The Bill Dana show : #9

The fictional character José Jiménez first appeared on the Steve Allen show in 1959. As the character of José Jiménez grew in popularity, comedian Bill Dana took José through various roles including elevator operator, submariner and finally astronaut. The success of "José Jiménez" led to the creation of The Bill Dana show on NBC in 1963. "José, The Astronaut" was adopted by the original seven Mercury astronauts, becoming part of US space history when the first words the NASA team radioed to astronaut Al Shepard, were, "OK, José, you're on your way." The character José Jiménez was also featured on the 1961 sound recording, José Jiménez in orbit (Bill Dana on earth).