Talk:Paul Winchell

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I heard on the radio that Paul Winchell won a court case against some media company for destroying all the existing copies of the Winchell-Mahoney Time show (probably because it was in black and white and thought not to be of value). Does anyone have details?

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[edit] April Winchell Quote

I'm not sure how appropriate the quote from April Winchell is for this article. It hints at deeper private issues in Winchell's life, which should be addressed in the article, although not in this way (biased POV). In an attempt to better work the quote into the article I added some additional information to preface the quote, providing minimal background hinting at the estrangement of his children. To me it still doesn't quite seem to fit, perhaps because it is a reactionary, event-based statement. --Dan East June 28, 2005 16:32 (UTC)

I agree, it seems almost like something that belongs on a personal website, not Wiki. Supertheman (talk) 17:39, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Negative aspects of his life

There are multiple items covered in his autobiography that should be mentioned in the article; family problems, drug addiction, mental and emotional problems, stuttering, etc. His mother was quite harsh with him as a child, and put the "fear of God" in him at an early age. Winchell's recent theological quest, resulting in an online book and the defunct protectgod.com website, are indications that he never resolved the religious "trauma" he experienced as a child. I find it interesting that his official website [1] biography dedicated a few paragraphs to his theological ideas in 2003 [2] (last three paragraphs on the page), which were completely removed in 2004 [3], about the time he relinquished his protectgod.com website. I'm rather curious why his theological statements were removed. Did he have a change in beliefs? Did it negatively affect his public image? Did his health deteriorate to the point he no longer controlled his website, and his wife or someone else decided to remove them? There is some evidence his health had been gradually deteriorating over the last year. Winchell stated on protectgod.com website (as archived at archive.org) that he doubted he would live to see 90, so it is possible he was aware of some terminal disease process.

--Dan East June 28, 2005 17:12 (UTC)

[edit] Photo

Sorry i didnt mean to replace this image i accidently saved it under the same file name

[edit] Cause of death

Why doesn't the article mention the cause of Winchell's death? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 209.244.187.115 (talk) 21:18, 13 April 2007 (UTC).

[edit] What's My Line, Trivial, but Interesting

Does anyone recall either Edgar Bergen or Paul Winchell being on What's My Line as the Mystery Guest? I don't know who it was but the panel identified the contestant, Winchell or Bergen as the OTHER ventriloquist while blindfolded, and the person got very upset. It might have been live, not sure. In any case, if I am remembering it right, it suggests that Winchell and Bergen were not exactly friends. Thanks. Jimaginator 18:30, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Grammy on Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!?

Did he really won a Grammy award along with the featurette (not counting on the nomination of the Academy Award, defeated by Closed Mondays)? Just wanna know. TobytheTramEngine (talk) 06:55, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

Yes, he did win a Grammy and I have added a citation to reference the award. Supertheman (talk) 17:40, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Artificial Heart and other inventions?

Sorry if I'm being slow, but I can't see any citations provided for these patents that he allegedly held. I don't want to delete them, but I've inserted the requirement, as we all know this is the sort of thing that does get added to articles by cheeky people... Tobycek (talk) 00:35, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

I have added citations for all of the patents that were cited on reputable sources (plus, I am researching the U.S. Patent site to discover more patents). He did invent an artificial heart, in fact he was the first to patent an "artificial heart", certainly the first to patent one that is implanted into the chest cavity. Supertheman (talk) 17:42, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] trivia

someone needs to either implement this into the article or delete itRYNORT 07:35, 8 December 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Significant Additions

I have added a great deal of info about his patents, his medical "career", humanitarian efforts (the tilapia farming proposal). Most of the info is about his patents, specifically the artificial heart. I added many citations as to the claims of him being the first to patent an "artificial heart" and the flap that Jarvik has started by stating that he used *none* of Winchell's design elements in his heart (interesting that Jarvik waiting until Winchell was dead to make such claims).

I removed the citation required template, because it seemed to me that with the new citations (I added seven or eight), from multiple sites (including MIT, Washington Post and NY Times). I also added a citation referencing the truth of his Grammy win. Looking over the page, and reading the discussion here, it seemed to me that this satisfied what was lacking. If someone disagrees, by all means put the template back, but please indicate on the talk page what you feel still needs citing.

There is still considerable work to be done. For example, I looked up and downloaded all the patent information I could find. There are many patents he owns not identified on the page, and some would be fun and interesting to mention (IMHO)... one is some kind of album song selector and another transfers fluids. More could be added on the lawsuit over his erased tapes, and a great deal more on his "Hollywood" career... people he worked with, shows he was on, innovations and the like (again, IMO). Please look over the page and see what you think. I'll be happy to work more on the page, as I find him a very intriguing individual; dark and tortured, yet friendly, innovative and unafraid to try almost anything. A real Renaissance man, I think. Supertheman (talk) 17:38, 8 May 2008 (UTC)