Red Buttons
| Red Buttons | |
|---|---|
Buttons in 1959
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| Born |
Aaron Chwatt February 5, 1919 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | July 13, 2006 (aged 87) Century City, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor, comedian |
| Years active | 1935–2006 |
| Spouse(s) |
Roxanne Arlen (m. 1947–49) Helayne McNorton (m. 1949–63) Alicia Pratt (m. 1964–2001) |
Red Buttons (born Aaron Chwatt; February 5, 1919 – July 13, 2006) was an American comedian and actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Sayonara (1957).
Red Buttons was born Aaron Chwatt on February 5, 1919, in New York City, to Jewish immigrants Sophie (née Baker) and Michael Chwatt. At sixteen years old, Chwatt got a job as an entertaining bellhop at Ryan's Tavern in City Island, Bronx. The combination of his red hair and the large, shiny buttons on the bellhop uniforms 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. Buttons was working at the Irvington Hotel in South Fallsburg, New York, when the Master of Ceremonies became incapacitated, and he asked for the chance to replace him. 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 Broadway.
In September 1942, Buttons made 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 classic 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.
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