Paul Winchell

When you think of Paul Winchell, you think of a ventriloquist, comedian, and actor. But, did you know that Paul invented the mechanical artificial heart? He hosted the Paul Winchell show on TV and appeared on “The Brady Bunch,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “The Beverly Hillbillies.” He was the voice of many characters on TV cartoons, including Tigger for which he won a Grammy for his performance in “Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too.” His famous dummies Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff are in the Smithsonian Institution. In school his art teacher allowed him to receive credit for creating a ventriloquist’s dummy and that got him started on his career at age 14.