1. Pinky Lee was an American actor of stage, screen, radio, and television.
20 Facts About Pinky Lee
1. 2.
Pinky Lee is best known as a children's-TV personality of the 1950s.
3.
Pinky Lee worked as a comic of the "baggy pants" variety on stage, becoming an expert at slapstick and comic dancing.
4.
When vaudeville died out, Pinkie Leff adopted the stage name of Pinky Lee and became a burlesque comedian, adding rapid-fire jokes to his repertoire.
5.
Pinky Lee was one of the pioneers of commercial television, beginning in 1947.
6.
In 1950, he had his own 30-minute primetime variety television series on NBC, The Pinky Lee Show, featuring vaudevillians and burlesque comics.
7.
Pinky Lee returned on January 4,1954, with The Pinky Lee Show, a children's show sponsored by Tootsie Roll.
8.
On September 20,1955, Pinky Lee collapsed on camera during a live show due to illness.
9.
The incident spawned rumors that Pinky Lee had been institutionalized after going insane on live television.
10.
In 1957, Pinky Lee hosted The Gumby Show, the original appearance of that clay animation character.
11.
In 1963, Pinky Lee attempted a return to kids' TV, hosting a local children's comedy program on KABC-TV in Los Angeles.
12.
Pinky Lee fought the interference, but his efforts were for naught.
13.
Pinky Lee returned to television in 1983, appearing on NBC's Yummy Awards, a mock awards show hosted by Ricky Schroder that honored the best children's TV programming of the year.
14.
Pinky Lee can be seen in films, including Lady of Burlesque, Earl Carroll Vanities, Pals of the Golden West, South of Caliente, and Blonde Ransom; and Pinky Lee appeared on television shows, including Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town.
15.
Pinky Lee appeared in regional theatres throughout the US in Sugar Babies and other shows in the late 1980s.
16.
Pinky Lee's brother-in-law was well-known Tin Pan Alley songwriter Al Sherman.
17.
Pinky Lee was the uncle of the Sherman Brothers, Robert and Richard, with whom he worked from time to time in the 1950s.
18.
In later years, Pinky Lee worked as a teacher and appeared in regional musical theater productions.
19.
Pinky Lee's interment was at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery.
20.
Pinky Lee was an inspiration for the Pee-wee Herman character.