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Carl Mustaine New user 51 Posts |
I keep coming across this on the net but the prices asked are always incredible.
I cannot find any reference to it on the "authorhouse" website and I was wondering if the copyright was still valid? So, has anyone read it, and is it good enough to warrant paying a lot of money for? Thanks (as always) Carl |
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TalkinHorse New user Pasadena, California 5 Posts |
I haven't read the book, but maybe this comment will be worthwhile...
Paul Winchell's daughter, April Winchell, has done voice and media work (you'll find her in IMDB), and for a while she had a radio show on a Los Angeles station. Sometimes she spoke of her father. Some of what she said was extremely weird; I think she was telling the truth, but you can decide for yourself whether to believe. For example, she describes an incident when she was young (maybe 10 or so?), and I guess there was some marital stress at the time. Anyway, April's mother was out of the house one day, and Paul came to April and said he'd just had a phone call telling him that the mother had been killed in a traffic accident. Then he showed her how he'd turned the living room into a memorial for the departed mother, with various knicknacks set out in surreal geometric patterns. April knew the phone had not rung, and she'd already learned to go on normally under abnormal circumstances. So she nodded and mentally shrugged. With respect to the book, when it came out, April said it had pretty much omitted any reference to the existence of April or her sister or her mother. Paul had divorced from April's mother and remarried, and this bit of history was expunged. I don't think April or her sister or mother had any contact with her father for the rest of his life. So April basically told us to avoid the book. I think a few of her listeners went to Amazon and posted bogus negative reviews, which were later deleted. When the book came out, it was reasonably priced. Then it disappeared from print, and the price skyrocketed, as you see. I wondered if there was a story behind that; some restraining order or effort to suppress it or the like. I'm not suggesting an evil conspiracy; just wondering what happened. |
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Fonsy Regular user 187 Posts |
Paul Winchell had a difficult life, and much of his biography
will leave you feeling sad. However, there are also aspects of the book that provide insight into his philosophy and creativity. I would recommend you read this book despite whatever omissions and fabrications may be contained within it IF (and this is an important if) you can find a reasonably priced copy. The lowest price I saw online is $90, and I personally think this is too steep. Of course, it's much better than the sellers who are asking $200 and $300 for a copy. You might want to check with your local libraries. |
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Aussie Special user Australia 623 Posts |
Interesting. I'll be keeping an eye out for this book.
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marshalldoll Special user 554 Posts |
I have read Winch and although it is very dark it also opens your eyes as to how smart Paul was and how he was able to accomplish so much after having been held back by his dark side. A lot of freedom was taken by him in this biography but I still think nit is worth the read.
Dan http://www.ventriloquistcentral.com |
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Dickens & Dave Inner circle North Central Florida 1813 Posts |
I never read it. I remember when it came out, I'd heard enough from people who read it that it didn't sound like something I'd want to get and read. Although I wish I had, and just waded through the dark stuff to get to the stuff that would interest me. But oh well, too late now, for the prices it's selling for now, it's not likely I will be getting it.
http://dickensndave.bravehost.com/index.html
"Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest." |
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Dickens & Dave Inner circle North Central Florida 1813 Posts |
Wow, what's up with Winchell's books? I have his book, "God 2000 Religion Without the Bible" and the lowest price I saw is 80-something now.
http://dickensndave.bravehost.com/index.html
"Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest." |
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TalkinHorse New user Pasadena, California 5 Posts |
Since there seems to be some curiosity, I looked and found the interview segment with April Winchell that I mentioned in my earlier post. This was heard on KABC in Los Angeles on May 14, 2004. Paul Winchell was still alive at the time. April is talking to the radio host Marc Germain, who broadcast under the name of Mr. KABC. Be warned that, although the tone is of lighthearted banter, this is a troubling anecdote. It's not as serious as child molesting or the like, but certainly disturbing. So it may be that some would rather not listen, and just remember the pleasure Paul Winchell gave them.
http://youtu.be/nPbuo-jziFQ |
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Fonsy Regular user 187 Posts |
Quote:
On 2012-12-07 02:43, TalkinHorse wrote: Paul Winchell did have problems, and he admitted many of them in his book. But April is not without any problems of her own. One should take what she says with a large grain of salt. |
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TalkinHorse New user Pasadena, California 5 Posts |
Quote:
On 2012-12-07 23:47, Fonsy wrote: Yes, April certainly has a few issues of her own. I'm not trying to sort this out in terms of heroes and villains. Paul's contribution to the world is an odd collection; you wouldn't expect to find the same man doing cartoon voices and designing components of an artificial heart. And I know he did a lot of other things, in technical and philosophical fields. Must have been an interesting character. It wouldn't surprise me if he had a dark side. Ah, well, we are all complex creatures. With respect to this audio clip...it's interesting, but I would keep in mind that it's merely a single thread in a much greater tapestry. I'd take a look at that "Winch" book, but not at current prices. |
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TalkinHorse New user Pasadena, California 5 Posts |
I browsed around the web, and found this old press release.
Quote:
(PRWEB) April 5, 2004 -- After many years of waiting, fans of legendary ventriloquist, Paul Winchell, can now learn the real, life story of one of the more unusual television performers of our time, the amazing Paul Winchell. Far more than a ventriloquist and television performer, Paul Winchell’s life is hard to contain even in, WINCH, his 400 page autobiography, because, unlike most people in this strange planet, Paul Winchell dared to be himself. And by daring to follow his own golden thread of truth, Paul Winchell, like the legendary Ariadne, met the Minotaur, his own monster within. This true story is a tale, which transcends even his meteoric rise to fame and fortune as one of the leading television entertainers of the 50’s and the 60’s and many other facets of his amazing life. |
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Bob Baker Inner circle 1111 Posts |
I just finished reading "Winch," and the above press release summarizes the book pretty well. If you're looking for a Dunham-like autobiography-lite which emphasizes Paul's show biz career, don't look here. The book is really about Winchell's lifetime battle with psychosis, originating with a monstrous, dominating mother who both physically and emotionally abused her son Paul in truly horrifying ways. In the book Winchell portrays himself as a seriously disturbed man (and there's no reason to doubt his self-portrait), making all the more remarkable the things he accomplished in his public life.
While he discusses the creation of Jerry and Knuck and documents his rise in show business, those topics are not his main concern, so vents looking for a lot of behind-the-scenes info will be disappointed. For instance, he mentions in passing his desire to "get the dummy off the knee," but does not go into any detail about how he developed the techniques that accomplished this. Sprinkled through the book are anecdotes about Frank Sinatra, Carol Burnett, Ed Sullivan, Ronald Reagan, and many stars of the 40's and 50's. One sad story is how the medical profession came to discount Paul's pioneering work on the artificial heart. Paul and Dr. Robert Jarvik came up with similar ideas about the mechanics of an artificial heart, but Paul patented his long before Jarvik invented his. As Paul tells the story, the University of Utah (where Jarvik worked) discovered Paul's patent as "prior art" when seeking their own patent. They persuaded Paul to donate his patent to the university, and then rather unceremoniously dumped him from the project. All in all, this was an interesting, though not altogether enjoyable read. Do I recommend it? It depends what you are looking for. Caveat lector. Bob P.S. For those who might be concerned, the book is rife with "strong language." |
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Aussie Special user Australia 623 Posts |
Where did you get a copy of this book Bob? I've been hunting for it.
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Bob Baker Inner circle 1111 Posts |
Amazon.com.
B |
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Fonsy Regular user 187 Posts |
http://www.amazon.com/Winch-Paul-Winchell/dp/1414068964/
Winch [Hardcover] Paul Winchell (Author) 1 used from $165.00 Ouch! |
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Matt_24 Loyal user 208 Posts |
Dr. Baker provided an excellent review/description. In regard to pricing, they probably aren't going to get any cheaper. Supply vs. Demand, etc, etc.
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Dickens & Dave Inner circle North Central Florida 1813 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-03-27 07:50, Fonsy wrote: If you want it bad enough to keep searching the net, you may get lucky and find it someday at a reasonable price, but it can take time and probably some luck. I remember when I was searching for a copy of "Reflections In A Glass Eye", by Arthur Prince's son, Don Prince, I was searching for well over a year. I rarely found a copy available and when I did it was very highly priced, then one day I finally came across a copy for a reasonable price. But like I said, time and luck, and some persistence.
http://dickensndave.bravehost.com/index.html
"Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest." |
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silking Loyal user 213 Posts |
What ever happened to Paul Winchell's figures ?
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TheDummyDoctor New user U S A 76 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-04-05 02:04, silking wrote: The original Jerry (made by Frank Marshall) and Knucklehead have been in the Smithsonian collection since the late 1970s (although evidently they are not currently on display). The subsequent Jerry (the one with which we're all most familiar...the one with the closing eyelids, made by Winch) is in the David Copperfield collection (I'm fairly certain that one of the Knuckleheads is also there). There's some uncertainty regarding the exact whereabouts of some of Paul's various other figures, though I do know that a few items have found their way into other private collections. Also, about year or two ago, the very first "pre-Marshall" Jerry Mahoney (which Winch made while still in high school) turned up in an auction but to my knowledge was not sold.
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Alan Semok, Ph.D (honoris causa) THE DUMMY DOCTOR Building Pro Vent Figures since 1966 web: www.AlanSemok.com/dummies |
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Dickens & Dave Inner circle North Central Florida 1813 Posts |
I never knew the originals were in the Smithsonian, (or about where the other ones ended up), thanks for the info Alan.
http://dickensndave.bravehost.com/index.html
"Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest." |
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