![]() There were no prerequisites, like being Italian or having a moustache, he added. “They try to woo you into it and you negotiate a deal, and you either agree to do it or you don’t,” he explained. ![]() Wells said he got a call to see if he would be interested. ![]() Wells in his recurring role on The Jeffersons His most famous role is playing Charlie the bartender on The Jeffersons, which lasted for 11 seasons, but Wells has been in countless films and shows, from Love, American Style to K-Mart commercials to Magnolia. There, he found steady work, which continues to this day. He met everyone along the way - “you name it, Sinatra on down” - and was urged to move to California by his talent agency. The Montreal-born Danny Wells had left home in the 1960s to try his hand at stand-up comedy in New York City. I’ve already had some acting experience because I have been in movies like Wise Guys and Body Slam and TV shows like Miami Vice.” “I met with Nintendo people and I had done a cartoon before. Though he didn’t have a moustache, he looked like Mario, so he got the gig.Īlbano did an interview with the Kidsday newspaper insert when the show was coming out and explained how he got the part. Wells and Albano voiced the characters in the animated portion of the showĪlbano had entered the mainstream culture while appearing in Cyndi Lauper music videos, and had landed a few small roles in movies. It’s always the other way around.”Įventually, a deal was reached and the Super Mario Bros. They finally agreed, but we have to pay them a royalty, and very healthy one, which is unheard of in the kid business. “Their first answer was, ‘No, we don’t want to do it We can’t meet our demand right now We don’t need you and we don’t need any television show.’ We begged and pleaded and we brought together a creative team they were very impressed with and we said we felt we could produce good entertainment that would be viewed independently of the game. “When we went to Nintendo and said we wanted to do a TV show on the Mario brothers, we thought they were going to jump up and down and offer us a terrific deal,” Heyward told the Tribune. With franchises like Ghost Busters, ALF, Dennis the Menace, Heathcliff, and Inspector Gadget already under the DIC banner, Heyward found a challenge in Nintendo company, based in Japan. In a 1989 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Andy Heyward, the executive producer for DIC Enterprises and one of the show’s writers, talked about the difficulties in getting the deal to take root. Thank you for bringing to life one of Nintendo and gaming’s most beloved characters.Albano and Wells show off their vocal pipesīut the idea of a television show, combining live-action with cartoons, while not exactly revolutionary, was foreign to the people at Nintendo. He also provided the voice for Captain Arthur Partridge in the Ubisoft video game “Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory,” as well as additional voices for cartoons like “Johnny Bravo and Batman: The Animated Series.” ![]() In addition to his role as Luigi, Wells also played the recurring role of Charlie in 70’s and 80’s African American sitcom show “The Jeffersons,” and starred in feature films like “Magnolia” and “The Last Kiss.” These accidentally get sucked into the Mushroom Kingdom and become its defenders against the Koopa army. The second segment had both actors playing their cartoon selves. Plumbing” saw Wells and Captain Lou Albano suit up as Luigi and Mario respectively, living in their flat in Brooklyn and getting to meet celebrity guests stars in each episode of the show. The Live-Action segments, dubbed “Mario Bros. He played Luigi in the live-action segments as well as provided the voice of the character during the cartoon itself. Wells brought to life Mario’s stalwart brother and sidekick, who assists his sibling in saving the Mushroom Kingdom and Princess Toadstool from the evil King Koopa. His death is felt by millions of fans the world over who remember his contributions not just for video games, but for television and film as well.īorn Jack Westelman, Wells played Luigi Mario, the green jumpsuit-wearing plumber and sidekick to his older and rounder brother in the 1989 live action and animated series “The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!” star, known for playing Luigi opposite the late Lou Albano’s Mario, died in Toronto at the age of 72. Super Mario fans who grew up in the 80’s reading Nintendo Power and watching Nintendo-licensed shows mourn the loss of icon Danny Wells, who passed away last November 28.
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