Ed Wynn

"I can't give you a definition [of humor]. It is too subtle to be pinned down. I can say that it differs from wit, which exaggerates the truth, while humor presents the truth in an original way."

Ed Wynn was offered the title role The Wizard in MGM's 1939 screen adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz," but turned it down, as did his Ziegfeld contemporary W. C. Fields. Wynn believed that the part was "way too small." Perhaps this had a lot to do with his deciding to work so much with Walt Disney later in his career.

Wynn provided the voice of the Mad Hatter in Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" (1951). While filming the live-action reference scenes for the Mad Tea Party, Wynn ad-libbed the speech where the Mad Hatter tries to "fix" the White Rabbit's watch. ("Muthtard? Don't leth be thilly!") Disney was watching the filming, and told the animators, "Hey, that stuff's pretty funny. Why don't you use that speech in the movie?" The animators objected. "We can't use that. There are too many background noises on the film." Disney smiled, and told them, "That's YOUR problem," then walked out of the room. Eventually, with much labor, the Disney sound technicians managed to re-record Wynn's dialogue and erase all the background noises, so that Wynn's ad-libs were used in the final animated film.

Other Wynn appearances in Disney projects include the role of The Toymaker alongside Annette Funicello and Tommy Sands in the Christmas operetta film "Babes in Toyland" (1961), and brief roles in "The Absent Minded Professor" (1961) (as the fire chief, in a scene alongside his son Keenan Wynn, who played the film's antagonist) and "Son of Flubber" (1963) (as county agricultural agent A.J. Allen). Possibly his best-remembered Disney film appearance was in Disney's "Mary Poppins" (1964), in which he played eccentric Uncle Albert floating around just beneath the ceiling in uncontrollable mirth, singing "I Love to Laugh." Re-teaming with the Disney team the following year, in "That Darn Cat!" (1965) featuring Dean Jones and Hayley Mills, Wynn filled out the character of Mr. Hofstedder, the watch jeweler with his bumbling charm. His final performance, as Rufus in Disney's "The Gnome-Mobile" (1967), was released a few months after his death.

Happy Birthday, Ed Wynn!