John Byner

John Byner, born John Biener on June 28, 1938, in New York City, is an American actor, comedian, and impressionist. The son of Christina, a mental hospital attendant, and Michael Biener, a truck mechanic, he built a career spanning television, film, voice work, and Broadway. His 2004 appearance in The Frogs marked his Broadway credit.

Byner first gained national attention through early television appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, where his repertoire of impressions included Ed Sullivan himself, John Wayne, and vocal stylings modeled after Dean Martin and Johnny Mathis. His ability to impersonate George Jessel proved particularly useful during celebrity roasts and panel programs. In 1966, he released a musical single, "Everybody Do The," a spoof of dance crazes written with his manager Harry Colomby, on the Pop-Side label; the B-side was a cover of "Baby, Please Don't Go." A 1967 episode of Get Smart featured him as a KAOS agent who delivered a spot-on impression of President Lyndon B. Johnson to the Chief of CONTROL, played by Edward Platt.

From 1970 to 1971, Byner hosted 22 episodes of the syndicated musical variety series Something Else. His son Don Byner appeared in a 1969 episode of that program, dressed as his father. In 1972, Byner hosted the John Byner Comedy Hour, which introduced the character Super Dave Osborne, portrayed by Bob Einstein. That same year he had a cameo in the film What's Up, Doc? He guest-starred in two episodes of The Odd Couple in the mid-1970s and played a comedian and impersonator in a season six episode of Hawaii Five-O. His character performed a John Wayne impression before being struck on the head as a diversionary tactic. He held a recurring role in the sitcom The Practice during its first season in 1976.

Later in the decade, Byner took on a featured role as Detective Donahue in the television series Soap and made multiple appearances on The Carol Burnett Show, including a sketch in which he wore a Donald Duck costume and mimicked the character's voice. In the 1980s, he hosted the Canadian-produced series Bizarre, which reintroduced audiences to Super Dave Osborne. His film work during that period included a 1983 role as Doc, Burt Reynolds's childhood friend, in Stroker Ace. In 1985, he provided the voices of Gurgi and Doli in The Walt Disney Company's animated feature The Black Cauldron. He was a regular guest on Hollywood Squares during the John Davidson years and hosted the syndicated game show Relatively Speaking from 1988 to 1989. His voice work also includes the animated series The Ant and the Aardvark, in which he voiced both title characters using impressions of Dean Martin and Jackie Mason.

On February 13, 1997, Byner appeared as a plaintiff on Judge Judy against agent Dan Jordon and was awarded a $3,500 judgment as a kill fee for a canceled stand-up performance. In 2017, he was cast in a supporting role in the horror anthology series Lore, based on the podcast of the same name, portraying Patrick Boland, the father of Bridget Cleary, played by Holland Roden. The series premiered on October 13, 2017. In 2022, he played a character named Majak in Kurt St. Thomas's D.O.A., a loose remake of the 1950 film noir, and received the Best Supporting Actor award at the 2023 Flagler Film Festival for that performance.

In 2020, Byner published his autobiography, Five Minutes, Mr. Byner!, co-written with Douglas Wellman. He has been married four times and has four children with his first wife, Eleanor Belcher. He has been married to Anne Gaybis since 1992.