Biography
A short round kid with a smart mouth, he had every intention of going into the family upholstering business, despite having made his professional debut on the 'Borscht Circuit' at the age of 15, but upon returning to New York after World War II service, he began performing at clubs like the Pink Palace in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. Headlining at comedy clubs led to a starring role in the hit road production of "Call Me Mister" (1946) and his …
Latest Tv Credits
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Career Milestones
| Appeared on Broadway in "Lunatics and Lovers"; received the Donaldson Award for Best Debut Performance--Male | ||
| Became a popular headliner in comedy clubs across the country, which led to a starring role in the hit road production of "Call Me Mister" (1946) and eventually a Hollywood contract | ||
| Contributed regularly to "The Tonight Show" (NBC), starring Jack Paar | ||
| Returned to NYC and began playing clubs like the Pink Palace in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn | ||
| Served in the Army during World War II | ||
| Starred as the title character in the NBC sitcom "Stanley", aired live from NYC | ||
| Was a regular on CBS' "The Jackie Gleason Show" | ||
1939 | Made professional debut at the age of 15 at a small hotel in the Catskills (date approximate) | |
1948 | Appeared as part of the constantly changing cast of the DuMont network's comedy-variety issue "School House", based on Gus Edwards' old "School Days" vaudeville routine which had featured such stars-to-be as Georgie Jessel, Groucho Marx and Ray Bolger, among others | |
1953 | Feature film debut, "Walking My Baby Back Home" | |
1958 | Appeared in the film "God's Little Acre" | |
1962 | Co-starred in the screen version of the hit Broadway musical "The Music Man" | |
1963 | Had featured role in the big screen comedy "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" | |
1964 | Returned to Broadway in "I Had a Ball" | |
1969 | Co-starred in the Disney comedy "The Love Bug" | |
1978 | Portrayed comedian Lou Costello in the NBC TV biography "Bud and Lou", opposite Harvey Korman | |
1980 | Hosted the syndicated version of "You Bet Your Life" | |
1983 | Headlined own HBO special "Buddy Hackett--Live and Uncensored"; also executive produced | |
1986 | Starred in second HBO comedy special "Buddy Hackett II--On Stage at Caesar's Atlantic City", again executive producing | |
1988 | Played Scrooge in the Bill Murray vehicle "Scrooged", a contemporary spin on Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" | |
1989 | Provided voice of Scuttle, the silly seagull, in the Disney animated feature "The Little Mermaid" | |
1992 | Voiced Crabby on the short-lived animated TV series "Fish Police" (CBS) | |
1996 | Stepped back from live shows when for the first time in his life he experienced stage fright in the form of a sudden dizziness and sense he could not breathe; condition immediately followed gum surgery, which the entertainer believes had something to do with the situation | |
1998 | Honored with the 2,106th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame | |
1998 | Lost out to Jay Mohr in competition to voice "Paulie", the talking parrot; ended up playing smaller role of Artie the pawnbroker | |
1999 | Co-starred as Mohr's uncle and chaffeur on the Fox series "Action" | |