I’ve always thought John Byner was hilarious. He was an awesome impressionist, who nailed voices like John Wayne, Jackie Mason, Dean Martin, Ed Sullivan and many more.
He was a guest star on many shows throughout the 70’s and 80’s, but I first came to know him as The Ant and the Aardvark – doing the voices of Jackie Mason and Dean Martin. His autobiography is a very funny book that tells many of his stories and worth the read if you grew up in the 60’s, 70’s or 80’s.
Here is the Amazon synopsis:
John Byner is 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. 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.
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.
Episodes of Bizarre (his sketch show rom the 80’s) can be found on YouTube and are really funny. I also loved him in Transylvania 6-5000 with Jeff Goldblum and Ed Begley Jr. Byner was even brought back on the Late Show when David Letterman hosted Impressionist Week. He’s been around and hobnobbed with some big stars. Worth the Read!!
5 our of 5 stars.
