John Byner
Biography
Biography
Funnyman John Byner's stand-up comedy career got started in Greenwich Village opening up for jazz acts at Max Gordon's Vanguard. His talent was noticed and he spent the remainder of the 1960s making over 24 TV appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show," eight specials with trumpet player Al Hirt for CBS, 10 with Eddy Arnold for CBS's "Kraft Music Hall," and immediately became hip to the progressions of the '70s with numerous appearances on "The Carol Burnett Show" and "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson. In addition to lending his versatile voice to all of the characters on the "Ant and the Aardvark" segment of "The Pink Panther Show" animated series, Byner hosted his own comedy special in 1972 as well as the traveling music show called "Something Else." He was also host of the sensationally outré and oft-bawdy sketch show "Bizarre" for six seasons in the 1980s and did guest spots on the daytime-TV parody "Soap" and the thoroughly politically incorrect "Married with Children." Along with Rich Little and Frank Caliendo, he is widely known for his voice impersonation abilities and gift of mimicry. He continues to do voice over work and has appeared in over 30 feature films.