Buddy Hackett(1924-2003)
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Brooklyn-born Buddy Hackett was known mainly as a nightclub comic,
especially in Las Vegas, where he first performed in 1952 and wound up
being one of the biggest headliners in that city's history. Hackett
always referred to himself as a "saloon comic" and preferred the
intimacy of his stage act--where he would often bring members of the
audience up on stage with him--to films and television. He, along with
Lenny Bruce, pioneered "blue" comedy,
although Hackett's career did not suffer nearly as much as Bruce's did
because of it. Hackett's act was noted for its, at the time, "adult"
content, and at one point he was sued by a woman who attended one of
his shows and said she was "shocked and offended" at the language (she
lost the suit). However, contrary to his nightclub image, Hackett's
appearances in films were mostly of the family type, such as his roles
in the "Herbie" series of comedies for Disney about a Volkswagen Bug
with a mind of its own and as
Robert Preston's sidekick in
The Music Man (1962). In 1954,
Hackett was paired by Universal Pictures with
Hugh O'Brian as a potential comedy team to
replace the studio's reigning team of
Bud Abbott and
Lou Costello, They actually did
replace the famous team in the film
Fireman Save My Child (1954),
due to Costello's illness (Bud and Lou can still be glimpsed in long
shots). Hackett took the part that Costello was playing (an eerie
coincidence considering that more than 20 years later he would actually
play Costello in the movie
Bud and Lou (1978)) and
O'Brian took Abbott's place, but the film was not successful and
Universal dropped its plans to make a team out of the two. Hackett also
had a showy part in the ensemble comedy
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963),
partnered with Mickey Rooney.
However, despite his success in movies, he still preferred his
nightclub work and played Las Vegas and clubs in other cities whenever
possible. He had a reputation among his fellow comics as a brilliant
ad-libber and someone who knew exactly how far to take a joke before it
ran its course, something not all comedians managed to do.
Buddy Hackett died at age 78 of natural causes at his beach house in Malibu, CA, on June 30, 2003.
Buddy Hackett died at age 78 of natural causes at his beach house in Malibu, CA, on June 30, 2003.
