Although Red Buttons is best known as a stand-up comic, he is also a successful songwriter, an Academy Award-winning actor (and has been nominated for two Golden Globe awards) and an accomplished singer. Born Aaron Chwatt on February 5, 1919 (Aquarius) in New York City's Lower East Side, stood at a ... height of 5' 6" (1.68 m). Buttons (who got his name from a uniform he wore while working as a singing bellhop), also known as Cpl. Red Buttons, started his show-business career singing on street corners as a child. At 16 he got a job as part of a comedy act playing the famed Catskills resort area in upstate New York (his partner was future actor Robert Alda). Buttons worked the burlesque circuit as a comic and even landed a role in a Broadway play, "Vicki", in 1942. He soon joined the U.S. Marine Corps, and in 1943 was picked for a role in Moss Hart's service play "Winged Victory" on Broadway, and soon afterwards journeyed to Hollywood to make the film version. After his discharge from the service he returned to Broadway, both in plays and as a comic with several big-band orchestras. He was successful enough that he got his own TV series, The Red Buttons Show (1952), on CBS. It lasted three years and won Buttons an Emmy for Best Comedian. He worked steadily for the next several years, and in 1957 got his big film break in the drama Sayonara (1957) with Marlon Brando, in which he played an American soldier stationed in Japan who struggled against the societal and racist pressures of both American and Japanese cultures because of his love for a Japanese woman. His performance garnered him an Academy Award, and more film roles followed. He played a paratrooper in The Longest Day (1962), was nominated for a Golden Globe for Harlow (1965) and again for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969). He had a part in the TV series The Double Life of Henry Phyfe (1966) and has done pretty much every kind of TV show there is, from variety to comedy to soap operas. He gained further renown in the 1970s for his appearances on the "Dean Martin Celebrity Roast" where he performed his "Never Got a Dinner" act to great acclaim. He has played Las Vegas for years, has a star on Hollywood Boulevard (corner of Hollywood and Vine) and has appeared in numerous telethons and charitable events, for which he has been honored by such organizations as the Friars Club and the City of Hope Hospital. He died July 13, 2006 at the age of 87 in Century City, California, USA from vascular disease.
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| Organization | Category | Movie | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cannes Film Festival | Best Supporting Actress | The Longest Day | Won |
The Double Life of Henry Phyfe
as Henry Wadsworth Phyfe
Episodes: 17
First Aired: Jan 13, 1966
Knots Landing
as Al Baker
Episodes: 6
First Aired: Dec 27, 1979
ER
as Ruby
Episodes: 5
First Aired: Sep 19, 1994
Street Time
as Sam Kahan
Episodes: 4
First Aired: Jun 23, 2002
The Dream Merchants
as Bruce Benson
Episodes: 3
First Aired: May 12, 1980
The Love Boat
as Cyrus Foster
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Sep 24, 1977
Alice in Wonderland
as White Rabbit
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Dec 09, 1985
Presidio Med
as Chick
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 24, 2002
The Cosby Show
as Jake Bennett
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 20, 1984
Studio One
as St. Emergency
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Nov 07, 1948
General Electric Theater
as Lieutenant George Poole
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Feb 01, 1953
Saints and Sinners
as Joe Roganyan
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 17, 1962
Family Law
as Carl Porter
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 20, 1999
Pink Lady
as Red Buttons
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Mar 01, 1980
Pink Lady
as Police Sergeant
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Mar 01, 1980
General Electric Theater
as Tippy-Top
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Feb 01, 1953
The Love Boat
as Buddy Redmond
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 24, 1977
Love, American Style
as Norman
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 29, 1969
Wonder Woman
as Ashley Norman
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Nov 07, 1975
The Ed Sullivan Show
as Self
Episodes: 10
First Aired: Jun 20, 1948
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self
Episodes: 6
First Aired: Oct 01, 1962
The Oscars
as Self
Episodes: 4
First Aired: Mar 19, 1953
What's My Line?
as Self - Mystery Guest
Episodes: 3
First Aired: Feb 02, 1950
The Jackie Gleason Show
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Sep 17, 1966
The Dean Martin Show
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Sep 16, 1965
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
as Self
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Oct 05, 1956
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
as Self
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Sep 14, 1973
The Mike Douglas Show
as Self - Co-Host
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Dec 11, 1961
Little House on the Prairie
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 11, 1974
Early Edition
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 28, 1996
227
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 14, 1985
Roseanne
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 18, 1988
Cosby
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 16, 1996
Password
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 02, 1961
The Greatest Show on Earth
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 17, 1963
The Eleventh Hour
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 03, 1962
Vega$
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 20, 1978
It's Garry Shandling's Show
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 10, 1986
Philly
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 25, 2001
The Hollywood Palace
as Self - Comedian
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 04, 1964
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 04, 1963
The United States Steel Hour
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 27, 1953
Ben Casey
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 02, 1961
The Danny Thomas Hour
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 11, 1967
Frontier Circus
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 05, 1961
Suspense
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 06, 1949
The Red Buttons Show
as Host
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 14, 1952
Aloha Paradise
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Feb 25, 1981
The Mike Douglas Show
as Self - Host
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Dec 11, 1961
Startime
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 06, 1959
The Hollywood Palace
as Self - Singer / Sketch Actor
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 04, 1964
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jul 29, 1957
Great Performances
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 28, 1971
Kraft Music Hall
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 08, 1958
Best of The Dean Martin Variety Show
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Feb 10, 1966
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 5 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| 2024 | 6 | 16 | 21 | 9 |
| 2024 | 7 | 18 | 29 | 7 |
| 2024 | 8 | 15 | 26 | 8 |
| 2024 | 9 | 11 | 23 | 2 |
| 2024 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 2 |
| 2024 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 3 |
| 2024 | 12 | 7 | 12 | 3 |
| 2025 | 1 | 11 | 20 | 6 |
| 2025 | 2 | 6 | 16 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 |