24 Facts About Red Buttons

Red Buttons won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role in the 1957 film Sayonara.

Red Buttons was born Aaron Chwatt on February 5,1919, in Manhattan, New York City, to Jewish immigrants Sophie and Michael Chwatt.

Later that same summer, Red Buttons worked on the Borscht Belt; his straight man was Robert Alda.

Red Buttons was working at the Irvington Hotel in South Fallsburg, New York, when the master of ceremonies became incapacitated, and Red Buttons asked for the chance to replace him.

In 1939, Red Buttons started working for Minsky's Burlesque; in 1941, Jose Ferrer chose Red Buttons to appear in a Broadway show The Admiral Had a Wife, a farce, set in Pearl Harbor at Oahu, Hawaii.

In September 1942, Red Buttons made his Broadway debut in Vickie with Ferrer and Uta Hagen.

Red Buttons entertained troops in the European Theater in the same Jeep Show unit as Mickey Rooney.

Red Buttons performed at Broadway movie houses with big bands.

In 1952, Buttons received his own variety series on television, The Red Buttons Show, which ran for three years on CBS.

Red Buttons's role in Sayonara was a dramatic departure from his previous work.

Red Buttons's moving portrayal of Kelly's calm resolve not to abandon the relationship, and the touching reassurance of Katsumi, impressed audiences and critics alike.

Red Buttons won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and Umeki won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film.

In 1966, Buttons again starred in his own TV series, a spy spoof called The Double Life of Henry Phyfe, which ran for one season.

Red Buttons made guest appearances on several TV programs, including The Eleventh Hour, Little House on the Prairie, It's Garry Shandling's Show, Knots Landing, and Roseanne.

Red Buttons became a nationally recognizable comedian, and his "Never Got a Dinner" routine was a standard of The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast for many years.

Red Buttons made numerous appearances at Friars Club roasts and Chabad telethons, where he was often brought on and off stage to the tune of "Hava Nagila".

Red Buttons received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for television, located at 1651 Vine Street.

Red Buttons was number 71 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time.

Red Buttons married actress Roxanne Arlen in 1947, but the marriage soon ended in divorce.

Red Buttons was the advertising spokesman for Century Village, Florida, a retirement community.

Red Buttons was an early member of the Synagogue for the Performing Arts, and at the time Rabbi Jerome Cutler was the rabbi.

Red Buttons died of complications from cardiovascular disease on July 13,2006, at age 87 at his home in Century City, Los Angeles.

Red Buttons had been ill for a while and was with family members when he died.

Red Buttons's ashes were given to his family after cremation.