Don Wilson

Don Wilson

Birth : 1900-09-01, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

Death : 1982-04-25

History

Don Wilson (September 1, 1900 – April 25, 1982) was an American announcer and actor in radio and television, with a Falstaffian vocal presence, remembered best as the rotund announcer and comic foil to the star of The Jack Benny Program. His film roles included small appearances as announcers or commentators in several films, and an appearance as Mr. Kettering opposite Marilyn Monroe in Niagara. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Profile

Don Wilson

Movies

Walt Disney's Fables - Vol.5
Narrator (Ferdinand The Bull) (voice)
Six more animated stories from the Disney studios. 'Three Blind Mousketeers' follows the misadventures of the outrageous trio. In 'Three Little Pigs', the Big Bad Wolf is doing his best to cunningly snare the guileless little pigs, while in 'Three Little Wolves' he goes one step further and decides to disguise and train his own offspring to lure them into his fold. 'Funny Little Bunnies' explores the mystery of the Easter Bunny. 'Lambert the Sheepish Lion' is a lovable, shy lion who plucks up the courage to protect his adopted family of ewes and rams. 'Ferdinand the Bull' gets in a scrape at a Madrid bullring when he gets stung by a bee and the crowd mistake him for a fighting bull.
Celebrate Christmas With Mickey, Donald & Friends
Narrator (voice) (archive footage)
This charming collection features 7 classic Disney cartoons from the 30's and 40's. "The Cookie Carnival" The other unrelated christmas short is "Ferdinand the Bull" The delights are "Santas Workshop" (1932) where its Christmas Eve and Santa and his elves are preparing the toys for Santa to deliver. "The Night Before Christmas" (1933) where we see Santa deliver the presents to a house and the toys come alive in this enchanting animation. "Pluto's Christmas Tree" where Mickey's newly decorated christmas tree is infested with those mischevious chipmunks Chip 'n' Dale. "On Ice" (1935) where Mickey shows off for Minnie during some ice skating, but must rescue Donald when he's nearly blown over a frozen waterfall. Meanwhile, Goofy tries a new form of ice fishing. "Donalds Snow Fight" (1942)
Paper Moon
Thanks
During the Great Depression, a con man finds himself saddled with a young girl—who may or may not be his daughter—and the two forge an unlikely partnership.
Jack Benny's 20th Anniversary TV Special
Self
The Jack Benny Birthday Special
A TV special aired on February 17, 1969 (the star’s birthday was February 14), featuring Benny’s long-established persona and several celebrity guest stars.
General Foods Opening Night
Himself (narrator)
Fearing they'll all be fired after hearing Phil Silvers is getting his own show on the General Foods line up, the actors and actress band together to ruin Silvers' show.
The Mouse That Jack Built
Don (voice)
In this spoof of "The Jack Benny Program", a mouse with Jack Benny's personality and poor violin playing ability lives, along with a mouse version of Benny's valet, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, in a hole in a wall of Jack Benny's own home. Jack the rodent takes a mouse version of 'Mary Livingstone (I)' out to dinner, and the two unwittingly walk right into the disguised mouth of an orange cat!
The Stars Are Singing
Radio Announcer
After she enters the United States illegally, 15-year-old Polish singer Katri Walenska (Anna Maria Alberghetti) finds herself under the wing of aspiring singer Terry Brennan (Rosemary Clooney). Soon Terry has Katri booked on a TV talent show -- but her immigration status may cause a problem. This musical classic boasts a host of famous performers, including Metropolitan Opera star Lauritz Melchior. [netflix]
Niagara
J.C. Kettering
Rose Loomis and her older, gloomier husband, George, are vacationing at a cabin in Niagara Falls, N.Y. The couple befriend Polly and Ray Cutler, who are honeymooning in the area. Polly begins to suspect that something is amiss between Rose and George, and her suspicions grow when she sees Rose in the arms of another man. While Ray initially thinks Polly is overreacting, things between George and Rose soon take a shockingly dark turn.
Sailor Beware
Mr. Chubby
Meeting in a navy recruiting line, Al Crowthers and Melvin Jones become friends. Al has tried to enlist before, but was always rejected. He keeps trying so that he can impress women. Melvin, is allergic to women's cosmetics and his doctor prescribed ocean travel, so he decided to join the navy.
Charlie's Haunt
Announcer
The residents of a small town are haunted by the ghost of Charlie McCarthy, who doesn't like the fact that they are a very careless bunch and are constantly putting themselves in danger.
Larceny
Master of Ceremonies
John Payne is the no-good lowdown rat who tries to capitalize on postwar patriotism and grief. He finagles a war widow (Joan Caulfied) into giving up her savings for a nonexistent memorial. When Payne falls in love with the widow he has pangs of conscience, but he reckons without his con-artist boss (Dan Duryea), who tends to bolster his arguments with muscle and bullets.
Desert Empire
Narrator
A travelogue, this film provides a guided tour of pre-World War II Utah and of course does not pretend to cinematic greatness. Recommended viewing for those in search of introductory Utah history. Also valuable for persons seeking insight into the state as it would have looked during this time period. Especially informative for those desiring a window into the past for a view of how Utah was in the days of their pre-World War II progenitors living in the state. Those whose Utah ancestors were involved in mining, railroading, sugar beets, and other featured industries; featured towns, sights, recreational attractions, and industries may find this otherwise banal travelogue a quite valuable addition to their family history.
The Corpse Came C.O.D.
Narrator
Rival reporters (George Brent, Joan Blondell) investigate a Hollywood star (Adele Jergens) and the box she receives with a dead man inside.
The Chase
Fats
Chuck Scott gets a job as chauffeur to tough guy Eddie Roman; but Chuck's involvement with Eddie's fearful wife becomes a nightmare.
The Kid from Brooklyn
Radio Announcer
Shy milkman Burleigh Sullivan accidentally knocks out drunken Speed McFarlane, a champion boxer who was flirting with Burleigh's sister. The newspapers get hold of the story and photographers even catch Burleigh knock out Speed again. Speed's crooked manager decides to turn Burleigh into a fighter. Burleigh doesn't realize that all of his opponents have been asked to take a dive. Thinking he really is a great fighter, Burleigh develops a swelled head which puts a crimp in his relationship with pretty nightclub singer Polly Pringle. He may finally get his comeuppance when he challenges Speed for the title.
Of Japanese Descent
Narrator
A public relations film which implies that the relocation and interment of Japanese Canadians was benign and necessary. Views of a Vancouver slum, idle fishing fleet, and houses on outskirts. Sequences on rehabilitated ghost towns in the Slocan Valley including Nakusp. Sequences on the new town of Tashme being built. Sequences on Japanese making a living cutting firewood, operating lumber mills, farming. Interior of tuberculosis sanatorium and patients. Sequences on Japanese folk festival and dancing. Focus on life in Tashme with shots of happy people, hospital, school, general store, bakery, and a troop of boy scouts.
Radio Stars on Parade
Don Wilson - Announcer
A Hollywood talent agency tries to avoid finacial ruin by getting its best clients on the air.
Out of This World
Radio Announcer
After struggling to become a success, Betty Miller and her all-girl orchestra finally hit pay dirt when crooner Herbie Fenton comes on board. Problems arise when Betty and her girls try to find backers to invest in Herbie and they sell 125 percent of him.
Mail Call
Filmed version of the Abbott & Costello's routine "Who's on First"
Mardi Gras
Announcer
The first of a series of six two-reel "Musical Parade" shorts produced in Technicolor for the Paramount 1943-44 production season. The series would continue into 1948, and then were reissued in the early 50's. Songs included "All the Way" and "At the Mardi Gras."
Thank Your Lucky Stars
Self - Radio Announcer
An Eddie Cantor look-alike organizes an all-star show to help the war effort.
Dangerous Blondes
Himself - Announcer (uncredited)
Mystery writer Barry Craig (Allyn Joslyn) and his wife Jane (Evelyn Keyes), prefer solving crimes rather than writing about them. They get a chance when killings plague the fashion photography studio of Ralph McCormick (Edmund Lowe). After his secretary, Julie Taylor(Anita Louise) reports an attempt to murder her there, Erika McCormick's (Ann Savage) Aunt Isabel Fleming (Mary Forbes) is stabbed and the evidence points to Madge Lawrence (Bess Flowers) an older model and an apparent suicide. Police Inspector Joseph Clinton (Frank Craven) declares the case closed...but then Erika is murdered.
Du Barry Was a Lady
Radio Interviewer (uncredited)
Hat check man Louis Blore is in love with nightclub star May Daly. May, however, is in love with a poor dancer but wants to marry for money. When Louis wins the Irish Sweepstakes, he asks May to marry him and she accepts even though she doesn't love him. Soon after, Louis has an accident and gets knocked on the head, where he dreams that he's King Louis XV pursuing the infamous Madame Du Barry.
Show-Business at War
Self (uncredited)
A multi-studio effort to show the newsreel audience the progress of the Hollywood war effort.
Swing It Soldier
Brad Saunders
In this musical comedy, a pregnant disc jockey misses her husband who is fighting overseas. Stressed out by the situation and her job, she decides to take some time off and convinces her twin sister to trade places with her. The switcheroo causes the soldier her husband appointed as her unofficial guardian no end of confusion.
The Roundup
Sheriff 'Slim' Hoover
Originally written as a stage vehicle for corpulent character actor Macklyn Arbuckle, Ernest Day's The Roundup was first filmed in 1920 with Fatty Arbuckle (no relation) in the lead. By the time the film was remade in 1941, Arbuckle's character, a roly-poly frontier sheriff named Slim (!), was refashioned as a supporting role, with Jack Benny's radio announcer Don Wilson essaying the part. The plot, however, remained fairly intact: Upon hearing that her fiance Greg (Preston Foster) has been killed, Janet (Patricia Morison) agrees to marry rancher Steve (Richard Dix) on the rebound. On the day of the wedding, who should show up but Greg, determined to raise as much Hell as humanly possible
Love Thy Neighbor
Radio Show Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
Capitalizing on the famous radio 'feud' between comedians Jack Benny and Fred Allen. The two stars play versions of themselves, constantly at each other's throats due to real and imagined slights.
Screw Drivers of 1940
Don Wilson
Film-within-a-film: two men eating lunch at restaurant see another Shell Oil film entitled "The Largest Club in the World" with Lew Lehr and Don Wilson. Humorous driving and pedestrian safety film shot on the streets of Los Angeles.
Buck Benny Rides Again
Don Wilson
Radio star Jack Benny, intending to stay in New York for the summer, is forced by the needling of rival Fred Allen to prove his boasts about roughing it on his (fictitious) Nevada ranch. Meanwhile, singer Joan Cameron, whom Jack's fallen for and offended, is maneuvered by her sisters to the same Nevada town. Jack's losing battle to prove his manhood to Joan means broad slapstick burlesque of Western cliches.
Two Girls on Broadway
Announcer
Eddie Kerns sells his song to a Broadway producer and also lands a job dancing in the musical. He sends for his dance partner-fiancée Molly Mahoney who brings her younger sister Pat. Upon seeing Molly and Pat dance, the producer picks Pat for the show and gives Molly a job selling cigarettes. A wealthy friend of the producer named "Chat" Chatsworth also has his eye on Pat. Pat is teamed with Eddie in the specialty number as Kerns and Mahoney. Pat and Eddie soon realize that they are in love and must tell Molly. Pat balks at hurting Molly and goes out with Chat who already has five ex-wives.
$1,000 a Touchdown
Announcer
A couple inherits a college and to generate revenue offers a thousand dollars to players for each touchdown they score.
Ferdinand the Bull
Narrator (voice)
This Oscar-winning short tells of a bull who preferred to sit under trees and smell flowers to clashing horns with his fellow animals. As luck would have it, an untimely bee reveals Ferdinand's ferocious side via pained howls and wild stomping. This lands him in the bull-fighting arena amidst characters based on Walt's animators with a matador reportedly modeled after Walt himself.
Hollywood Goes to Town
Self
This short shows how Hollywood gets ready for the world premiere of an "important" movie. The film celebrated here is Marie Antoinette (1938), which had its premiere at the Carthay Circle Theatre. We see the street leading to the theatre transformed to suggest a garden that might be seen in a French palace. This includes the placement of trees and other foliage, as well as large statues along the route. Grandstands are set up so fans can see their favorite stars as they arrive for the premiere. Finally, the proverbial "galaxy of stars" arrives in their limousines. Fanny Brice and Pete Smith make remarks at the microphone set up on the carpet outside the theatre.
Radio City Revels
Don Wilson - Radio Station Announcer
A down-on-his-luck songwriter attempts to peddle musical compositions of a naive Arkansas hillbilly under his own name. Comedy.
Behind the Mike
Tiny Martin
Complications ensue after a radio producer insults a sponsor.
Artists & Models
Radio Speaker (voice) (uncredited)
An ad man gets his model girlfriend to pose as a debutante for a new campaign.
Broadway Melody of 1936
Radio Announcer (uncredited)
Lovely, gifted Irene Foster hopes that her childhood sweetheart-turned Broadway producer Robert Gordon will recognize her--and her talent. Gordon is too busy sparring with a dirt-dishing gossip columnist to notice, but his wisecracking, heart-of-gold secretary certainly does. She and Irene must use their wits to show him what he's missing!
The Hot Choc-late Soldiers
Narrator
A group of confectionary soldiers go to war against a neighboring cookie castle.