[5] Wynn wrote, directed, and produced many Broadway shows in the subsequent decades, and was known for his silly costumes and props as well as for the giggly, wavering voice he developed for the 1921 musical revue The Perfect Fool.

[7] In the early 1930s, Wynn hosted the radio show The Fire Chief,[8] heard in North America on Tuesday nights, sponsored by Texaco gasoline.

Like many former vaudeville performers who turned to radio in the same decade, the stage-trained Wynn insisted on playing for a live studio audience, doing each program as an actual stage show, using visual bits to augment his written material, and in his case, wearing a colorful costume with a red fireman's helmet.

According to radio historian Elizabeth McLeod, the failed venture left Wynn deep in debt, divorced and finally, suffering a nervous breakdown.

Buster Keaton, Carmen Miranda, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Hattie McDaniel and The Three Stooges all made guest appearances with Wynn.

(However, unbeknownst to Wynn, supporting player Ned Glass was his secret understudy in case something did happen before air time.)

On live broadcast night, Wynn surprised everyone with his pitch-perfect performance, and his quick ad libs to cover his mistakes.

A dramatization of what happened during the production was later staged as an April 1960 Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse episode, The Man in the Funny Suit, starring both senior and junior Wynns, with key figures involved in the original production also portraying themselves (including Rod Serling and director Ralph Nelson).

The following year he received his first (and only) nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Mr. Dussell in The Diary of Anne Frank (1959).

In Walt Disney's Mary Poppins (1964), he played eccentric Uncle Albert floating around just beneath the ceiling in uncontrollable mirth, singing "I Love to Laugh".

(1965), featuring Dean Jones and Hayley Mills—Wynn filled out the character of Mr. Hofstedder, the watch jeweler with his bumbling charm.

His bronze grave marker reads:Dear God: Thanks... Ed WynnRed Skelton, who was discovered by Wynn, stated: "His death is the first time he ever made anyone sad.

"[15] Wynn's distinctive voice continues to be emulated by countless actors and comedians, including Alan Tudyk for the character King Candy in Disney's animated film Wreck-It Ralph.