
José Jiménez was a fictional character created and performed by comedian
Bill Dana
William Szathmary (October 5, 1924 June 15, 2017), known as Bill Dana, was an American comedian, actor, and screenwriter. He often appeared on television shows such as The Steve Allen Show, frequently in the guise of a heavily accented Bolivian ...
on ''
The Steve Allen Show
''The Steve Allen Show'' is an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on ABC, '' in 1959 and who became increasingly popular during the 1960s. This character introduced himself with the catch phrase: "My name...José Jiménez". Dana played José in three non-variety shows: ''
Make Room for Daddy
''The Danny Thomas Show'' (titled ''Make Room for Daddy'' for its first three seasons) is an American sitcom that ran from 1953 to 1957 on ABC and from 1957 to 1964 on CBS. Starring Danny Thomas as a successful night club entertainer, the sho ...
'', which spun off ''
The Bill Dana Show'', and a cameo in an episode of ''
Batman
Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
'' (
"The Yegg Foes in Gotham", October 20, 1966).
Astronaut
During the course of his José Jiménez acts, Bill Dana (who was of
Hungarian-
Jew
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
ish ancestry, unlike the
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
n character he played) took his character through various roles including elevator operator, sailor, and submariner until settling into the most famous occupation that José would hold:
astronaut
An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...
. An excerpt from ''
The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...
'':
José Jiménez: "My name... José Jiménez."
Ed Sullivan: "Well, now I see you have some of your space equipment with you. Uh, what is that called, the crash helmet?"
José Jiménez: "Oh, I hope not."
Ed Sullivan: "Now, what do you consider the most important thing in rocket travel?"
José Jiménez: "To me the most important thing in the rocket travel is the blast-off."
Ed Sullivan: "The blast-off."
José Jiménez: "I always take a blast before I take off. Otherwise I wouldn't go near that thing."
The routine was later released as a double-sided single: "The Astronaut (Part 1 and 2)" made the ''Billboard'' charts, peaking at #19 in September 1961. Writer/producer Don Hinkley (who Dana had met when they were writers for the Allen show) played the part of the newscaster, asking José questions about his purported spaceflight. An LP, ''José Jiminez in Orbit (Bill Dana on Earth)'' (Kapp KL-1257), featuring similar routines, was issued in 1962.
The character of José Jiménez caught on with the seven real
Mercury astronauts
The Mercury Seven were the group of seven astronauts selected to fly spacecraft for Project Mercury. They are also referred to as the Original Seven and Astronaut Group 1. Their names were publicly announced by NASA on April 9, 1959: Scott Ca ...
, and Dana became good friends with them: "Okay, José, you're on your way!"
Deke Slayton
Donald Kent "Deke" Slayton (March 1, 1924 – June 13, 1993) was an American Air Force pilot, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts. He went on to become NASA's first Chief of the Astronaut O ...
quipped as
Alan Shepard
Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he became the List of Apollo astronauts#Apollo astr ...
's famous first flight launched. José became the program's unofficial mascot, and Dana was even made an honorary
Mercury astronaut. (Coincidentally, there was a real test pilot named
Bill Dana
William Szathmary (October 5, 1924 June 15, 2017), known as Bill Dana, was an American comedian, actor, and screenwriter. He often appeared on television shows such as The Steve Allen Show, frequently in the guise of a heavily accented Bolivian ...
, who flew as high as 59 miles up and qualified for NASA's
Astronaut Badge
United States astronaut badges are the various badges of the United States which are awarded to military and civilian personnel of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the various child departments of the Department of Defense, ...
.)
Decline
As time passed, Dana realized that such ethnic humor was becoming offensive, and Hispanic groups began protesting Dana's portrayal of the dim-witted Hispanic character. In 1970, Dana announced to a Mexican-American cultural pride festival that "after tonight, José Jiménez is dead", later holding a mock funeral for José on
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...
. In 1997, Dana received an image award from the
National Hispanic Media Coalition.
José Jiménez in popular culture
In the 1983 film ''
The Right Stuff'',
Alan Shepard
Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he became the List of Apollo astronauts#Apollo astr ...
(played by
Scott Glenn
Theodore Scott Glenn (born January 26 between 1938 and 1942) is an American actor. His roles have included Bill Lester in '' She Came to the Valley'' (1979), Pfc Glenn Kelly in ''Nashville'' (1975), Wes Hightower in '' Urban Cowboy'' (1980), as ...
) is a fan of the character and uses the catchphrase in radio talk while piloting his airplane in for a carrier landing. Later he is warned by a very large, rather intimidating Hispanic medical aide (played by
Anthony Muñoz) that the way he uses it is offending people, and he stops. Footage of the character's appearance as an astronaut on ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' was also seen in the film.
In the 1987 film ''
The Pink Chiquitas'', one of the characters reads a passage from a book describing an expedition by the "explorer" José Jiménez.
In his demo of the song "Wonderful Toys" written for the aborted
Batman
Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
musical,
Jim Steinman
James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...
does a parody of
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
, which includes the lines "My name is—my name is—my names is—José Jiménez!". The song is meant to be sung by The Joker.
In the ''
Farscape
''Farscape'' is an Australian-American Science fiction on television, science fiction television series conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by The Jim Henson Company and Hallmark Entertainment, originally for the Nine Network. It prem ...
'' season 4 episode, "Unrealized Reality", the lead character, John Crichton (who commonly quotes pop culture throughout his misadventures), experiences another possible reality of a scene from the first episode of the series. When asked his name, instead of saying John Crichton he replies, "My name José Jiménez."
In the television show ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000
''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on WUCW, KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then ...
'', the puppet character of Crow uses the phrase "My name José Jiménez."
In the third episode of the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
miniseries ''
From the Earth to the Moon
''From the Earth to the Moon: A Direct Route in 97 Hours, 20 Minutes'' () is an 1865 novel by Jules Verne. It tells the story of the Baltimore Gun Club, a post-American Civil War society of weapons enthusiasts, and their attempts to build an en ...
'', called "We Have Cleared the Tower", someone mentions Bill Dana during the
Apollo 7
Apollo 7 (October 11–22, 1968) was the first crewed flight in NASA's Apollo program, and saw the resumption of human spaceflight by the agency after the fire that had killed the three Apollo 1 astronauts during a launch rehearsal test ...
pre-launch breakfast. This inspires Commander
Wally Schirra
Walter Marty Schirra Jr. ( ; March 12, 1923 – May 3, 2007) was an American naval aviator (United States), naval aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. In 1959, he became one of the Mercury Seven, original seven astronauts chosen for Pro ...
(played by
Mark Harmon
Thomas Mark Harmon (born September 2, 1951) is an American actor, writer, producer, television director and former American football, football player. He is best known for playing the lead role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs on ''NCIS (TV series), NCIS'' ...
) to recite some of José Jiménez's lines, to the great amusement of everyone at the table.
In a cameo appearance in the ''
Get Smart
''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the Spy fiction, secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Bu ...
'' episode, "Supersonic Boom", Dana alludes indirectly to Jiménez, in that his only line was "Sorry fella, don't speak Spanish. Boy, are you in the wrong neighborhood."
In season 4 episode 10 of ''
The Larry Sanders Show
''The Larry Sanders Show'' is an American television sitcom set in the office and studio of a fictional late-night talk show. Created by Garry Shandling and Dennis Klein, the show ran for six seasons and List of The Larry Sanders Show episodes, ...
'', Arthur argues that José had been an inspiration to children because he was the "first Hispanic in space".
In the episode "Day One" of ''
The Wonder Years
''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Super Bowl X ...
'', Kevin Arnold's teacher calls him, "a regular José Jiménez" when Kevin interrupts a class lecture. Earlier in the episode Kevin made a joke and embarrassed the same teacher.
In the ''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...
'' episode "
The Boyfriend", (season 3, episode 17), George Constanza goes to an unemployment office, where he nervously does an impression of José Jiménez.
Ventriloquist
Jeff Dunham
Jeffrey Douglas Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist, stand-up comedian and actor who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including ''Late Show with David Letterman'', ''Comedy Central Presents'', ''The Tonig ...
has performed with a pepper-shaped puppet named "José Jalapeño," described as "almost indistinguishable" from José Jiménez.
References
External links
Bill Dana site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jimenez, Jose
Comedy television characters
Fictional Bolivian people
Fictional Hispanic and Latino American people
Fictional NASA astronauts
Television characters introduced in 1959
Ethnic humour
Jewish comedy and humor
Stereotypes of Hispanic and Latino Americans