RED BUTTONS
Name: Red Buttons
Birth name: Aaron Chwatt
Born: 5 February 1919 New York City, New York
Died: 13 July 2006 Century City, Los Angeles, California
Red Buttons (February 5, 1919 - July 13, 2006) was an American comedian and
actor.
Red Buttons was born Aaron Chwatt on February 5, 1919 in New York City to
Jewish immigrants. At sixteen years old, Buttons 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 straight man
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 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 entertain troops in the European Theater of operations in
the same unit as Mickey Rooney.
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, an American airman stationed in Kobe, Japan during
the Korean War, who falls in love with 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 not to 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?, Pete's Dragon, and 18 Again! with
George Burns. Buttons also made many memorable TV appearances on programs
including Little House on the Prairie, It's Garry Shandling's Show, ER and
Roseanne.
He became a nationally recognizable comedian, and his "Never Got A Dinner"
sketch was a standard at the Dean Martin roasts for many years.
Number 71 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time,
Buttons received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for television, located at
1651 Vine Street.
Buttons was married to actress Roxanne Arlen in 1947, but it soon ended in
divorce. His next marriage was to Helayne McNorton, from December 8, 1949 until
1963. His last marriage was to Alicia Prats, which lasted from January 27, 1964
until her death in March 2001. Buttons had two children, daughter Amy Buttons
Norgress and son Adam Buttons. He was the advertising spokesman for the Century
Village, Florida retirement community.
Buttons died of vascular disease on July 13, 2006 at his home in the Century
City area of Los Angeles. He was 87 years old. Buttons had been ill for some
time and was with family members when he passed away.
Name: Red Buttons
Birth name: Aaron Chwatt
Born: 5 February 1919 New York City, New York
Died: 13 July 2006 Century City, Los Angeles, California
Red Buttons (February 5, 1919 - July 13, 2006) was an American comedian and
actor.
Red Buttons was born Aaron Chwatt on February 5, 1919 in New York City to
Jewish immigrants. At sixteen years old, Buttons 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 straight man
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 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 entertain troops in the European Theater of operations in
the same unit as Mickey Rooney.
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, an American airman stationed in Kobe, Japan during
the Korean War, who falls in love with 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 not to 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?, Pete's Dragon, and 18 Again! with
George Burns. Buttons also made many memorable TV appearances on programs
including Little House on the Prairie, It's Garry Shandling's Show, ER and
Roseanne.
He became a nationally recognizable comedian, and his "Never Got A Dinner"
sketch was a standard at the Dean Martin roasts for many years.
Number 71 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time,
Buttons received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for television, located at
1651 Vine Street.
Buttons was married to actress Roxanne Arlen in 1947, but it soon ended in
divorce. His next marriage was to Helayne McNorton, from December 8, 1949 until
1963. His last marriage was to Alicia Prats, which lasted from January 27, 1964
until her death in March 2001. Buttons had two children, daughter Amy Buttons
Norgress and son Adam Buttons. He was the advertising spokesman for the Century
Village, Florida retirement community.
Buttons died of vascular disease on July 13, 2006 at his home in the Century
City area of Los Angeles. He was 87 years old. Buttons had been ill for some
time and was with family members when he passed away.