Film and Television
Wynn appeared in hundreds of films and television shows between 1934 and 1986. His early post-war credits include Annie Get Your Gun (1950), Royal Wedding (1951), Kiss Me, Kate (1953), Battle Circus (1953), The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956), A Hole in the Head (1959), The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), Son of Flubber (1963) and Dr. Strangelove (1964). He had an uncredited role in Touch of Evil (1958).
In the 1959-1960 television season, Wynn co-starred with Bob Mathias in NBC's The Troubleshooters, an adventure program about unusual events surrounding an international construction company. Wynn played the role of Kodiak, the "troubleshooter", for Mathias's Frank Dugan.
Wynn took a dramatic turn as Yost in the crime drama Point Blank (1967) with Lee Marvin. He played Hezakiah in the 1965 comedy The Great Race (1965). He was the voice of the Winter Warlock in Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970) and was in several Disney films, including Snowball Express (1972), Herbie Rides Again (1974) and The Shaggy D.A. (1976).
He appeared in Francis Coppola's musical Finian's Rainbow (1968), Sergio Leone's epic western Once Upon a Time in the West (also 1968), and Robert Altman's Nashville (1975). During this time his guest television roles Alias Smith and Jones (1971, 1972), Emergency! (1975) and The Bionic Woman (1978).
Wynn became a regular on TV's Dallas during 1979 to 1981, playing the part of former Ewing family partner-turned-enemy Digger Barnes. David Wayne, a friend of his, was cast for the first season, but was unable to continue owing to his starring role in the House Calls series at the time.
Wynn was initially cast in Superman (1978) to play Perry White (the boss of Clark Kent and Lois Lane at the Daily Planet) in April 1977. However, by June (production had moved to Pinewood Studios in England), Wynn collapsed from exhaustion and was rushed to hospital. He was replaced by Jackie Cooper. In 1983, he guest starred on one of the last episodes of Taxi. In 1984, he starred in the television film Call to Glory, which later became a weekly television series.
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Famous quotes by film and television:
“The obvious parallels between Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz have frequently been noted: in both there is the orphan hero who is raised on a farm by an aunt and uncle and yearns to escape to adventure. Obi-wan Kenobi resembles the Wizard; the loyal, plucky little robot R2D2 is Toto; C3PO is the Tin Man; and Chewbacca is the Cowardly Lion. Darth Vader replaces the Wicked Witch: this is a patriarchy rather than a matriarchy.”
—Andrew Gordon, U.S. educator, critic. ‘The Inescapable Family in American Science Fiction and Fantasy Films,’ Journal of Popular Film and Television (Summer 1992)