About Heywood Banks
Born 1951. Heywood Banks is an American musician and comedy.
Stuart Mitchell (born April 1, 1950), known professionally as Heywood Banks, is an American comedian, and writer and performer of humorous songs.
Career In the 1970s and 1980s, Mitchell used to perform under his own name, doing comedy and playing guitar.
In 1988, he won the Johnnie Walker Comedy Search national finals, which gave him a television appearance on A&E's An Evening at the Improv, aired on October 19, 1988.
His songs include "Toast", "Fly's Eyes", "Wiper Blades", "Pancreas", "Big Butter Jesus" (a song about the King of Kings statue), "18 Wheels (on a Big Rig)", "The One Eye Love" & "The Cat Got Dead".
The story of his song "Toast" goes back to around 1986, when he was browsing at a Salvation Army store for props for his act. He bought an old toaster, thinking maybe he would make toast during his act. Later, his wife said she was looking forward to having toast the next morning, and he started improvising a song about toast while playing a bongo.
Heywood frequently appears on the nationally syndicated radio program The Bob and Tom Show. His most popular and widely known song is called "Toast", played on a toaster with a pair of forks. Another recurring song that B&T occasionally play is "Trauma to the Groin". Heywood's songs have also been played on the Dr. Demento Show.
In 1993, he starred in a pilot called The Heywood Banks Show, which was aired on WJBK. He played the manager of a trailer park's convenience store called the Toast Basket. He also played a resident at the trailer park named Hyphen (Dash) Ampersand. He performed his song "Toast" on the pilot. Comedy writer B. K. Taylor also appeared on the show. singer called Troy.
Personal life Banks is originally from Birmingham, Michigan. He attended Western Michigan University. He lives near Howell, Michigan.
Albums If Pigs Had Wings & Other Favorite Songs (1990) Treated and Released (1992) Picky Picky Picky (1998) difErnt (1999) Pretending I'm Not Home (2003) Big Butter (2006) Heywood Banks Live! Never Trust a Puppet (2012)
Television appearances A & E's Evening at The Improv with Richard Moll A & E's Evening at The Improv with John Davidson 6 MTV Big @!#% Shows MTV ½ Hour Comedy Hour CNN Hollywood Minute Caroline's Comedy Hour Entertainment Tonight Showtime Comedy Club Network 12th Annual HBO Young Comedians Special with Paul Rodriguez Harmony House television commercials
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Important facts
People in Heywood Banks's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Heywood Banks's
Frequently asked questions
Who is Heywood Banks?
American comedy rock musician
When was Heywood Banks born?
Heywood Banks was born in 1951.
What is Heywood Banks's occupation?
Heywood Banks is a musician and comedy.
What nationality is Heywood Banks?
Heywood Banks is American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Heywood Banks. https://biography.guide/heywood-banks/
MLA: "Heywood Banks." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/heywood-banks/.
Chicago: "Heywood Banks." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/heywood-banks/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-22 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
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