José Jiménez (character)

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 José 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 Bolivian 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.

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 & 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, 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. 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, who flew as high as 59 miles up and qualified for NASA's Astronaut Badge.)

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