Henny Youngman

Henny Youngman was an American comedian and violinist who built his act on short one-line jokes delivered in rapid succession, a style that led columnist Walter Winchell to call him the King of the One-Liners. Born in Whitechapel, in London's East End, he grew up in New York, took violin lessons and started in show business as a musician leading a jazz band. He told jokes between numbers, and after filling in for an absent comedian he turned to comedy full time. His break came in 1937 on the radio program hosted by Kate Smith, which brought bookings on network shows. He worked nightclubs and in 1959 recorded the live album The Primitive Sounds of Henny Youngman. A Dial-a-Joke line drew more than three million callers in a month in 1974, and he later appeared on television, including Laugh-In, and in cameo roles in films such as Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976) and Goodfellas (1990).