Comedian, actor instrumental in rise of stand-up comedy
By Paul Brownfield

LOS ANGELES TIMES

Tuesday, July 1, 2003

MALIBU, Calif. -- Buddy Hackett, who broke into comedy as a young waiter-performer in New York's Catskill Mountains and went on to achieve iconic status as a raunchy nightclub performer and rubber-faced clown in movies including "The Music Man" and "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," died Monday at his home in Malibu. He was 78.

The cause of death was not immediately clear. Hackett had been suffering from a chest cold, although he had been in "robust good health" until a few days ago, according to a family spokesperson.

Hackett hadn't worked professionally since 1996, when he stopped performing after experiencing dizziness and shortness of breath onstage.

Like Milton Berle or Henny Youngman or Red Buttons, Hackett is among the pantheon of Jewish comedians forever associated with the rise of the stand-up comic on stage, radio and, eventually, television.

Over the decades, to be sure, Hackett's look helped make him inimitable: the rotund body with the cross-eyed gaze and the delivery in which he seemed to be talking out of the side of his mouth. His 1950s TV credits include his own sitcom, "Stanley," in which Hackett ran a newsstand in a swanky New York Hotel. The series, which co-starred Carol Burnett as Hackett's girlfriend, was broadcast live by NBC during its brief run in 1956-57. The pilot was co-written by Neil Simon.

A year later Hackett replaced Art Carney as a regular cast member on CBS's "Jackie Gleason Show," and he began showing up on Jack Paar's "Tonight Show," something he would continue to do when Johnny Carson took over the reins from Paar.


[V]

I moved my flag to half-staff.

A sad day indeed.

One of the funniest motherf'ers on the planet.  

Here's to you obesceri illegitimo!!!

Big time gun collector too. One of the many reasons I liked him. He was a funny man and nice guy also.

Anybody have a pic? I am not familiar with this guy, perhaps I will recognize him.

[img]http://www.stagebenders.com/Be%20a%20Bender/Buddy%20Hackett.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.collectinghollywood.com/BHacke1.jpg[/img]

Google [url]http://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=[/url] [:D]

sorry about the pic size, first I could find.

Thanks, guys. I do recognize him, but it's been a long time since I've seen any of his work.

[:D][:O)]

He was the FUNNIEST.  I was wondering just a few days ago if he was still with us or active in the business.

Some of the absolute best laughs I've ever had, the kind where you laugh yourself sore,  were from his stuff.  

I think I'll see if I can locate a tape of him on an HBO comedy special done in the 80's that I THINK I still have, and play it.


Buddy will be having his opening night in the Celestial Comedy Club shortly.   Tickets are in short supply, and you'll have to die to get in.


CJ

He was also asked to be the the replacement for Curly Howard of the "Three Stooges" after Curly had the stroke in 1946.
Hackett agrees to the idea, until he drops by a Stooges rehearsal and witnesses the boys hitting each other with pipes, wrenches and other pain-inducing tools. Hackett backed out of the deal.

Shame, he was funny as hell.  You don't see too many old school comedians who are as raunch as he was.

"I went to see a Psychiatrist  because I had an inferiority complex, he told me "you don't have an inferiority complex you ARE inferior"

                             Buddy Hackett

Sorry to see him go. He was truly a funny guy.
[USA]

He was also the voice of the seagull in the Disney movie The Little Mermaid. [:I] [yea yea FLAME SUIT ON]

I saw that.  Yes, actually I have the DVD.

The seagull's name was Scuttle and was very funny.   He reminded me of several people I know.

In that movie, during the transformation from mermaid to human,  there is ONE frame (dark though it is) where Ariel's shiny new ass is very clearly rendered, which is a first for a Disney animated movie as far as I know.  

CJ

And for that discovery, you don't have to stop in purgatory because you are going straight to hell.[}:D]

In the 80's he used to frequent a hole in the wall coffee shop that I also loved.

Early one Saturday morning a group of us meet to chow down before heading out shooting and he was at the counter across from our booth.  He overheard oour convertsation and on the way out stopped to say "Get a few for me".

I never knew he was a shooter. Thought he was just joking.