Red Buttons | |
---|---|
Born | Aaron Chwatt February 5, 1919 New York City, U.S. |
Died | July 13, 2006 87) Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1935–2006 |
Spouses | Helayne McNorton (m. 1949;div. 1963)Alicia Prats (m. 1964;died 2001) |
Children | 2 |
Red Buttons (born Aaron Chwatt; February 5, 1919 – July 13, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role in the 1957 film Sayonara . He was nominated for awards for his acting work in films such as They Shoot Horses, Don't They? , Harlow , and Pete's Dragon . Buttons played the lead role of Private John Steele, the paratrooper hung up on the town steeple clock, in the 1962 international ensemble cast film The Longest Day .
Red Buttons was born Aaron Chwatt [1] on February 5, 1919, in Manhattan, [1] New York City, to Jewish immigrants Sophie (née Baker) and Michael Chwatt. [2] [3] At 16 years old, Chwatt got a job as an entertaining bellhop at Ryan's Tavern in City Island, the Bronx, New York City. The combination of his red hair and the large, shiny buttons on the bellhop uniforms inspired orchestra leader Charles "Dinty" Moore to call him "Red Buttons", the name under which he would later perform.
Later that same summer, Buttons worked on the Borscht Belt; [1] his straight man was Robert Alda. Buttons was working at the Irvington Hotel in South Fallsburg, New York, when the master of ceremonies became incapacitated, and Buttons asked for the chance to replace him. In 1939, Buttons started working for Minsky's Burlesque; in 1941, José Ferrer chose Buttons to appear in a Broadway show The Admiral Had a Wife, a farce, set in Pearl Harbor at Oahu, Hawaii. It was due to open on December 8, 1941, but never did. It was deemed inappropriate after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In later years, Buttons would joke that the Japanese only attacked Pearl Harbor to keep him off Broadway.
In September 1942, Buttons made his Broadway debut in Vickie with Ferrer and Uta Hagen. Later that year, he appeared in the Minsky's show Wine, Women and Song. This was the last classic burlesque show in New York City history; the Mayor La Guardia administration closed it down. Buttons was on stage when the show was raided.
Drafted into the United States Army Air Forces, Buttons in 1943 appeared in the Army Air Forces' Broadway show Winged Victory , along with several future stars, including Mario Lanza, John Forsythe, Karl Malden, and Lee J. Cobb. A year later, he appeared in Darryl F. Zanuck's movie version of the play, directed by George Cukor. Buttons also entertained troops in the European Theater in the same Jeep Show unit as Mickey Rooney.
After the war, Buttons continued to perform in Broadway shows. He also performed at Broadway movie houses with big bands. In 1952, Buttons received his own variety series on television, The Red Buttons Show , which ran for three years on CBS. It was the number-11 show in prime time in 1952. [4] In 1953, he recorded and had a two-sided hit with "Strange Things Are Happening"/"The Ho Ho Song", with both sides/songs essentially being the same.
His role in Sayonara was a dramatic departure from his previous work. In this film, co-starring with Marlon Brando, he played Joe Kelly, an American airman stationed in Kobe, Japan, during the Korean War, who marries Katsumi, a Japanese woman (played by Miyoshi Umeki), but he is barred from taking her back to the US. His moving portrayal of Kelly's calm resolve not to abandon the relationship, and the touching reassurance of Katsumi, impressed audiences and critics alike. Buttons won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and Umeki won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film.
After his Oscar-winning role, Buttons performed in numerous feature films, including the African adventure Hatari! with John Wayne, the adventure Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962) (where he received top billing), the war epic The Longest Day, the biopic Harlow, the disaster film The Poseidon Adventure , the dance-marathon drama They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, the family comedy Pete's Dragon, the disaster film When Time Ran Out with Paul Newman, and the age-reversal comedy 18 Again! with George Burns.
In 1966, Buttons again starred in his own TV series, a spy spoof called The Double Life of Henry Phyfe , which ran for one season. Buttons also made guest appearances on several TV programs, including The Eleventh Hour , Little House on the Prairie , It's Garry Shandling's Show , Knots Landing , and Roseanne . His last TV role was in ER .
He became a nationally recognizable comedian, and his "Never Got a Dinner" routine was a standard of The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast for many years. He made numerous appearances at Friars Club roasts and Chabad telethons, where he was often brought on and off stage to the tune of "Hava Nagila". (He once told an interviewer, "I'm a Jew who is doing comedy, not a 'Jewish comic'." [5] )
His best-known catchphrase, "Never got a dinner!" formed the basis for elaborately eccentric lists of famous people (and their mothers) who had not been honored with celebrity dinner roasts. Another of his catchphrases was "I did not come here to be made sport of," which was later taken up by radio talk-show host Howie Carr.
Buttons received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for television, located at 1651 Vine Street. He was number 71 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time.
Buttons married actress Roxanne Arlen in 1947, but the marriage soon ended in divorce. He married Helayne McNorton on December 8, 1949. They divorced in 1963. His last marriage was to Alicia Prats, which lasted from January 27, 1964, until her death in March 2001. With Prats he had two children. He was the advertising spokesman for Century Village, Florida, a retirement community.
Buttons was an early member of the Synagogue for the Performing Arts, and at the time Rabbi Jerome Cutler was the rabbi. [6]
Buttons died of complications from cardiovascular disease on July 13, 2006, at age 87 at his home in Century City, Los Angeles. [7] He had been ill for a while and was with family members when he died. His ashes were given to his family after cremation. [1]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1944 | Winged Victory | Whitey/Andrews Sister | credited as Cpl. Red Buttons |
1946 | 13 Rue Madeleine | Second Jump Master | uncredited |
1951 | Footlight Varieties | Red Buttons | |
1957 | Sayonara | Joe Kelly | |
1958 | Imitation General | Corporal Chan Derby | |
1959 | The Big Circus | Randy Sherman | |
1961 | One, Two, Three | Military Police Sergeant | uncredited |
1962 | Hatari! | Pockets | |
1962 | Five Weeks in a Balloon | Donald O'Shay | |
1962 | The Longest Day | Private John Steele | |
1962 | Gay Purr-ee | Robespieree | Voice Role |
1963 | A Ticklish Affair | Flight Officer Simon "Uncle Cy" Shelley | |
1964 | Your Cheatin' Heart | Shorty Younger | |
1965 | Up from the Beach | Private first class Harry Devine | |
1965 | Harlow | Arthur Landau | |
1966 | Stagecoach | Peacock | |
1969 | They Shoot Horses, Don't They? | Sailor | |
1971 | Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name? | Mickey Isador | |
1972 | The Poseidon Adventure | James Martin | |
1976 | Gable and Lombard | Ivan Cooper | |
1977 | Viva Knievel! | Ben Andrews | |
1977 | Pete's Dragon | Hoagy | |
1978 | Movie Movie | Peanuts/Jinks Murphy | Both segments of film |
1979 | C.H.O.M.P.S. | Bracken | |
1980 | When Time Ran Out... | Francis Fendly | |
1988 | 18 Again! | Charlie | |
1990 | The Ambulance | Elias Zacharai | |
1994 | It Could Happen to You | Walter Zakuto | |
1999 | The Story of Us | Arnie Jordan | |
2001 | Odessa or Bust | The Old Man | Short Film |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1948 | The Milton Berle Show | Himself – Comedian | "Red Buttons/Judy Canova/The Crackerjacks/Ella Logan/Russell Swan" |
1951 | Suspense | unknown role | "Merryman's Murder" |
1952–55 | The Red Buttons Show | Himself (Host) | 4 episodes |
1952–66 | The Ed Sullivan Show | Himself (Comedian/Singer) | recurring role (10 episodes) |
1956 | Studio One | St. Emergency | "The Tale of St. Emergency" |
1958 | Hansel and Gretel | Hansel | TV movie |
1958 | The Eddie Fisher Show | Himself | 2 episodes |
1959 | Playhouse 90 | Jerry | "A Marriage of Strangers" |
1959 | Startime | Joe Henders | "Something Special" |
1959–1961 | General Electric Theater | Tippy-Top/Lieutenant George Poole | 2 episodes |
1960 | Death Valley Days | Levi Strauss | "The Million Dollar Pants" |
1960 | The United States Steel Hour | Inspector Plover | "The Case of the Missing Wife" |
1962 | Frontier Circus | Earl Youngblood | "Never Won Fair Lady" |
1962 | Saints and Sinners | Joe Roganyan | "All the Hard Young Men" |
1962 | Password | Himself (Celebrity Contestant) | "Jane Powell vs. Red Buttons" |
1982–85 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Himself | recurring role (17 episodes) |
1963 | 20th Annual Golden Globes | Himself (Host) | TV special |
1964 | The Eleventh Hour | Cody Evans | "Sunday Father" |
1964 | The Greatest Show on Earth | Walter Wallace | "The Last of the Strongmen" |
1965 | Ben Casey | Bill Jacoby | "Journeys End in Lovers Meeting" |
1965–66 | The Andy Williams Show | Himself | 2 episodes |
1966 | The Double Life of Henry Phyfe | Henry Wadsworth Phyfe | series regular (17 episodes) |
1966–73 | The Bob Hope Show | Himself | 3 episodes |
1967 | The Danny Thomas Hour | Al Risko | "The Zero Man" |
1967–68 | The Dean Martin Show | Himself | 2 episodes |
1967–74 | The Merv Griffin Show | Himself | recurring role (16 episodes) |
1968–69 | The Jackie Gleason Show | Himself | 2 episodes |
1969–70 | Love, American Style | Norman (segment "Love and the Geisha") | 2 episodes |
1970 | George M! | Sam H. Harris | TV movie |
1970–73 | The Hollywood Squares | Himself (Panelist) | 3 episodes |
1970 | Breakout | Pipes | TV movie |
1973 | ABC Afterschool Special | Alexander | "Alexander" |
1975 | Little House on the Prairie | William "Willie" O'Hara | "Circus Man" |
1975 | Wonder Woman | Ashley Norman | "The New Original Wonder Woman" |
1975 | Let's Make a Deal | Himself (Special Guest) | "#5.1" |
1975–84 | Dean Martin Celebrity Roast | Himself | 14 episodes — "Valerie Harper" (1975) — "Muhammad Ali" (1976) — "Dennis Weaver" (1976) — "Joe Gargaiola" (1976) — "Danny Thomas" (1976) — "Angie Dickinson" (1977) — "Gabe Kaplan" (1977) — "Ted Knight" (1977) — "Peter Marshall" (1977) — "Dan Haggerty" (1977) — "Frank Sinatra" (1978) — "Jack Klugman" (1978) — "Jimmy Stewart" (1978) — "George Burns" (1978) — "Betty White" (1978) — "Suzanne Somers" (1978) — "Joe Namath" (1979) — Joan Collins" (1984) — "Mr. T." (1984) |
1976 | Louis Armstrong — Chicago Style | Red Cleveland | TV movie |
1976 | Flannery and Quilt | Luke Flannery | TV movie |
1977 | The Sunshine Boys | Willie Clark | TV movie |
1977 | Telethon | Marty Rand | TV movie |
1978 | The Users | Warren Ambrose | TV movie |
1978 | Vega$ | Tommy Cirko | 2 episodes |
1979 | Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July | Milton (Voice Role) | TV movie |
1980 | Power | Solly Weiss | TV movie |
1980 | Pink Lady | Police Sergeant / Himself | 2 episodes |
1980 | The Dream Merchant | Bruce Benson | Miniseries (2 episodes) |
1981 | Aloha Paradise | Nick | "Letter from Broadway/Letter from Cyrano/Letter from a Secret Admirer" |
1981 | Leave 'em Laughing | Roland | TV movie |
1981 | Side Show | Harry | TV movie |
1982 | Off Your Rocker | Seymour Slatz | TV movie |
1978–83 | The Love Boat | Jimmy Morrow/Buddy Redmond/Uncle Cyrus Foster | 3 episodes |
1978–83 | Fantasy Island | Marty Howard/Cornelius Kelly/Tony Emerson | 3 episodes |
1985 | Reunion at Fairborough | Jiggs Quealy | TV movie |
1985 | Alice in Wonderland | The White Rabbit | Miniseries |
1987 | 227 | Toots | "The Audit" |
1987 | Knots Landing | Al Baker | recurring role (6 episodes) |
1987–89 | It's Garry Shandling's Show. | Himself | 2 episodes |
1991 | The Cosby Show | Jake Bennett | "Cliff and Jake" |
1993–94 | Roseanne | Jake | 2 episodes |
1997 | Cosby | Mr. Tibbles | "My Dinner with Methuseleh" |
1988 | Ghosts of Fear Street | Grandpa | TV movie |
1995–98 | Biography | Himself (Interviewee) | 5 episodes — "Darryl F. Zanuck: 20th Century Filmmaker" (1995) — "Gypsy Rose Lee: Naked Ambition" (1996) — "Alan Alda: More That Mr. Nice Guy" (1997) — "Phil Silvers: Top Banana" (1997) — "John Wayne: American Legend" (1998) |
1995–2005 | ER | Jules "Ruby" Rubadoux | recurring role (5 episodes) |
1999 | Early Edition | Walter Stites | "Pinch Hitters" |
2000 | Family Law | Carl Porter | "Second Chance" |
2002 | Philly | Murray Klopman | "The Curse of the Klopman Diamonds" |
2002 | Street Time | Sam Kahan | recurring role (4 episodes) |
2002 | Presidio Med | Chick | "Milagros" |
Throughout his career, Buttons received several awards and nominations for his work in both film and television.
Accolade | Year | Category | Nominated Work | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Academy Awards | 1958 | Best Supporting Actor | Sayonara | Won | |
BAFTA Awards | 1959 | Most Promising Newcomer to Film | Nominated | [8] | |
Golden Boot Awards | 1984 | Honoree | — | Won | |
Golden Globes | 1958 | Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture | Sayonara | Won | [9] |
1966 | Harlow | Nominated | |||
1970 | Imitation General | Nominated | |||
Laurel Awards | 1958 | Top New Male Personality | — | Nominated | |
1958 | Top Male Supporting Performance | Sayonara | Won | ||
1959 | Imitation General | Nominated | |||
Primetime Emmy Awards | 2005 | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (for playing "Mr. Rubadoux. for episode "Ruby Redux") | ER | Nominated | [10] |
Saturn Awards | 1978 | Best Supporting Actor | Pete's Dragon | Nominated | |
Walk of Fame | 1960 | Star on the Walk of Fame — Television (February 8, 1960. At 1651 Vine Street.) | — | Won | [11] |
Sayonara is a 1957 American romantic drama film directed by Joshua Logan, and starring Marlon Brando, Patricia Owens, James Garner, Martha Scott, Miyoshi Umeki, Red Buttons, Miiko Taka and Ricardo Montalbán. It tells the story of an American Air Force pilot during the Korean War who falls in love with a famous Japanese dancer. The screenplay was adapted by Paul Osborn from James A. Michener's 1954 novel of the same name.
Arthur William Matthew Carney was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best known for his role as Ed Norton on the sitcom The Honeymooners (1955–1956).
Isaac Sidney Caesar was an American actor, comedian and writer. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: Your Show of Shows (1950–1954), which was a 90-minute weekly show watched by 60 million people, and its successor, Caesar's Hour (1954–1957), both of which influenced later generations of comedians. Your Show of Shows and its cast received seven Emmy nominations between the years 1953 and 1954 and tallied two wins. He also acted in films; he played Coach Calhoun in Grease (1978) and its sequel Grease 2 (1982) and appeared in the films It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Silent Movie (1976), History of the World, Part I (1981), Cannonball Run II (1984), and Vegas Vacation (1997).
Gerald Isaac Stiller was an American comedian and actor. He spent many years as part of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara with his wife, Anne Meara, to whom he was married for over 60 years until her death in 2015. Stiller saw a late-career resurgence starting in 1993, playing George Costanza's father Frank on the sitcom Seinfeld, a part which earned him an Emmy nomination. The year Seinfeld went off the air, Stiller began his role as the eccentric Arthur Spooner on the CBS comedy series The King of Queens, another role that garnered widespread acclaim.
Jackie Mason was an American stand-up comedian and actor.
Irving Lahrheim, known professionally as Bert Lahr, was an American stage and screen actor and comedian. He was best known for his role as the Cowardly Lion, as well as his counterpart Kansas farmworker "Zeke", in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer adaptation of The Wizard of Oz (1939). He was well known for his quick-witted humor and his work in burlesque and vaudeville and on Broadway.
Joseph Wiseman was a Canadian-American theatre, film, and television actor who starred as the villain Julius No in the first James Bond film, Dr. No, in 1962. Wiseman was also known for his role as Manny Weisbord on the TV series Crime Story and his career on Broadway. He was once called "the spookiest actor in the American theatre".
Miyoshi Umeki was a Japanese-American singer and actress. Umeki was nominated for the Tony Award and Golden Globe Award and was the first East Asia-born woman to win an Academy Award for acting.
Foster Brooks was an American actor and comedian best known for his portrayal of a lovable drunk in nightclub performances and television programs.
Dick Shawn was an American actor and comedian. He played a wide variety of supporting roles and was a prolific character actor. During the 1960s, he played small roles in madcap comedies, usually portraying caricatures of counterculture personalities, such as the hedonistic but mother-obsessed Sylvester Marcus in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), and the hippie actor Lorenzo Saint DuBois ("L.S.D.") in The Producers (1967). Besides his film work, he appeared in numerous television shows from the 1960s through the 1980s.
Bruce Gerald Vilanch is an American comedy writer, songwriter and actor. He is a two-time Emmy Award-winner. Vilanch is best known to the public for his four-year stint on Hollywood Squares, as a celebrity participant; behind the scenes he was head writer for the show. In 2000, he performed off-Broadway in his self-penned one-man show, Bruce Vilanch: Almost Famous.
Richard Joseph Libertini was an American stage, film and television actor.
The Night They Raided Minsky's is a 1968 American musical comedy film written and produced by Norman Lear, with music and lyrics by the duo of Charles Strouse and Lee Adams, and directed by William Friedkin. Based on a 1960 novel by Rowland Barber, the film is a fictional account of the invention of the striptease at Minsky's Burlesque in 1925. It stars Jason Robards, Britt Ekland, Norman Wisdom, Forrest Tucker, Harry Andrews, Denholm Elliott, Elliott Gould and Bert Lahr.
Melvin Edward "Slappy" White was an American comedian and actor. He worked with Redd Foxx on the Chitlin' Circuit of stand-up comedy during the 1950s and 1960s. He appeared on the television shows Sanford and Son, That's My Mama, Blossom, and Cybill and in the films Mr. Saturday Night and Amazon Women on the Moon.
Freddie Roman was an American stand-up comedian, best known for his frequent appearances at "Borscht Belt" hotels.
William Van Zandt is an American playwright and actor, and the author of the best-selling TV memoir Get in the Car, Jane.
Jesse Joyce is an American stand-up comedian, Emmy Nominated and WGA Award winning writer. Joyce has made many television appearances, including Jimmy Kimmel Live, Comedy Central's @midnight with Chris Hardwick, Comedy Underground with Dave Attell, Live At Gotham, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Last Call with Carson Daly, AXS's Gotham Comedy Live, Comedy.TV, AMC's Date Night, Comedy Central's Roast Battle, Seeso's The Guest List and was a regular guest on History Channel's I Love The 1880s and VH1’s Big Morning Buzz Live with Carrie Keagan. He was a recurring guest on Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld and was a semi-finalist on the 2010 season of Last Comic Standing. In addition he has written for numerous television specials and award shows, most notably the 85th Academy Awards, 90th Academy Awards, and 95th Academy Awards, the 72nd Emmy Awards, the 71st Tony Awards and the Comedy Central Roasts.
Alex Halevi Edelman; born March 20, 1989), best known as Alex Edelman, is an American stand-up comedian based in New York City. He is an internationally touring comic and found early success in the United Kingdom where he was named Best Newcomer at the 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He has toured three shows since 2014: Millennial (2014–2015), Everything Handed to You (2015–2016), and Just for Us (2018–2020). Just for Us opened off-Broadway in 2022 before premiering on Broadway in 2023; it was named a NYT Critic’s Pick both times.
Dean Ward is an American screenwriter, television comedy writer and documentary filmmaker.