Pat McCormick (comic)

Pat McCormick
Born	June 30, 1927 Lakewood, Ohio
Died	July 29, 2005 (aged 78) Woodland Hills, Los Angeles
Occupation	Actor, comedy writer
Years active	1957–1997
Height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)

Pat McCormick (June 30, 1927 – July 29, 2005) was an American actor and comedy writer known for playing Big Enos Burdette in Smokey and the Bandit and its two sequels. He wrote for a number of performers such as Red Skelton, Phyllis Diller and Johnny Carson as well as for shows including Get Smart. McCormick had a distinctive appearance being six feet, seven inches tall, weighing 250 pounds and having a walrus mustache.

McCormick was born in Lakewood, Ohio as Arley D. McCormick, and was a 1945 graduate of Rocky River High School. He was a high school athlete and served in the United States Army during World War II. He then enrolled at Harvard as a freshman in the fall of 1947 where he played basketball that year. He later dropped basketball to concentrate on track (hurdles). He dropped out of Harvard Law School for a career in advertising but abandoned that career as well when he started writing jokes for television and standup comedians, including Jonathan Winters. Eventually, he became a writer for The Jack Paar Show. He also wrote for Get Smart, The Danny Kaye Show and wrote and appeared on Candid Camera. He was also a member of the I've Got a Secret production staff in the early 1960s.

McCormick was both the announcer and straight man for Don Rickles on The Don Rickles Show in 1968. He was a regular on The New Bill Cosby Show in 1972. Behind the scenes, he was one of the lead writers on The Tonight Show writing many of its most well-known lines. He wrote the line "Due to today's earthquake, the God is Dead rally has been canceled." As part of a skit on a Jonathan Winters special McCormick, as a court jester, quipped to the regally-attired Winters "Is that a scepter in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?" a quite risque line for early 1970s television.

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