Winch Author:Paul Winchell Let me warn you at the outset, this is not a typical Hollywood memoir. In a way, it is a ghost story, written by a person who lived in two completely different worlds. Publicly, I lived in a world of glitter and celebrity. Privately, I lived in a world dominated by a ghostly apparition, elevated to godlike proportions. In this secret world, I ma... more »de an excruciatingly difficult odyssey toward self-knowledge.
Yes, I was lucky to have prospered in the days of early television. Thanks to TV, I became the world's best-known ventriloquist since Edgar Bergen. My prime-time TV shows and children's programming, especially Winchell-Mahoney Time, dominated the airwaves for more than two decades. Before that I experienced vaudeville and the heyday of radio, and worked with the big bands of the 30's and 40's. In my spare time, I perfected medical hypnosis and invented many things, including the artificial heart.
But during all of this, my main story has remained private. In this book, I describe how my rise as an entertainer collided with the residues of an abusive childhood and how slowly, painfully, I finally conquered the torments of my inner world. I am pleased to share that story with you now.