Red Buttons | |
|---|---|
 Buttons in 1959 | |
| Born | Aaron Chwatt (1919-02-05)February 5, 1919 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | July 13, 2006(2006-07-13) (aged 87) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1935–2006 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
Red Buttons (bornAaron Chwatt; February 5, 1919 – July 13, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He won anOscar andGolden Globe forSayonara. He was nominated for awards for his work such asHarlow (1965),They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), andPete's Dragon (1977).
From the 1970s he was a familiar face on TV, with his "Never Got a Dinner" comedy monologues.
Red Buttons was born Aaron Chwatt[1][needs IPA] on February 5, 1919, inManhattan,[1] New York, to Russo-PolishJewish immigrants Sophie (née Baker) and Michael Chwatt.[2][3] At 16 years old, Chwatt got a job as an entertainingbellhop at Ryan's Tavern inCity Island,the Bronx, New York. 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 theBorscht Belt;[1] hisstraight man wasRobert Alda. Buttons was working at the Irvington Hotel inSouth Fallsburg, New York, when the master of ceremonies became incapacitated, and Buttons asked for the chance to replace him. In 1939, Buttons started working forMinsky's Burlesque; in 1941,José Ferrer chose Buttons to appear in aBroadway showThe Admiral Had a Wife, afarce, set inPearl Harbor atOahu,Hawaii. It was due to open on December 8, 1941, but never did. It was deemed inappropriate after theJapanese 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 inVickie with Ferrer andUta Hagen. Later that year, he appeared in the Minsky's showWine, Women and Song. This was the last classicburlesque show in New York City history; theLa Guardia administration closed it down. Buttons was on stage when the show was raided.
Drafted into theUnited States Army Air Forces, Buttons in 1943 appeared in the Army Air Forces' Broadway showWinged Victory, along with several future stars, includingMario Lanza,John Forsythe,Karl Malden, andLee J. Cobb. A year later, he appeared inDarryl F. Zanuck'smovie version of the play, directed byGeorge Cukor. Buttons also entertained troops in theEuropean Theater in the sameJeep Show unit asMickey Rooney.
After the war, Buttons continued to perform in Broadway shows. He also performed at Broadway movie houses withbig bands. He appeared as himself, delivering a comic monologue, in theRKO Radio Pictures movie revueFootlight Varieties (1951).
In 1952, Buttons received his own television series,The Red Buttons Show, first seen onCBS and later onNBC. It was the number-11 show in prime time in 1952,[4] and the comedian was extremely insistent on using fresh material. During the show's three-year-run, Buttons was notorious for his treatment of the writing staff, and comedy writers came and went regularly. As columnistDorothy Kilgallen reported, "Three of Red Buttons' writers are ready to pack up and head for the booby hatch. The funnyman's temperament is just too exhausting to take. The trio of script writers have already announced they will not be part of the comedian's pending Hollywood movie assignment."[5]TV Guide, noting the format changes of the show from variety to situation comedy, said his "status as a TV comedian has been going up-and-down like a yo-yo for the past two years... He reacted to the heady wine of success like a small boy locked inside a candy store. He went out and bought a powder-blue Cadillac. He picked up a mink coat for his wife. He moved his family into a terraced apartment on Manhattan's swank Sutton Place. Then he began to fool around with his scripts. 'That,' he says now in what may go down as one of the most remarkable understatements of our time, 'may well have been a mistake.'
As a result of these misadventures, Buttons' sponsor General Foods disowned him at the end of his run and CBS let it be known that Red was welcome to look for work someplace else." The magazine article carried a melancholy postscript: "P. S. It was in Hollywood that Red found the writers he got along with so well. They were Harry Clork, Larry Markes, Sumner Long, and Lester Lee. We regret having to use the past tense, but it seems that between the time the foregoing story was written a few weeks ago and the time we went to press, all but Lester Lee went thataway."[6] Buttons admitted to the revolving door of writers: "The critics have kidded a lot about all the writers I've had, and I have had quite a few. I quit counting at 87. Most of them were good writers but they just weren't right for me."[7]TV Guide critic Dan Jenkins offered a jaundiced opinion about the comedian's variable TV fortunes: "Buttons has no comic traits of his own. He is not funny per se. AJack Benny can be hilarious just standing with his arms folded, staring at an old lady in the front row, Buttons can't. He needs material. Buttons, to this reviewer, has always been a club-date man. He was fleetingly sensational when he first appeared on television, but of all the media, TV is the one that most demands staying power -- a basic talent which can rise above material and carry its own weight on off-weeks. Buttons, thus far this season, has displayed very little of it."[8]
In 1953, during his TV popularity, 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 the filmSayonara (1957) was a dramatic departure from his previous work. In this film, co-starring withMarlon Brando, he played Joe Kelly, anAmerican airman stationed inKobe,Japan, during theKorean War, who marries Katsumi, a Japanese woman (played byMiyoshi 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 theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor and Umeki won theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film.
After his Oscar-winning role, Buttons performed in numerous feature films, including the African adventureHatari! withJohn Wayne and the adventureFive Weeks in a Balloon (1962) (where he received top billing). Buttons played the lead role ofPrivate John Steele, the paratrooper hung up on the town steeple clock, in the 1962 international ensemble cast filmThe Longest Day. He was also prominent in the biopicHarlow, the disaster filmThe Poseidon Adventure, the dance-marathon dramaThey Shoot Horses, Don't They?, the family comedyPete's Dragon, the disaster filmWhen Time Ran Out withPaul Newman, and the age-reversal comedy18 Again! withGeorge Burns.
In 1966, Buttons again starred in his own TV series, a spy spoof calledThe Double Life of Henry Phyfe, which ran for one season. Buttons also made guest appearances on several TV programs, includingThe Eleventh Hour,Little House on the Prairie,It's Garry Shandling's Show,Knots Landing,The Cosby Show, andRoseanne. His last TV role was inER.
Beginning in the 1970s Red Buttons enjoyed a new popularity with his "Never Got a Dinner" routine, a standard of theFriars Club andThe Dean Martin Celebrity Roast for many years. "Never got a dinner!" became acatchphrase, and formed the basis for elaborately eccentric lists of famous people (and their wives and mothers) who had not been honored with celebrity dinner roasts: "Why are we here honoring this man? Why is he getting a dinner? I can think of many famous people who never got a dinner. Mrs.Ponce De Leon, who said to her husband Ponce, 'You're going to Miami without me again this year?'...never got a dinner!"
Another of his catchphrases was "I did not come here to be made sport of," which was later taken up by radio talk-show hostHowie Carr.
He made numerous appearances atChabad 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'."[9]) Buttons received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame for television, located at 1651 Vine Street. He was number 71 onComedy Central's list of the100 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 forCentury Village, Florida, aretirement community.
Buttons was an early member of the Synagogue for the Performing Arts, and at the time RabbiJerome Cutler was the rabbi.[10]
Buttons died of complications fromcardiovascular disease on July 13, 2006, at age 87 at his home inCentury City, Los Angeles.[11] 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" |
| 1952–1955 | The Red Buttons Show | Himself (Host) | 4 episodes |
| 1952–1966 | 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" |
| 1982–1985 | 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" |
| 1965–1966 | The Andy Williams Show | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 1966 | The Double Life of Henry Phyfe | Henry Wadsworth Phyfe | series regular (17 episodes) |
| 1966–1973 | The Bob Hope Show | Himself | 3 episodes |
| 1967 | The Danny Thomas Hour | Al Risko | "The Zero Man" |
| 1967–1968 | The Dean Martin Show | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 1967–1974 | The Merv Griffin Show | Himself | recurring role (16 episodes) |
| 1968–1969 | The Jackie Gleason Show | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 1969–1970 | Love, American Style | Norman (segment "Love and the Geisha") | 2 episodes |
| 1970 | George M! | Sam H. Harris | TV movie |
| 1970–1973 | 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" |
| 1975–1984 | 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 |
| 1978–1983 | The Love Boat | Jimmy Morrow/Buddy Redmond/Uncle Cyrus Foster | 3 episodes |
| 1978–1983 | 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) |
| 1987–1989 | It's Garry Shandling's Show. | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 1991 | The Cosby Show | Jake Bennett | "Cliff and Jake" |
| 1993–1994 | Roseanne | Jake | 2 episodes |
| 1997 | Cosby | Mr. Tibbles | "My Dinner with Methuseleh" |
| 1998 | Ghosts of Fear Street | Grandpa | TV movie |
| 1995–1998 | 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 Films | Nominated | [12] | |
| Golden Boot Awards | 1984 | Honoree | — | Won | |
| Golden Globes | 1958 | Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | Sayonara | Won | [13] |
| 1966 | Harlow | Nominated | |||
| 1970 | They Shoot Horses, Don't They? | 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 | [14] |
| Saturn Awards | 1977 | 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 | [15] |
