| Buddy Hackett (August 31, 1924 -
June 30, 2003), born Leonard Hacker, was
an American comedian and
actor.
Hackett was born in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Public
School 103 and then went on to New Utrecht High School. While still in high school, he began appearing in nightclubs, beginning
with the Borscht Belt, the Catskills resorts. He served three years with an
antiaircraft unit during World War II.
His first job after the war was at the Pink Elephant, a Brooklyn club. He made appearances in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and the Catskills. He acted on
Broadway in Lunatics and Lovers, where Max Liebman saw him and put him in
two television specials. A television series, Stanley, was developed for him, which helped start Carol Burnett's career. He became known to a wider audience when he appeared on
television in the 1950s and 1960s as a frequent guest on such talk shows as Jack
Paar and Arthur Godfrey, telling brash, often off-color jokes, and
mugging widely at the camera.
He became widely known from his film role in the box-office success,
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad
World. He appeared as Art Carney's replacement in the old Jackie Gleason show, and in the 1958 film God's Little
Acre. His later career was mostly as a guest on established series.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Buddy Hackett was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Buddy Hackett died in 2003 Malibu, California.
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