John Byner

John Thomas Biener, known professionally as John Byner, was born on June 28, 1938, in New York City. His father, Michael Biener, worked as an auto mechanic, and his mother, Christina Biener, was a mental hospital attendant. Byner embarked on his stand-up comedy journey in New York’s Greenwich Village, performing at Max Gordon’s jazz club “Village Vanguard.” He quickly established himself as a prominent nightclub performer, opening for jazz greats and headlining at venues across the country, including Basin Street East, Copa Cabana, The Rainbow Room, and various showrooms in Las Vegas such as Harrah’s, The Sahara, The Sands, Caesar’s Palace, The Tropicana, and the Las Vegas Hilton. His early career highlighted his talent for dialects and impressions, making him a recognized “Man of 1,000 Impressions” alongside Rich Little.

Byner’s television career began with an appearance on Merv Griffin’s “Talent Scouts Show” in 1964. He gained further exposure on Garry Moore and Steve Allen’s variety shows in 1966 and 1967. He became a frequent guest on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” appearing over two dozen times, and was a regular on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” with over three dozen appearances. He also contributed to “The Carol Burnett Show,” “The Mike Douglas Show,” and “The Dean Martin Show,” and later became a favorite on “Late Show with David Letterman” and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” In 1972, he hosted and starred in “The John Byner Comedy Hour,” a summer variety series featuring sketch comedy. His show “Bizarre” aired for six seasons, earning him an Ace Award, and he received a second Ace Award for his show “Comedy on the Road,” which ran for four seasons on A&E.

Byner started his on-camera acting career in 1967 with a recurring role in “Accidental Family.” He lent his voice to animated characters, most notably as both the Ant and the Aardvark in “The Ant and the Aardvark” cartoons, impersonating Dean Martin and Jackie Mason. His film work includes a role in “What’s Up, Doc?” (1972) and comedic parts in “The Great Smokey Roadblock” (1977), “Stroker Ace” (1983), and “Transylvania 6-5000” (1985). He provided voices for Disney’s animated feature “The Black Cauldron” (1985) and for TV cartoons such as “Duckman,” “Garfield and Friends,” “The Angry Beavers,” “Rugrats,” and a revamped “Felix the Cat.” His later work includes roles in “Silk Stalkings,” “Married… with Children,” “Dharma & Greg,” “In the Heat of the Night,” “My 5 Wives” (2000), and “Robodoc” (2009). In 2020, he released his autobiography, “Five Minutes, Mr. Byner!”, and in 2022, he received the Best Supporting Actor award at the Flagler Film Festival for his role in “D.O.A.”