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Red Buttons

Red Buttons

Born February 5, 1919 · New York City, New York, USA

Although Red Buttons is best known as a stand-up comic, he is also a successful songwriter, an Academy Award-winning actor (and has been nominated for two Golden Globe awards) and an accomplished singer. Born Aaron Chwatt on February 5, 1919 (Aquarius) in New York City's Lower East Side, stood at a height of 5' 6" (1.68 m). Buttons (who got his name from a uniform he wore while working as a singing bellhop), also known as Cpl. Red Buttons, started his show-business career singing on street corners as a child. At 16 he got a job as part of a comedy act playing the famed Catskills resort area in upstate New York (his partner was future actor Robert Alda). Buttons worked the burlesque circuit as a comic and even landed a role in a Broadway play, "Vicki", in 1942. He soon joined the U.S. Marine Corps, and in 1943 was picked for a role in Moss Hart's service play "Winged Victory" on Broadway, and soon afterwards journeyed to Hollywood to make the film version. After his discharge from the service he returned to Broadway, both in plays and as a comic with several big-band orchestras. He was successful enough that he got his own TV series, The Red Buttons Show (1952), on CBS. It lasted three years and won Buttons an Emmy for Best Comedian. He worked steadily for the next several years, and in 1957 got his big film break in the drama Sayonara (1957) with Marlon Brando, in which he played an American soldier stationed in Japan who struggled against the societal and racist pressures of both American and Japanese cultures because of his love for a Japanese woman. His performance garnered him an Academy Award, and more film roles followed. He played a paratrooper in The Longest Day (1962), was nominated for a Golden Globe for Harlow (1965) and again for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969). He had a part in the TV series The Double Life of Henry Phyfe (1966) and has done pretty much every kind of TV show there is, from variety to comedy to soap operas. He gained further renown in the 1970s for his appearances on the "Dean Martin Celebrity Roast" where he performed his "Never Got a Dinner" act to great acclaim. He has played Las Vegas for years, has a star on Hollywood Boulevard (corner of Hollywood and Vine) and has appeared in numerous telethons and charitable events, for which he has been honored by such organizations as the Friars Club and the City of Hope Hospital. He died July 13, 2006 at the age of 87 in Century City, California, USA from vascular disease.

Movies

The Longest Day

The Longest Day

The Longest Day

7.61962
The Poseidon Adventure

The Poseidon Adventure

The Poseidon Adventure

7.21972
Pete's Dragon

Pete's Dragon

Pete's Dragon

6.31977
It Could Happen to You

It Could Happen to You

It Could Happen to You

6.71994
One, Two, Three

One, Two, Three

One, Two, Three

7.51961
The Story of Us

The Story of Us

The Story of Us

6.21999
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

7.61969
Hatari!

Hatari!

Hatari!

6.81962
The Ambulance

The Ambulance

The Ambulance

5.81990
Stagecoach

Stagecoach

Stagecoach

6.11966
Sayonara

Sayonara

Sayonara

6.71957
18 Again!

18 Again!

18 Again!

5.61988
Night of 100 Stars II

Night of 100 Stars II

Night of 100 Stars II

6.81985
Gay Purr-ee

Gay Purr-ee

Gay Purr-ee

6.61962
When Time Ran Out...

When Time Ran Out...

When Time Ran Out...

5.41980
Joys

Joys

Joys

6.01976
The Muppets Go Hollywood

The Muppets Go Hollywood

The Muppets Go Hollywood

6.21979
Movie Movie

Movie Movie

Movie Movie

6.01978
Five Weeks in a Balloon

Five Weeks in a Balloon

Five Weeks in a Balloon

5.51962
A Ticklish Affair

A Ticklish Affair

A Ticklish Affair

5.91963
Harlow

Harlow

Harlow

5.61965
Up from the Beach

Up from the Beach

Up from the Beach

8.01965
Playboy's Playmate Party

Playboy's Playmate Party

Playboy's Playmate Party

0.01977
Goodnight, We Love You

Goodnight, We Love You

Goodnight, We Love You

7.02004
The All-Star Christmas Show

The All-Star Christmas Show

The All-Star Christmas Show

6.01958
Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years

Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years

Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years

7.21997
The Big Circus

The Big Circus

The Big Circus

6.61959
Gable and Lombard

Gable and Lombard

Gable and Lombard

5.01976
Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July

Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July

Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July

6.41979
Winged Victory

Winged Victory

Winged Victory

6.31944
Reunion at Fairborough

Reunion at Fairborough

Reunion at Fairborough

5.81985
C.H.O.M.P.S.

C.H.O.M.P.S.

C.H.O.M.P.S.

5.01979
Louis Armstrong: Chicago Style

Louis Armstrong: Chicago Style

Louis Armstrong: Chicago Style

7.01976
The Users

The Users

The Users

4.01978
Who Killed Mary Whats'ername?

Who Killed Mary Whats'ername?

Who Killed Mary Whats'ername?

4.91971
Flannery and Quilt

Flannery and Quilt

Flannery and Quilt

0.01976
George Burns Celebrates 80 Years in Show Business

George Burns Celebrates 80 Years in Show Business

George Burns Celebrates 80 Years in Show Business

8.01983
Viva Knievel!

Viva Knievel!

Viva Knievel!

4.01977
Side Show

Side Show

Side Show

8.51981
Darryl F. Zanuck: 20th Century Filmmaker

Darryl F. Zanuck: 20th Century Filmmaker

Darryl F. Zanuck: 20th Century Filmmaker

4.31995
Leave 'Em Laughing

Leave 'Em Laughing

Leave 'Em Laughing

8.01981
Your Cheatin' Heart

Your Cheatin' Heart

Your Cheatin' Heart

6.51964
Footlight Varieties

Footlight Varieties

Footlight Varieties

3.31951
George Burns: His Wit and Wisdom

George Burns: His Wit and Wisdom

George Burns: His Wit and Wisdom

0.01989

TV Shows

Little House on the Prairie

Little House on the Prairie

Little House on the Prairie

8.01974
Knots Landing

Knots Landing

Knots Landing

7.01979
Great Performances

Great Performances

Great Performances

6.11971
The Merv Griffin Show

The Merv Griffin Show

The Merv Griffin Show

6.81962
The Cosby Show

The Cosby Show

The Cosby Show

7.01984
Fantasy Island

Fantasy Island

Fantasy Island

6.51978
Love, American Style

Love, American Style

Love, American Style

6.21969
Early Edition

Early Edition

Early Edition

7.31996
What's My Line?

What's My Line?

What's My Line?

7.01950
Studio One

Studio One

Studio One

5.41948
Ben Casey

Ben Casey

Ben Casey

5.91961
The Oscars

The Oscars

The Oscars

7.01953
Family Law

Family Law

Family Law

8.11999
The Ed Sullivan Show

The Ed Sullivan Show

The Ed Sullivan Show

6.81948
Suspense

Suspense

Suspense

5.11949
Vega$

Vega$

Vega$

6.91978
Kraft Music Hall

Kraft Music Hall

Kraft Music Hall

5.41958
227

227

227

6.81985
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

6.41956
Cosby

Cosby

Cosby

6.01996
Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman

7.01975
It's Garry Shandling's Show

It's Garry Shandling's Show

It's Garry Shandling's Show

7.11986
The Dean Martin Show

The Dean Martin Show

The Dean Martin Show

7.41965
The United States Steel Hour

The United States Steel Hour

The United States Steel Hour

6.31953
Startime

Startime

Startime

6.81959
Street Time

Street Time

Street Time

2.52002
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts

The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts

The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts

5.41973
The Hollywood Palace

The Hollywood Palace

The Hollywood Palace

5.01964
The Eleventh Hour

The Eleventh Hour

The Eleventh Hour

6.71962
Presidio Med

Presidio Med

Presidio Med

8.02002
The Danny Thomas Hour

The Danny Thomas Hour

The Danny Thomas Hour

6.71967
Roseanne

Roseanne

Roseanne

6.81988
Saints and Sinners

Saints and Sinners

Saints and Sinners

7.01962
Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland

6.71985
Philly

Philly

Philly

7.32001
The Jackie Gleason Show

The Jackie Gleason Show

The Jackie Gleason Show

8.51952
Password

Password

Password

7.51961
Aloha Paradise

Aloha Paradise

Aloha Paradise

7.01981
Frontier Circus

Frontier Circus

Frontier Circus

5.31961
The Dream Merchants

The Dream Merchants

The Dream Merchants

5.71980
Power

Power

Power

7.01980
The Double Life of Henry Phyfe

The Double Life of Henry Phyfe

The Double Life of Henry Phyfe

7.01966
General Electric Theater

General Electric Theater

General Electric Theater

6.81953
Pink Lady

Pink Lady

Pink Lady

7.01980

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