Gag Tycoon

When Funnyman Ed Wynn's Laugh Parade was on Broadway last winter tens of thousands of people saw it, paying top prices of $5.50 at the box office, sometimes three times as much from speculators. One man saw it four times. Each time he bought a seat in a box, turned his back on the stage as soon as the curtain went up. Despite this antic, which seemed eccentric to other spectators, the four-time box-sitter meant much more money in the end to Funnyman Wynn than anyone else in the house. For by keeping his ears open, he decided that Ed Wynn was comical even if people could only hear his lisping voice and silly laugh, could not see his plump figure, his idiotic smile, his fluttering fingers and perpetually rolling eyes, his ridiculous costumes. Because the box-sitter was George W. Vos, chief advertising man in The Texas Co., Ed Wynn received his present position as Texaco Fire Chief, broadcasting every Tuesday night over NBC at $5,000 a performance.

Mr. Wynn was reluctant to broadcast at first. He was convinced he could not do it. He finally decided that an audience might help, rigged himself up in costume and went ahead. With people in the studio actually laughing so he can hear them, he is able to work. Free tickets to his performance are given out by NBC and Texaco and usually between 700 and 800 people are at his broadcasts. But he has never completely shaken his fear of the "mike." fear that his listeners, estimated at 20 millions now, are not laughing. The Texas Co. hired him with the idea of reaching the vast hoipolloi. For a time it was worried when fan letters poured in from tycoons and the intelligentsia. Now it is satisfied that Ed Winn simply makes everybody laugh.

Mr. Wynn, whose real name is Israel Edwin Leopold, prides himself on being what he calls a "method comedian" rather than a "gag comedian." He never tells an off-color or race story, does not sing or dance. He buys some of his jokes from the Broadway "gag" factories, but writes most of his performances himself, working several hours a day on them. Wynn broadcasts consist of fast dialog between Funnyman Wynn and Graham McNamee. The latter does little talking except to feed cues. The program is punctuated by musical selections. Typical Wynn prattle: "The opera tonight. Graham, is very unusual ... the title of it is 'When You Were Eight and I was Nine and We Were 17.' ... It's about a boy and a girl . . . the boy's name is J. Weatherstrip Reilley. ... He was born during the World War and they called him Weatherstrip because he kept his father out of the draft. The boy has so many wrinkles on his forehead ... he has to screw his hat on his head. . . . On his vest is dangling a golden charm . . . it's a piece of an omelet. . . . He says 'What is that?' And she says 'That is a canvas back duck.' And he says 'Well, take the canvas back and bring me the duck.' So-o-o-o-o."

Mr. Wynn also prides himself on being a good businessman. His plays have been profitable. Last week he increased his stake in the entertainment business by forming an Amalgamated Broadcasting System, Inc., with offices in Manhattan. Its main purpose is to sell programs to advertising agencies and stations. Producer Arthur Hopkins (What Price Glory?, Paris Bound, Burlesque, The Jest) is associated with him, will obtain theatrical talent. Ota Gygi, a violinist, will handle the musical end. At the outset the company had $1,000,000 of business in hand but would reveal the names of no clients except The Texas Co. Both Mr. Wynn and Mr. Hopkins will continue their other theatrical work.

Ed Wynn's father was a milliner, hence the Wynnian love of comical headgear. His collection of outlandish hats now totals 400. He also has a big pair of shoes which cost $3.50 but which, he says, have cost $1,400 to keep repaired. He has an apartment in Manhattan, a home in Florida, another in Great Neck, L. I. Once he owned the mansion in Great Neck where now lives Cinemagnate Nicholas Schenck. He likes bicycles, collects books of wit. He thinks his joke collection is the world's largest. He plays several musical instruments. He is married, has a son, Frank Keenan. When he first saw his wife (Hilda Keenan) he exclaimed, "She is the cutest thing in girls I ever saw."

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