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Wilchin's most important
invention was the artificial heart he invented in 1963. In fact, he
was the first person to patent an artificial heart, which he donated
to the University of Utah for research purposes.
The inventor whose name is synonymous with the artificial heart
is a researcher at the University of Utah named Dr. Robert Jarvik.
The Jarvik-7 is the artificial heart that is implanted into
patients. While Wilchin's version never saw the light of day, it
allowed Jarvik and other inventors and scientists to study and
improve upon it.
Wilchin held 30 patents in areas that were totally unrelated to
each other, including an illuminated pen, a flameless cigarette
lighter and a disposable razor. He was the first person to introduce
a disposable razor, but he listened to the naysayers and abandoned
the product before Gillette later introduced it.
Born in a ghetto on the east side of Manhattan in 1922, Wilchin's
rags-to-riches story began with his stuttering problem and low
self-esteem as a child. His mother was the main cause of his
problems, as she constantly belittled him and told him that he was
no good. To make matters worse, he also had polio as a child.
Like a modern-day Ben Franklin, Paul Wilchin was a man of many
diverse talents. In addition to being an inventor, he was also a
hypnotist, a practitioner of acupuncture and a very successful
entertainer. In fact, it was his work in TV for which he is
remembered. He was a pioneer in the early years of TV in the late
1940s and 1950s, and his career lasted more than 50 years.
How did this young teenager with a stuttering problem get his
start in show business?
As a ventriloquist! He used his skill as an inventor to create
his first makeshift puppet dummy, which he used in his ventriloquism
act at the ripe old age of 13.
Paul would entertain his classmates, as well as the other
classes, with his ventriloquism act. His big break came when his
high school principal called him into his office one day and (uh-oh,
this can't be good) asked him to demonstrate his ventriloquism act.
The principal loved it so much that he called a friend who had his
own radio show. The friend's name was Major Bowes, and he got Paul
an audition for a TV talent show at the CBS studio in New York City.
The 15-year-old Paul Wilchin won the talent show and made his
national TV debut on CBS three weeks later. The year was 1936.
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Partly motivated by his desire to prove his mother wrong -- she thought
his interest in ventriloquism was a waste of time -- Paul won the talent
show on national TV and, like the winners of "American Idol," used it to
propel him to stardom. He went on to become the voice of several popular
TV cartoon characters, such as Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff (for
the senior citizens who read this column), Dick Dastardly (for the baby
boomers in our audience) and Gargamel of "The Smurfs" (for the Generation
Y crowd).
He had a number of children's shows during the 1950s and 1960s;
his guests on those shows included Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett and
Angela Lansbury. He was a regular guest on "The Ed Sullivan Show" as
well as the show "What's My Line?" He guest-starred on "The Beverly
Hillbillies" and "Perry Mason" too. His movie credits include
working with Jerry Lewis and The Three Stooges.
You say his work sounds familiar, but you still haven't heard of
him?
Paul Wilchin, like Joseph Levin (Jerry Lewis), Dino Crocetti
(Dean Martin) and Paul Aurandt (Paul Harvey), made a minor change in
his name when he entered show business.
His professional name was Paul Winchell, and his most well-known
role was as the voice of Tigger in the Winnie the Pooh shows.
Paul Wilchin died last week at the age of 82. He was still going
strong at the time of his death, working on a film about his life.
As Tigger used to say, "Ta-Ta for now."
[Paul Niemann]
Paul Niemann is the author of the "Invention Mysteries" book, which
is available through his
website and at fine
bookstores everywhere. He may be reached at
niemann7@aol.com.
© Paul Niemann 2005 |
