About Bill Dana
William Szathmary, known as Bill Dana, was an American comedian, actor, and screenwriter. He often appeared on television shows such as The Steve Allen Show, frequently in the guise of a heavily accented Bolivian character named José Jiménez. Dana often portrayed the Jiménez character as an astronaut. He took his stage name "Dana" after his mother's first name "Dena" as he felt "Szathmary" was unpronounceable. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. From there, he was brought in as a writer for The Steve Allen Show, where he created the José Jiménez character for the show's Man in the Street segments.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.