This image is the cover for the book Five Minutes, Mr. Byner

Five Minutes, Mr. Byner

Using God's gift to be accepted...

John Byner is a man of many voices and characters, from impersonating the slow, rolling gait and speech of John Wayne, to lending his voice to The Ant and the Aardvark cartoons. His dead-on impersonations, as well as his unique talents as a character actor, have put him on the small screen in peoples' homes, the big screen in theaters, and no screen on Broadway.

Growing up in a big family on Long Island, John discovered his uncanny ability to mimic voices as a child when he returned home from a Bing Crosby movie and repeated Bing's performance for his family in their living room. He discovered his talent made him the focus of everyone's attention, and allowed him to make friends wherever he went, from elementary school to the U.S. Navy.

John started his career in nightclubs in New York, but soon found himself getting national acclaim on The Ed Sullivan Show. With that he was on his way.

This memoir is the best and funniest moments of his life, career, and relationships with some of the biggest names in entertainment, both on and off the screen.

John Byner, Douglas Wellman

The proud owner of scores of dialects and hundreds of uncanny impersonations, slight, deadpan, rubber-faced, light-haired funnyman John Byner is a standout in the rare world of impressionists.

Born John Biener on June 28, 1937 in New York City, he was the son of Michael Biener, an auto mechanic, and Christina Biener, a mental hospital attendant. His stand-up comedy career began in New York's Greenwich Village where he worked for a year for Max Gordon at Gordon's jazz club "Village Vanguard."

John's TV career break happened in New York City on Merv Girffin's "Talent Scouts Show" in 1964. After great exposure on both Gary Moore ans Steve Allen's variety shows in 1966 and 1967, he clowned around on Ed Sullivan's showcase program over two dozen times and John Carson late-night haunt over three dozen times. He also appeared on "Get Smart," "Soap," "Maude," and "The Odd Couple," and made his film debut in the Barbra Streisand/Ryan O'Neal gagfest "What's Up, Doc?" (1972). He has lent his vocal library of voices to hundreds of cartoons and animated film. He recently completed a role in the feature film "DOA" (2019).

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