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Bill Dana was best known
for his Jose Jimenez character. Bill Dana's comic creation José
first appeared on Steve Allen's TV show, and swiftly became
extremely popular.
Dana's Jimenez character
was a Mexican immigrant, somewhat bemused by life in the U.S.A. but
eager to join in. Dana got so much mileage from this one character
that he became one of those performers entirely known to the public
in the guise of one fictional character, rather than in his own right
(like Paul Rubens as Pee Wee Herman).
Inevitably, there were some
complaints (from Latinos in general and Mexicans in particular) that
Jose Jimenez is an ethnic stereotype. But the character was never
played as an insult. Jose Jimenez is honest, hard-working and is just
naive not stupid. In many ways, Jose Jimenez is a south-of-the-border
version of Gomer Pyle.
Jose Jimenez's origins were
in brief skits and spoof 'man in the street' interviews on Steve
Allen's show. 'The Bill Dana Show' was an attempt to place the
popular Jimenez character at the centre of a weekly sitcom. This
series had some genuine potential, with a good premise and a splendid
supporting cast, and might have succeeded if it had possessed better
scripts. Each episode began promisingly, with a marimba band playing
the show's theme tune in rapid three-quarter time. Bill Dana remained
firmly in character as Jose Jimenez, who for purposes of this sitcom
was a bellboy in a California hotel. Working on the same shift was
his bellboy buddy Eddie. There was some good interplay between the
naive, trusting Jose and the cynical Eddie, with Eddie always trying
to recruit Jose into his schemes and always eager to explain to Jose
the 'right' way to do things in America. Pop singer Gary Crosby
showed real acting talent in his role as Eddie.
For modern viewers, the
most intriguing aspect of 'The Bill Dana Show' is that the supporting
cast featured dry runs for two characters who later became fixtures
in their own respective series. Don Adams (a longtime friend of Dana)
played the hotel's house detective Glick. Adams played this character
with the same crotchets and vocal delivery that he would later employ
so successfully as Maxwell Smart in 'Get Smart'. The hotel's pompous
manager, Mr Phillips, was played by Jonathan Harris in the same
snooty supercilious mode that he later used as the villainous Dr
Zachary Smith in 'Lost in Space'.
Bill Dana's writting
credits include: The Steve Allen Show, Bridget
Loves Bernie, Chico and the Man, Donny and Marie, The Smothers
Brothers Comedy Hour, Matlock and All in the Family (the episode when
Sammy Davis Jr visits the Bunkers). |
