Acting
Red Buttons
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.
Filmography
Goodnight, We Love You
Film · 2004
Presidio Med
Series · 2002
Street Time
Series · 2002
Philly
Series · 2001
The Story of Us
Film · 1999
Family Law
Series · 1999
Ghosts of Fear Street
Film · 1998
Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years
Film · 1997
Early Edition
Series · 1996
Cosby
Series · 1996
Darryl F. Zanuck: 20th Century Filmmaker
Film · 1995
It Could Happen to You
Film · 1994
ER
Series · 1994
The Ambulance
Film · 1990
George Burns: His Wit and Wisdom
Film · 1989
Jackie Gleason: The Great One
Film · 1988
18 Again!
Film · 1988
Roseanne
Series · 1988
It's Garry Shandling's Show
Series · 1986
Reunion at Fairborough
Film · 1985
Night of 100 Stars II
Film · 1985
227
Series · 1985
Alice in Wonderland
Series · 1985
The Cosby Show
Series · 1984
George Burns Celebrates 80 Years in Show Business
Film · 1983
Off Your Rocker
Film · 1982
Leave 'Em Laughing
Film · 1981
Side Show
Film · 1981
Aloha Paradise
Series · 1981
When Time Ran Out...
Film · 1980
Pink Lady
Series · 1980
The Dream Merchants
Series · 1980
Pink Lady
Series · 1980
Power
Series · 1980
Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July
Film · 1979
C.H.O.M.P.S.
Film · 1979
The Muppets Go Hollywood
Film · 1979
Knots Landing
Series · 1979
Movie Movie
Film · 1978
The Users
Film · 1978
Vega$
Series · 1978
Fantasy Island
Series · 1978
Fantasy Island
Series · 1978
Pete's Dragon
Film · 1977
Viva Knievel!
Film · 1977
Telethon
Film · 1977
Playboy's Playmate Party
Film · 1977
The Love Boat
Series · 1977
The Love Boat
Series · 1977
The Love Boat
Series · 1977
Gable and Lombard
Film · 1976
Joys
Film · 1976
Louis Armstrong: Chicago Style
Film · 1976
Flannery and Quilt
Film · 1976
The New Original Wonder Woman
Film · 1975
Wonder Woman
Series · 1975
Little House on the Prairie
Series · 1974
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Series · 1973
The Poseidon Adventure
Film · 1972
Who Killed Mary Whats'ername?
Film · 1971
Great Performances
Series · 1971
Breakout
Film · 1970
George M!
Film · 1970
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Film · 1969
Love, American Style
Series · 1969
The Danny Thomas Hour
Series · 1967
Stagecoach
Film · 1966
Murder at N.B.C.
Film · 1966
The Double Life of Henry Phyfe
Series · 1966
Harlow
Film · 1965
Up from the Beach
Film · 1965
The Dean Martin Show
Series · 1965
Your Cheatin' Heart
Film · 1964
The Hollywood Palace
Series · 1964
A Ticklish Affair
Film · 1963
The Greatest Show on Earth
Series · 1963
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
Series · 1963
Hatari!
Film · 1962
Gay Purr-ee
Film · 1962
The Longest Day
Film · 1962
Five Weeks in a Balloon
Film · 1962
The Eleventh Hour
Series · 1962
Saints and Sinners
Series · 1962
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Series · 1962
The Merv Griffin Show
Series · 1962
One, Two, Three
Film · 1961
Password
Series · 1961
Ben Casey
Series · 1961
Frontier Circus
Series · 1961
The Mike Douglas Show
Series · 1961
The Mike Douglas Show
Series · 1961
The Big Circus
Film · 1959
A Marriage of Strangers
Film · 1959
Startime
Series · 1959
Hansel and Gretel
Film · 1958
Imitation General
Film · 1958
The All-Star Christmas Show
Film · 1958
Kraft Music Hall
Series · 1958
Sayonara
Film · 1957
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
Series · 1957
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Series · 1956
General Electric Theater
Series · 1953
The United States Steel Hour
Series · 1953
The Oscars
Series · 1953
General Electric Theater
Series · 1953
The Jackie Gleason Show
Series · 1952
The Red Buttons Show
Series · 1952
Footlight Varieties
Film · 1951
What's My Line?
Series · 1950
Suspense
Series · 1949
Studio One
Series · 1948
The Ed Sullivan Show
Series · 1948
Winged Victory
Film · 1944