Red Buttons
Red Buttons
Although Red Buttons is best known as a stand-up comic, he is also a successful songwriter, an Academy Award-winning actor (and has been nominated for two Golden Globe awards) and an accomplished singer. Born Aaron Chwatt on February 5, 1919 (Aquarius) in New York City's Lower East Side, stood at a height of 5' 6" (1.68 m). Buttons (who got his name from a uniform he wore while working as a singing bellhop), also known as Cpl. Red Buttons, started his show-business career singing on street corners as a child. At 16 he got a job as part of a comedy act playing the famed Catskills resort area in upstate New York (his partner was future actor Robert Alda). Buttons worked the burlesque circuit as a comic and even landed a role in a Broadway play, "Vicki", in 1942. He soon joined the U.S. Marine Corps, and in 1943 was picked for a role in Moss Hart's service play "Winged Victory" on Broadway, and soon afterwards journeyed to Hollywood to make the film version. After his discharge from the service he returned to Broadway, both in plays and as a comic with several big-band orchestras. He was successful enough that he got his own TV series, The Red Buttons Show (1952), on CBS. It lasted three years and won Buttons an Emmy for Best Comedian. He worked steadily for the next several years, and in 1957 got his big film break in the drama Sayonara (1957) with Marlon Brando, in which he played an American soldier stationed in Japan who struggled against the societal and racist pressures of both American and Japanese cultures because of his love for a Japanese woman. His performance garnered him an Academy Award, and more film roles followed. He played a paratrooper in The Longest Day (1962), was nominated for a Golden Globe for Harlow (1965) and again for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969). He had a part in the TV series The Double Life of Henry Phyfe (1966) and has done pretty much every kind of TV show there is, from variety to comedy to soap operas. He gained further renown in the 1970s for his appearances on the "Dean Martin Celebrity Roast" where he performed his "Never Got a Dinner" act to great acclaim. He has played Las Vegas for years, has a star on Hollywood Boulevard (corner of Hollywood and Vine) and has appeared in numerous telethons and charitable events, for which he has been honored by such organizations as the Friars Club and the City of Hope Hospital. He died July 13, 2006 at the age of 87 in Century City, California, USA from vascular disease.
Known For Acting
Most Rating 6.503
Birthday 1919-02-05
Place of Birth New York City, New York, USA
Also Known As Cpl. Red Buttons, Aaron Chwatt,
The Poseidon Adventure
1972

The Poseidon Adventure

Jackie Gleason: The Great One
1988

Jackie Gleason: The Great One

Pete's Dragon
1977

Pete's Dragon

Hatari!
1962

Hatari!

Harlow
1965

Harlow

The Story of Us
1999

The Story of Us

Gay Purr-ee
1962

Gay Purr-ee

The Longest Day
1962

The Longest Day

They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
1969

They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July
1979

Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July

Sayonara
1957

Sayonara

Five Weeks in a Balloon
1962

Five Weeks in a Balloon

18 Again!
1988

18 Again!

Stagecoach
1966

Stagecoach

When Time Ran Out...
1980

When Time Ran Out...

Viva Knievel!
1977

Viva Knievel!

Hansel and Gretel
1958

Hansel and Gretel

Movie Movie
1978

Movie Movie

Your Cheatin' Heart
1964

Your Cheatin' Heart

C.H.O.M.P.S.
1979

C.H.O.M.P.S.

The Ambulance
1990

The Ambulance

A Ticklish Affair
1963

A Ticklish Affair

Darryl F. Zanuck: 20th Century Filmmaker
1995

Darryl F. Zanuck: 20th Century Filmmaker

Goodnight, We Love You
2004

Goodnight, We Love You

The Big Circus
1959

The Big Circus

Winged Victory
1944

Winged Victory

Imitation General
1958

Imitation General

The Users
1978

The Users

Leave 'Em Laughing
1981

Leave 'Em Laughing

A Marriage of Strangers
1959

A Marriage of Strangers

Who Killed Mary Whats'ername?
1971

Who Killed Mary Whats'ername?

Gable and Lombard
1976

Gable and Lombard

Off Your Rocker
1982

Off Your Rocker

Telethon
1977

Telethon

Reunion at Fairborough
1985

Reunion at Fairborough

Night of 100 Stars II
1985

Night of 100 Stars II

Power
1980

Power

One, Two, Three
1961

One, Two, Three

Breakout
1970

Breakout

Up from the Beach
1965

Up from the Beach

George Burns Celebrates 80 Years in Show Business
1983

George Burns Celebrates 80 Years in Show Business

Footlight Varieties
1951

Footlight Varieties

It Could Happen to You
1994

It Could Happen to You

Joys
1976

Joys

Side Show
1981

Side Show

George M!
1970

George M!

Louis Armstrong - Chicago Style
1976

Louis Armstrong - Chicago Style

The Muppets Go Hollywood
1979

The Muppets Go Hollywood

Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years
1997

Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years

Murder at N.B.C.
1966

Murder at N.B.C.