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1924-2003 "Veteran funnyman Buddy Hackett, the rubbery-faced entertainer who for more than a half century was a main attraction at nightclubs, on Broadway, on TV and in movies..." (The Associated Press) died at his Southern California beach house early Monday, June 30, 2003. The cause of his death is reported as natural causes, although Hackett did have diabetes. I always liked Buddy Hackett. My mom never did. But I'm trying to change that. I'm working on her. Have been slowly, for years, but she has no idea.... Decades, really. I always liked how, when I was growing up in the 80s, Hackett and Don Rickles and Bob Newhart and Johnny Carson and those guys were so obviously friends, and into cracking each other up, and hanging out -- generally only for view on Carson's old Tonight Show. In recent years, Hackett made guest appearances on Just Shoot Me, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, where he was featured in a recurring bit titled "Tuesdays with Buddy." He also served as a judge on NBC's Last Comic Standing. Hackett was perhaps best known to younger audiences as the voice of "Scuttle" in Disney's The Little Mermaid. But his best, and/or best-known film work includes: comic support Blimp Edwards in the musical Walking My Baby Back Home (1953) with Janet Leigh; truly outstanding in a dramatic performance as Pluto Swint a Candidate for Sheriff in Anthony Mann's film version of Erskine Caldwell's God's Little Acre (1958).
Between 1957 and 1966 Hackett was an occasional guest on the classic quiz show, "What's My Line?" Hackett was a regular performer on "The Jackie Gleason Show" during 1958-1959, a regular on "The Jack Paar Show" from 1958-1962), and on "The Tonight Show" from 1958-1962. Hackett appeared on two episodes of "The Rifleman" (in 1959 and 1961). And Hackett would make many appearances on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." In 1961 Hackett was also back on the big screen in Norman Taurog's All Hands on Deck with Pat Boone, Dennis O'Keefe, and Barbara Eden; and Don Taylor's Everything's Ducky which paired Hackett with Mickey Rooney as two sailors who sneak a talking duck on board their ship. In 1962, Hackett gave another great performance (again as comic support in a musical) but this is a great one, the film version of Meredith Willson's hit play, The Music Man, with Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Hermione Gingold, Paul Ford, Pert Kelton, Ron Howard,Harry Hickox, Charles Lane, Mary Wickes, Jesslyn Fax, Percy Helton, Rance Howard, Maudie Prickett, Thurl Ravenscroft, Max Showalter, Hank Worden. Hackett played Marcellus Washburn and sang "Shipoopi." Also in 1962 Buddy was Hans ('The Singing Bone') in George Pal's The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm. And then, amongst dozens of comics, Hackett is a particular standout -- brilliantly hilarious as Benjy Benjamin in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), working together in most scenes with the lunatic, Mickey Rooney -- they must have found a click when on Everything's Ducky two years before. Mad Mad World is definitely flawed, but at the same time, it also has some stuff in it that is so funny, that you can't laugh the first time you see/hear it, you have to sit down and study it. Such as Buddy's " Hackett was the business manager, S.Z. Matts, in Muscle Beach Party (1964); The Golden Head (1964); Mechanic Tennessee Steinmetz in The Love Bug (1968). Between 1968 and 1971 Hackett made several guest appearances on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In."
He was Lou Costello opposite Harvey Korman's Bud Abbott in the TV-Movie Bud and Lou (1978); and had a cameo in Burt Kennedy's The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969) with Robert Mitchum; one of the highlights of Scrooged (1988), playing "himself" (also with Robert Mitchum); John Roberts's Paulie (1998), with Gena Rowlands, Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin, Bruce Davison, Jay Mohr, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Bill Cobbs. In 1999, Hackett was a regular on the series, "Action" with Jay Mohr, Illeana Douglas -- popular with critics, but no audiences ever really tuned in. Hackett reprised his voice role of Scuttle for the straight-to-video sequel, The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000). Other notable TV guest appearances included: "I've Got a Secret" (1962), "To Tell the Truth" (1965), "The Trials of O'Brien" (1965), "The Big Valley" (1966), "The Andy Williams Show" (1966), "Get Smart" (1967), "The Lucille Ball Show" (1968); Hackett was "Joey Germaine" in the "Reunion in Terror" episode of "McMillan and Wife" (1974); "Ronnie Fletcher" in the Quincy two-parter, "Snake Eyes"in 1977; two Love Boat appearances in 1979 and 1981; "Ozzie" in the two-parter "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harold" on "The Fall Guy" (1983); as "Murray Gruen" in the "No Laughing Murder" episode of "Murder, She Wrote" (1987); "Ferris Bueller" (1990); as "Himself" in the 1993 episode of "L.A. Law," "Hackett or Pack It"; as "Mr. Fontini" in the "Easy Street" episode of "Boy Meets World" (1996).
Buddy Hackett was born Leonard Hacker on August 31, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York. (His real name, Lenny Hacker, was used as the name of a character he played in episode 1.05 -- "The Entertainer" -- of Space Rangers [1993].) His imdb reported height was of 5' 6". He was married to Sherry Cohen in 1955, until his death. They had three children: Sandy Hackett, Ivy Julie, Lisa Jean. Son of Philip Hackett and Anna Geller. Buddy served three years in the Army with an anti-aircraft unit during World War II. On a furlough in 1945, he returned home and bought a ticket to see the musical "Oklahoma!" He decided on a career in show business following his discharge. In 1952, at the behest of Shemp Howard, Buddy Hackett was asked to replace the ailing Curly Howard as a member of The Three Stooges. Hackett initially agreed to the idea, until he saw a Stooges rehearsal and witnessed the boys hitting each other on the head with pipes, wrenches, etc. Hackett backed out of the deal. In 1953, gossip columns reported that Universal Pictures wanted to team Buddy Hackett with his friend, popular baritone Alan Dale, as their studio's answer to Paramount's box office sensations, Martin and Lewis. Nothing came of the idea because Dale preferred to remain a solo act. Hackett, however, did appear in Universal's "Walking My Baby Back Home" later that year. Hackett reportedly quit doing appearances in 1996 after he suffered stage fright, including extreme dizziness, for the first time in his career. This event immediately followed gum surgery, which Hackett believed had something to do with the situation.
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