amateur Hour. Major Edward Bowes was master of ceremonies then. Paul was living in Brooklyn at that time; and in answer to a question on the application, "How long will you remain in New York?", Paul answered tersely, "Indefinitely." He was technically wrong in regard to that. His stay in New York was to be brief. The staff gave him an A-1 rating on January 18, 1938, and Paul was quickly called to appear on the program. So enthusiastic was the response of the nationwide radio audience that Paul immediately was placed in one of our traveling units. On the "road", Paul repeated his radio success, and with the money he gained on tour he was able to buy proper materials with which to build his rugged wooden partner, "Jerry Mahoney." Not long thereafter Paul was a professional headliner, not only as a ventriloquist, but as a gentle wit. He has the homey humor that goes to the heart of fole---clean, affable, pungent. I have had Paul as a..." [from foreword by Ted Mack]
