Borscht Belter

Buddy Hackett was born August 31st, 1924.
Although he was well known for his movie roles (It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Herbie the Love Bug, etc.), he was more famous for his appearances on such shows as Jack Paar, Arthur Godfrey, Carol Burnett and Laugh In. My fondest memories are from seeing him on the Carson show, starting in the early 70's. When I was a kid, I would delight in the fact that my parents would let me stay up late with them to catch a glimpse of the wildly hilarious comedian. He would often show up, clad in a velour sweatsuit, pot belly in tact and sometimes he might he even show a little gold chain to finish the look off. He would sit back in the guest chair, with his little legs dangling down, barely touching the floor (this was before Carson had installed the famous retractable footrest) and he'd more often than not fold and rest his arms atop his belly and begin to tell tales that always ended with him either rolling around on the floor or breaking Carson up and having him fall off his chair in hysterics. Part of Hacketts' appeal was that he was marble-mouthed and detailed in his delivery. He could tell the same joke twice, get a bigger laugh the second time and explain the slight change in the delivery or recitation of the joke that made it funnier. In other words, he wasn't as stupid as his cross-eyed countenance might have suggested to his audience. He was once hosting an event for the National Foundation For Jewish Culture in honor of Alan King and told this nugget: "Then there was the time that Alan and I went to Israel. The Mayor of Jerusalem was showing us around and he said: "Isn't it amazing what the Jews have built from nothing in the desert?!" Hackett replied: "You should see Las Vegas!"
My special friend reminded me recently that he appeared in the short lived series Action on FOX starring Jay Mohr (Peter Dragon) and Ileana Douglas. I hadn't thought about that show in a while and even forgot that I'd seen it in it's entirety when it had orignally aired. Hackett played Dragons uncle Lonnie. The series should have received higher praise, but just like Arrested Development and countless other brilliant shows from the same network, it went by the wayside before too long. Although Hackett died only three years ago, his legend lives on.