RED
BUTTONS
Red
Buttons was born lucky -- he
was born poor -- show me a comedian who was born rich?
He was born on the lower east side of Manhattan in that miracle
square mile that gave show business Fanny Brice, Eddie Cantor, George
Burns, Jimmy Durante, and George Gershwin, to name a few...
At
age seven, Red (who was really Aaron Chwatt, and whose nickname was "Irish"
because of his red hair, blue eyes, and a green sweater which he wore in
his public school graduation picture), could be seen performin[1]g on street corners for pennies.
The act, at that time, consisted of singing the popular songs of
the day -- his boyish alto voice was a natural for choirs, and Red sang in
the celebrated Coopermans Choir for three years with the then world famous
Cantor Joseph "Yussele" Rosenblatt.
At
age twelve, Red worked every amateur contest he could enter.
The Depression was on thick and heavy, and a five dollar bill was a
bonanza. At age sixteen,
while he was still attending Evander Childs High School in the Bronx, Red
auditioned for and got the job as an entertaining bell hop at a tavern
called Ryan's in City Island, N.Y. The red hair and the bell hop's uniform with all those
buttons inspired Dinty Moore, the world renowned orchestra leader, to dub
our hero Red Buttons -- a perfect name for the times -- there being very
few performers with names like Aaron Chwatt.
That summer Red worked his first job in the Catskills (that great
training ground that gave us, among others, Danny Kaye, Robert Merrill,
Moss Hart, Jerry Lewis, etc., etc., etc.) at the Beerkhill Lodge for one
dollar fifty per week plus room and board.
His straight man was Robert Alda whose wife was pregnant with Alan.
(Whatever became of that boy?)
In
1939, Red went to work for Minsky, the youngest burlesque comedian in the
business. He billed himself
as the "Only Burlesque Comedian With All His Own Teeth". In 1941, Jose Ferrer plucked Red out of the burlesque for his
first Broadway show, The Admiral Had A Wife.
The show was supposed to open on December
8, 1941, but it never did. The
show was a farce comedy about Pearl Harbor -- great timing.
In 1942, Red did Vicki on Broadway again with Jose
Ferrer and Uta Hagen. Also in
1942, Red appeared in Wine, Women, and Song for Minsky
This was the last burlesque show in New York City since the La
Guardia administration determined to close it.
Red was on stage when the place was raided in 1943.
Buttons, now in the Army Air Corp., was chosen for a role in Moss
Hart's Winged Victory. First he did the Broadway show, and then the motion picture
for Darryl Zanuck with George Cukor directing.
When Winged Victory disbanded, Red joined Mickey
Rooney's outfit in France and, together with Mickey, entertained the
troops all through the European Theatre at Operations during World War II. Red had the honor to perform at the Potsdam Conference and
was among the first troops to enter Berlin.
After the service Red did two more Broadway shows--George Abbott's Barefoot
Boy With Cheek with Nancy Walker and Michael Kidd's Hold It.
From
1948 to 1952, Buttons played the Broadway movie houses with the big bands
-- the Paramount, the Loew's State, etc. and the cafe circuit --
The Copa, Latin Quarter, etc.
In 1952, came the Red Buttons Show (on CBS).
A smash. Buttons won
the Academy of Radio and Television Arts and Sciences Award (which later
became the Emmy) as "Best Comedian of 1953".
The series lasted three years, the last season on NBC.
In
1956, Red did A Midsummer Night's Dream with Basil Rathbone
and Leopold Stokowski directing a new score written by carl Orff.
In
1957, Sayonara with Marlon Brando and Josh Logan directing.
1958 brought him an oscar for Best Supporting Actor of the year for
Sayonara and the Golden Globe Award for the Best Supporting
Actor for Sayonara. Also,
for MGM, Red Starred in Imitation General with Glen Ford.
A movie career followed with The Big Circus, Hatari
with Howard Hawks and John Wayne; Darryl Zanuck's The Longest Day;
a cameo for Billy Wilder in One, Two,
Three; A Ticklish Affair for Joe Pasternak; Your
Cheating Heart; Gay Puree with Judy Garland; Five
Weeks In A Balloon; Up From The Beach; Harlow
(for which he received another Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting
Actor) with Jane Fonda; Who Killed What's Er Name?; The
Poseidon Adventure; Gable And Lombard; Pete's
Dragon; and Off Your Rocker. Red Also did Reunion At Fairborough with Robert
Mitchum and Deborah Kerr.
In
1966, Red did the ABC television series, The Double Life of Henry
Phyfe. Buttons has
guested on every major television show -- Ed Sullivan, Andy
Williams, Dinah Shore, Perry Como, Redd Foxx, Eddie Fisher, Dean Martin
Roasts (with his famous "Never Got A Dinner"
routine). Dramatic shows
include Playhouse 90, U.S. Steel, Studio One, General Electric,
etc. Specials include Louis
Armstrong, Chicago Style with Ben Vereen; Telethon; Power";
"Leave Em Laughing with Mickey Rooney; The Users,
etc. Beaucoup appearances on Johnny
Carson, Merv Griffin, and Mike Douglas.
Red
is a frequent star in the gambling palaces of Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Reno,
and Atlantic City. He wrote
and recorded a children's album of poems on The Golden Record label
entitled Poems For My Children's Daughter And Other Little People,
Love Daddy.
Red
Buttons has a star on Hollywood and Vine -- full circle for a ghetto kid
who started by entertaining on street corners.
Red
Buttons has been honored by the City of Hope, "Spirit of Life" Award; the
Eddie Cantor Foundation's "Suzie" Award; The California Friar's Club "Lifetime
Achievement" Award, and the Junior Achievement Award for his charitable
contributions for all causes. Red
has also been honored by the Israel Cancer Research Fund with an annual
fellowship in his name[1]û.
Red was awarded the 1987 "Man of the Year"
honoree of the New York Friar's Club at the Waldorf Astoria annual
dinner, May 16, 1987.
Additional Bio Information--
1953
- Best selling Columbia label
recording - The Ho Ho Song & Strange Things Are
Happening
1973-1974
- London Palladium (variety of
appearances)
1978
- London Drury Lane Theatre
In
the 80's - Tour with Frank Sinatra.
Played all venues.
1995
- Buttons on Broadway
One man show - Ambassador Theatre
1996
- The Promethean Gold Medal Award
(3rd recipient- first two were Richard Nixon
and Pope John.) Day
Top Village Charity. N.Y.
Plaza Hotel. Black tie
dinner.
1997 - Released on Laugh Dome label - Never Got A Dinner & I Was There
N.Y.
Friars Man and Woman of the Year Dinners.
Waldorf Hotel.
Additional
Motion Pictures -
18
Again with George Burns
The
Ambulance with Eric Roberts and James Earl Jones
It
Could Happen To You with Nicholas Cage and Bridget Fonda
Plus
-