Red Buttons
Encyclopedia : R : RE : RED : Red Buttons
Red Buttons (February 5 1919 – July 13 2006) was the stage name of American comedian and actor Aaron Chwatt. He won an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Airman Joe Kelly in Sayonara (1957), a rare dramatic role.
Early life and career
Chwatt was born in New York City. At 16 years old, Chwatt got a job as an entertaining bellhop at Ryan's Tavern in City Island, Bronx. The combination of his red hair and the shiny buttoned bellhop uniform 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; his straightman was Robert Alda. 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. The show was a farce set in Pearl Harbor, and it was due to open on December 8 1941. It never did, as it was deemed inappropriate after the Japanese attack. In later years Buttons would joke that the Japanese only attacked Pearl Harbor to keep him off of Broadway.
In September 1942, Buttons at last got 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 Burlesque show in New York City history, as the Mayor La Guardia administration closed it down. Buttons was on stage when the show was raided.
1943 saw Buttons in the Army Air Corps. He was also chosen to appear in the Broadway show Winged Victory, as well as appearing in the Darryl F. Zanuck movie version. He later went on to join Mickey Rooney's outfit, and he entertained troops in the European Theater of operations.
Personal life
From 1947 to 1951, he was married to actress Roxanne Arlen, who would have been only 16 if her year of birth (1931), given by some sources, is accurate.[link] His next marriage was to Helayne McNorton, from December 8 1949 until 1963. His last marriage was to Alicia Pratt, which lasted from January 27 1964 until her death in March 2001. In 2000, Alicia Pratt was arrested for possession of marijuana in the company of another woman.[link]
Buttons had two children, daughter Amy Buttons Morgress and son Adam Buttons.
Career success
After the war, Buttons continued to do Broadway shows. He also performed at Broadway movie houses with the Big Bands. In 1952, Buttons received his own variety series on television - The Red Buttons Show ran for three years, and achieved high levels of success. His catch phrase from the show, "strange things are happening," entered the national vocabulary briefly in the mid-1950s.
His role in Sayonara was a dramatic departure from his previous work. In that film, he played Joe Kelly, a American airman stationed in Kobe, Japan during the Korean War, who falls in love with a Katsumi, a Japanese woman (played by Miyoshi Umeki), but is barred from marrying her by military rules intended to reassure the local populace that the U.S. presence is temporary. His portrayal of Kelly's calm resolve to not abandon the relationship and touching reassurance of Katsumi impressed audiences and critics alike; both he and Umeki won Academy Awards for the film. After his Oscar-winning role, 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 many memorable TV appearances on programs 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 Stand-ups of All Time.
Later life
Buttons died of vascular disease on July 13 2006 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. [link]
He was the advertising spokesman for the Century Village, Florida retirement community.
By coincidence, Buttons was the subject of a Jeopardy! clue on the day that he died.
Awards
Won:
- Best Supporting Actor (Sayonara, 1958)
Won:
- Best Supporting Actor (Sayonara, 1958)
Nominated:
|- style="text-align: center;"
External links
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.
- Best Supporting Actor (Sayonara, 1958)
|- style="text-align: center;"
External links
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.