Comic actor and entertainer, born in New York City, New York, USA. Dropping out of school at age 13, he began as a comic in the ‘Borscht Circuit’ in the Catskills, then worked as a singer and dancer in nightclubs and vaudeville until he made his Broadway debut in 1939. With his genius for mimicry, controlled slapstick, and patter song delivery, he made his film debut in 1937, and appeared in a series of successful films such as Up in Arms (1944), Wonder Man (1945), and The Court Jester (1956), all concocted primarily as vehicles for his versatility. His best-loved films include The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1946), Hans Christian Andersen (1952), and The Court Jester (1956).
As a straight dramatic actor his most accomplished performance was as a concentration camp survivor in the television film Skokie (1981). He continued in films until 1969, and he had a popular variety show on television (1963-7), but increasingly he gave his energies to charitable causes, especially as a fundraiser for UNICEF, and often by appearing as a mock guest conductor of symphony orchestras. He received a special Academy Award in 1955 for ‘his service… to the motion-picture industry and the American people’.