John Byner (with Douglas Wellman)
Celebrity Memoir
Veteran entertainer John Byner, a man of many voices and characters, from impersonating the slow, rolling gait and speech of John Wayne, to lending his voice to The Ant and the Aardvark cartoons has penned (with Douglas Wellman) his biography FIVE MINUTES, MR. BYNER! published by Boutique of Quality Books. His dead-on impersonations, as well as his unique talents as a character actor, have put him on the small screen in peoples' homes, the big screen in theaters, and no screen on Broadway.
“. . . John has had a remarkable career spanning decades, from doing comedy in small clubs in Greenwich Village to The Ed Sullivan Show. . . Ed loved him. . . to The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, to Steve Allen, who basically invented the talk show, to The Carol Burnett Show, to just about every major variety show or situation comedy there was on the air, to hosting his own variety show and introducing Bob Einstein as Super Dave Osborne, and on and on. . . . And he’s still going strong, as funny and as kind as ever.” – Nathan Lane
Growing up in a big family on Long Island, John discovered his uncanny ability to mimic voices as a child when he returned home from a Bing Crosby movie and repeated Bing’s performance for his family in their living room. He discovered his talent made him the focus of everyone’s attention, and allowed him to make friends wherever he went, from elementary school to the U.S. Navy. John started his career in nightclubs in New York, but soon found himself getting national acclaim on The Ed Sullivan Show. With that he was on his way. This memoir is the best and funniest moments of his life, career, and relationships with some of the biggest names in entertainment, both on and
off the screen. “I thought of doing a memoir a year before I began writing it. My friend (co-author), Doug Wellman, suggested years before that if I wanted to write a book he would assist me,” remarked Mr.Byner.
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Some people call it fate; others call it luck. Whatever you call it, you've probably been somewhere by chance at exactly the right moment and ended up getting a welcome surprise. I had one of those moments early in my career and it changed my life.
My ability to mimic voices opened up some special opportunities for me. Initially it was just a hobby. I entertained family members, school mates, buddies in the navy, and my coworkers in a myriad of blue-collar jobs, and one white-collar one. I had no idea my future would be in the spotlight in night clubs, television, cartoons, movies, variety shows, and a host of other exciting places. And maybe it wouldn't have been except for fate, luck, or whatever you want to call it. My world opened up one night because I happened to be on a little stage in New York at just the right moment. It was an unplanned event. Had it not occurred, I don't know where I'd be today.
John Byner’s TV career break happened in New York City on Merv Griffin’s Talent Scouts Show in 1964. After great exposure on both Gary Moore and Steve Allen’s variety shows in 1966 and 1967, he clowned around on Ed Sullivan’s showcase program over two dozen times and Johnny Carson’s late-night haunt over three dozen times.
He has lent his vocal library of voices to hundreds of cartoons and animated films. To find out more about John and his book, visit http://johnbyner.com.
Douglas Wellman was born in Minneapolis but moved to Los Angeles where he became a television producer-director for 35 years, as well as the assistant dean of the film school at the University of Southern California. He currently lives in Southern Utah with his wife, Deborah, where he works as a chaplain at a local hospital when not busy writing books.
WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:
Website: https://johnbyner.com/Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/johnbynercom
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.byner.1
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