Bill Dana
Comedian/ Writer
About This Interview
Bill Dana was interviewed for nearly three hours in Los Angeles, CA. Dana talked about growing up in the Depression, his interest in comedy, and his stint as an NBC page. He discussed teaming up for a comedy act with Gene Wood, before joining The Steve Allen Show, where he became head writer. He detailed some of the show's recurring sketches, including "The Question Man" "Man on the Street" and the "Nutley-Hinkley Report." He then chronicled the creation of his famous character, "Jose Jimenez" which began on Allen's show. He described Jimenez's character's traits, his many appearances, his retirement, the response of the Latino community regarding the character, and the culmination of Jimenez's fame on The Bill Dana Show. He discussed his work as a producer on The Milton Berle Show ; his roles on St. Elsewhere and The Golden Girls ; and his writing of the famous All in the Family episode, "Sammy's Visit" featuring Sammy Davis Jr. Lastly, he talked about his current work with Emerson College and his creation of the American Comedy Archives. The interview was conducted by Jeff Abraham on February 10, 2007.
Related To This Video
Featured Content
From youtube: Bill Dana as Jose Jimenez in the Santa Claus sketch, with straight-man Pat Harrington, ca.1959:
Resources
Click to view:
Bill Dana's Biography from Emerson College's American Comedy Archives
YouTube video player - HTML5 compatible.
Highlights
Bill Dana on his feelings today toward the character that made him famous: "Jose Jimenez"
Clip begins at: 13:05
Bill Dana on writing for the voice of Don Adams; the birth of "would you believe" jokes
Clip begins at: 18:20
Bill Dana on the birth of his character "Jose Jiminez" on The Steve Allen Show in 1959
Clip begins at: 22:16
Bill Dana on writing the episode "Sammy's Visit" for All in the Family ; starring Sammy Davis, Jr.
Clip begins at: 25:35- Bill Dana on his advice to aspiring writers and comedians
Clip begins at: 19:18 - Bill Dana on breaking in new comedic material, live, on The Garry Moore Show as part of the comedy team "Dana and Wood".
Clip begins at: 11:18 - Bill Dana on his recurring role as "Uncle Angelo" on The Golden Girls; the biggest laugh he ever got was on that show
Clip begins at: 07:35
Interview
- Part 1
- On his childhood in Quincy, MA; on his brother Irving Szathmary, on growing up during the Depression; finding humor in difficult situations
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On his brother Arthur who taught him an awareness of language, which would play a great role in his comedic writing, malaprops, and the dialects he would use in characters such as Jose Jimenez; on other early influences; his education; meeting Gene Wood
Clip begins at: 11:02 - On his Army service during WWII; on realizing the power of language; on the Leopoldville disaster; on being sent to witness the Dachau concentration camp by President Eisenhower
Clip begins at: 18:18 - On the G.I Bill that enabled him to go to Emerson College; on forming a comedy duo with Gene Wood; on heading to California to pursue work in the early 1950s
Clip begins at: 23:37 - Part 2
- On early odd jobs as a layout electrician and how he wound up (by a misunderstanding) as head of equipment at Douglas Aircraft base on the Nike Missile project;
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On getting a job as a page at NBC on Date in Manhattan with Ed Herlihy and Broadway Open House at Studio 8H; on his comedy partner Gene Wood and their comedy routines such as "What would have happened if..."; on becoming "Dana" from Szathmary
Clip begins at: 04:04 - On his management; starting a career in comedy writing
Clip begins at: 16:39 - On a bit he wrote for Don Adams which got him noticed by Steve Allen and hired as head writer, and for a time, the only writer, on the Steve Allen Tonight Show
Clip begins at: 20:01 - Part 3
- On Don Hinkley; memorable comedy sketches "The Question Man" and "The Nutley-Hinkley-Butley-Winkly Report"; the Martha Raye Show; Steve Allen
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On the genesis of the "Man on the Street" segments on The Steve Allen Show; working with Don Knotts, Tom Poston, Louis Nye on those sketches; the difference in format between the Steve Allen Primetime show and the "Plymouth" show on ABC; hiring Buck Henry
Clip begins at: 09:40 - On the birth of his character "Jose Jimenez" on The Steve Allen Show in 1959
Clip begins at: 22:16 - Part 4
- On "Jose the Astronaut" who first appeared on The Garry Moore Show; on Mickey Kapp's recording of "Jose Jimenez" at the Hungry i; the relationship of the fictional Jose and the real Bill to the NASA Appollo program; on some memorable Jose the Astronaut lines
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On his proudest moments being associated with the NASA astronauts
Clip begins at: 05:16 - On the huge popularity of his character "Jose"; on transforming his alter ego into a "real flesh and blood character" on Make Room For Daddy with Danny Thomas
Clip begins at: 07:19 - On The Bill Dana Show getting greenlit without a pilot or a script; the premise of the show with Jose as a bellman at the Park Central Hotel; on the cast with Jonathan Harris, Gary Crosby, Maggie Peterson, Don Adams
Clip begins at: 08:44 - On the Bill Dana Show being cancelled, but being happy for Don Adams to continue on Get Smart along
Clip begins at: 18:49 - On writing for Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme and the Spike Jones Show
Clip begins at: 22:46 - Part 5
- On first appearing on variety shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show as "Jose Jimenez"
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On "Discover America with Jose Jimenez" , and NBC special series which he wrote with Al Wasserman
Clip begins at: 04:56 - Bill Dana on some of the initial backlash to the Jose Jimenez character, while he was a member of the National Hispanic Media Coalition
Clip begins at: 05:58 - On retiring his Jose Jimenez character
Clip begins at: 10:08 - On how he came to produce The Milton Berle Show, which he compared to "choreographing a typhoon"
Clip begins at: 14:10 - On how he came to write the classic All in the Family episode "Sammy's Visit" with Sammy Davis, Jr.
Clip begins at: 25:39 - Part 6
- On the All in the Family episode with Sammy Davis, Jr. where he kissed Archie Bunker
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On No Soap, Radio breaking the "fourth wall"
Clip begins at: 03:58 - On St. Elsewhere, on which he played Jonas Fiscus, Howie Mandel's father on the show
Clip begins at: 05:05 - On his recurring role as "Uncle Angelo" on The Golden Girls; working with Bea Arthur, Betty White, Estelle Getty, Susan Harris
Clip begins at: 07:35 - On reflecting back on the character that made him famous, "Jose Jimenez" and his feelings about him now
Clip begins at: 13:06 - On founding the American Comedy Archives at Emerson College; on the challenges of being a comedian
Clip begins at: 14:33 - On co-writing "The Laughter Prescription" with Dr. Lawrence Peter about the healing power of laughter
Clip begins at: 17:39 - On advice to aspiring writers
Clip begins at: 18:54
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Yesterday, I watched on the WE cable channel an old "Golden Girls" show on which you appeared. I said to myself, "I know that guy"! Then I remembered your name, Bill Dana. I wondered to myself, "Is he still alive"? After all, Bea Arthur, Estelle Getty, and Rue McClanahan had all left this earth. So, I searched for you on Wikipedia, and lo and behold, you're not only alive, but fully engaged in life. Good for you! Then, I was shocked to find out that you weren't even close to being Spanish, but instead, Jewish and something else. I should have known you were just a character..........after all, I'm an actor myself. That shows how very good an actor you are. You had me, and millions of others, fooled. It must have been your last name, Dana, that threw me. It wasn't something like Himmelwitz. What's your secret, besides laughter, of longevity? Do you exercise, or have a special diet, or take supplements? Or are you just blessed with good genes? It was great to re-connect with you, after 30+ yrs. (I now remember you being on the Steve Allen show...............I met him once, he came East to give a concert in Maryland, and then afterwards, had a meet and greet...............I got his autograph.............then regaled us for free with impromptu tickling of the ivories...............what a guy.) It must pain you to realize that so many of your contemporaries are gone now. How do you deal with all the losses? Do you have kids and grandkids? Thanks, Ellen R.
I love Bill Dana and he was sort of big in the 60's. Nice to see this talented genius.
i went to a dollar store and they had one copy of the BILL DANA SHOW on VHS
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