Thursday, July 13, 2006

Red Buttons Dead

Red Buttons (born February 5, 1919 - July 13, 2006) was the stage name of American comedian and actor Aaron Chwatt. He won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Airman Joe Kelly in Sayonara (1957).
Contents
[hide]
1 Early life and career
2 Career success
3 Later life
4 Awards
4.1 Academy Awards
4.2 Golden Globe Awards
5 External link
Early life and career
Born in New York City to a Jewish family, Chwatt received the nickname as a young man, when he worked as a waiter in Dinty Moore's Tavern in The Bronx — his uniform's shiny buttons and his bright red hair caused patrons to give him the name he would later perform under.
From 1947 to 1951, he was married to actress Roxanne Arlen, who would have been only 16 if her Wikipedia year of birth (1931) is accurate. His next marriage was to Helayne McNorton, from December 8, 1949 until 1963, when they divorced.
Buttons spent years performing burlesque and doing comedy routines in the Borscht Belt.

Career success
Buttons received his own variety series on television in 1952 — The Red Buttons Show ran for three years and achieved high levels of success. His catchphrase from the show, "strange things are happening", entered the national vocabulary briefly in the mid-1950s.
After his Oscar-winning role in Sayonara, Buttons performed in numerous feature films, including Hatari!, The Longest Day, Harlow, The Poseidon Adventure, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, and Pete's Dragon. He also made memorable TV appearances, including It's Garry Shandling's Show.
He became a nationally recognizable comedian, and his "Never Got A Dinner" sketch was a standard at the Dean Martin roasts for many years.
He is #71 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time.

Later life
His last marriage was to Alicia Pratt, from January 27, 1964, until her death in March 2001.
Buttons died of vascular disease at his home in the Century City area of Los Angeles. His spokesman says Buttons had been ill for some time and was with family members when he died.



Academy Awards
Won:
Best Supporting Actor (Sayonara, 1958)

Golden Globe Awards
Won:
Best Supporting Actor (Sayonara, 1958)
Nominated:
Best Supporting Actor (Harlow, 1966)
Best Supporting Actor (They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, 1970)