B i l l   "J o s e   J i m e n e z"   D a n a

 

Bill " Jose Jimenez" Dana  8th Mercury Astronaut (out of a possible 7):

 

José Jiménez was a fictional character created and performed by comedian Bill Dana on The Steve Allen Show in 1959 and who became increasingly popular during the 1960s. This character introduced himself with the catch phrase: "My name — José Jiménez". Dana played Jose in three non-variety shows: Make Room For Daddy, which spun off The Bill Dana Show, and a cameo in an episode of Batman ("The Yegg Foes In Gotham", 20 October 1966).

During the course of his José Jiménez acts, Bill Dana (who is of Hungarian-Jewish ancestry, unlike the Mexican 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.

Jose Jimenez: "My name — Jose Jimenez."
Ed Sullivan: "Well, now I see you have some of your space equipment with you. Uh, what is that called, the crash helmet?"
Jose Jimenez: "Oh, I hope not."

Ed Sullivan: "Now, what do you consider the most important thing in rocket travel?"
Jose Jimenez: "To me the most important thing in the rocket travel is the blast-off."
Ed Sullivan: "The blast-off."
Jose Jimenez: "I always take a blast before I take off. Otherwise I wouldn't go near that thing."

The character of José Jiménez caught on amongst the seven Mercury astronauts, and Dana became good friends with them. "Okay, José, you're on your way!" Deke Slayton quipped as Alan Shepard's famous first flight launched, in reference to the astronaut parody. For his role as José the Astronaut, Dana was officially made an honorary Mercury astronaut. (Coincidentally, there was a real test pilot named Bill Dana, who flew as high as 59 miles up and qualified for NASA's Astronaut Badge.)

  


 

Process Order

 

 

onyourway.jpg (205152 bytes)
 

"OK Jose, you're on your way!", were the first words spoken to Alan Shepard during his launch as he became the first American space traveler.  Bill Dana signs and adds that now historic quote with launch date. 

#Dana-1
$30

myname.jpg (208981 bytes)

"My name - Jose Jimenez" from the Steve Allen Show - '60

 

#Dana-2
$30

blastbefore.jpg (54240 bytes)


 

"I always take a blast before I take off !" - from the Ed Sullivan Show where Bill made 18 guest appearances !! 

 

#Dana-3
$30

 

dana8thmercastro.jpg (25607 bytes)

"The 8th Mercury Astronaut"

 

#BD-4
$30

 

linernotes.jpg (34840 bytes)

 

Bill Dana as Jose Jimenez Greatest Bits (CD)

#Hand signed, "My Name....Bill Dana" w/gold paint pen on liner notes

 

Dana-5
$40

supersport.jpg (143696 bytes)
 

V"Jose - Supersport"

 

Vintage LP only taken out of shrink-wrap so that Bill could
sign in gold paint pen, "The agony of winning!...Bill Dana" Very Nice

#Dana-6
$35

Bellman.jpg (43699 bytes)

 

Bill Dana w/cast of Bill Dana Show as "Jose the Bellman", 1963

 

#BD-7
$20




Process Order