General "RIP" announcements that might be of interest

Man, I thought he passed away awhile back. Another sad day indeed!

RIP ... Buttons

I remember watching him in those old Dean Martin Roast TV specials. I always loved watching him. He was great, and will be truely missed.
Colorado Bob

Kevin,

Isn't that what everyone used to say to Duke's character - Jacob McCandles?

Red Buttons was also great in "Sayonara" , as Sgt. Joe Kelly. RIP sir...

-ncb

A sad day indeed RIP

This is what he died from:Buttons died of vascular disease on July 13, 2006 at his home in the Century City area of Los Angeles. His spokesman says Buttons had been ill for some time and was with family members when he died

Goodbye Red

My condolences to his family on his passing. He was a great character actor.

Anybody remember him in the TV show E.R. ?

Rest in Peace Red

Hi

Just read his obituary on IMDB another pair gone Rip June Allison & Red Buttons.

Regards

Arthur

I echo all the other sentiments expressed here. He also did a great job in the old "Poseidon Adventure" and got Carol Lynley in the end

Rest in peace, Red

Mark

The wheat is being separated from the chaff. Unfortunately all we seem to be left with today is chaff.

Red was one of my favorite actors. God bless you Red, rest in peace.

Tbone

R.I.P Red and June.

Emmanuel

Quote

Originally posted by nathan_brittles@Jul 13 2006, 05:28 PM
Kevin,

Isn't that what everyone used to say to Duke's character - Jacob McCandles?
Red Buttons was also great in "Sayonara" , as Sgt. Joe Kelly. RIP sir...
-ncb

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Your right. And Dukes reply.... "Not Hardly" Although I'm not 100% sure of this

Anyways, here the article about Buttons passing from USAToday-

Sad sayonara to Red Buttons

As unusual career trajectories go, Red Buttons went from Catskills stand-up comic to Oscar winner for a movie in which he played opposite Marlon Brando, then very much in his prime.
And this doesn't even address Buttons busting Jeep shock absorbers chasing giraffes and rhinos on location with John Wayne in Tanganyika for Hatari!

You want more? A CBS variety series in TV's early days swept the country, around the time he recorded a Billboard No. 15 novelty record that spun off a personal catchphrase the country briefly took to heart. With The Ho Ho Song on the flip side, the hit song was Strange Things Are Happening— which pretty well explains how you later end up on the first Poseidon at 53, paired on screen with onetime teen cover girl Carol Lynley.

After a long illness, Buttons died Thursday at 87 of vascular disease in the Century Hills section of Los Angeles. He had a remarkably sustained career, including countless TV appearances after major movie roles dried up. But he will always be identified with the Friars Club brand of "Ho Ho" because at heart, he was always a stand-up comic.

Buttons was born Aaron Chwatt on New York's Lower East Side, and had the hair color to legitimize his nickname.

A former singing bellhop, he ended up in the Catskills, where he honed his skills.

A Marine Corps stint landed him, with other future stars, in Moss Hart's service-produced play Winged Victory. Buttons also appeared in the George Cukor movie version.

Nightclub and stage appearances followed, but it was 1952's The Red Buttons Show that made him an overnight success. It also made him a king-sized pain, an observation he didn't deny later.

Billy Crystal's abrasive character in 1992's Mr. Saturday Night was widely thought to have been patterned on Buttons, whose career then so quickly nosedived that 1957's Sayonara was regarded as a comeback vehicle.

The movie with Brando was one of the year's biggest hits. It rather intriguingly cast the former Borscht-belter as Airman Joe Kelly — who defies orders and tradition in occupied postwar Japan to marry a native. Miyoshi Umecki played his bride, and she and Buttons won supporting Oscars.

Buttons' career was renewed — though as with many who hit it surprisingly big and fast in movies, success sometimes led to follow-up piffle such as A Ticklish Affair and Five Weeks in a Balloon.

But there were some gems. Delightful Hatari! (1962) put him in Africa with Wayne as comic relief "Pockets." The same year, he had a memorable cameo in The Longest Day as the D-Day paratrooper whose parachute gets entangled. His most underrated performance was as one of Jane Fonda's dance-marathon partners in 1969's They Shoot Horses, Don't They? His achievement was overshadowed by his co-stars' accolades, but his portrayal of a participant too old for the stress was on the button.

Buttons gave Liz Taylor's Cleopatra its most apt early review ("a challenge to the kidneys") and had a one-man Broadway show in 1995. Projecting mock offense, his hysterical "Never Got a Dinner" sketch was for years a staple at roasts (he got his own at the Friars Club in 1982). He was married three times.

By less than two weeks, Buttons' death follows that of comic Jan Murray, who worked the same grand tradition. A dying breed, alas, is indeed really dying.

By Mike Clark, USA TODAY

Hello all
I hear the pain of the passing voiced in comments like the chaff is all thats left. I beg to differ not for the sake of discussion but from personal conviction. There are a great many good people on this rock. Stop and consider, look around your own own back 40s. Do you see the ones who will never step up on a stage and never see a high profile most times by choice. The neighbor you walk past who always has a smile or wave of greeting. The retail clerk who has bagged ten thousand groceries and still finds the patience to interact reasonably. These positive individuals are also stars for they shine without fame or fortune. I liked Red Buttons and I like my mailman and I like waking up in the morning and I like this message board. Go have a wonderful day. Or else!

I thought Red's performance in "Sayonara" was outstanding, so much so that I left the theater bawling. :lol:

I was stationed in San Diego when "Sayonara" was first released. My best buddy and I went to see the movie, about six sheets to the wind. We were sitting in the balcony boo-hooing when the theater manager came and asked us to leave. So we left, went to the nearest water-hole and drowned our tears. :lol:

Hi

I suppose it memories lik Kilo and stumpy that show the measure of the man as an actor. I agree with you that the everyday people also count, thats what John Wayne says on America Why I Love her and it means as much today as it did then.

Regards

Arthur

Kilo,

Of course you are right.

My statement was meant more to reflect upon the quality of the Hollywood crowd these days and my judgement that much, no most, of what comes out of there these days isn't worth the match it would take to burn the film canister up.

For all their faults, there will never be the likes of folks like Ford, Wayne, Cagney, Stewart, Bogart again. I can't explain the why of it. I'm only observing.

Tbone

Hello All
I hear what you are saying, times change and not all the changes feel good. As a father I have to believe that mankind progresses. Parenting was not a choice made with the suffering of future generations in mind. As for film stars the technology available to directors today has many of them leaning more to special effects then to human elements. I enjoy some of those movies but they do not command the same respect as films which anchor their performance on great acting. TBone I take no issue with what you meant I was offering the most positive spin on the situation that I could think off.
Hey Ringo Arnold S has made political statements about film industry work leaving the US for Canada. It may sound good when you are campaigning but last time I worked on a show where he was the main event he was not Complaining. In fact for the most part his 1/2 dozen bodyguards were pretty bored as he seemed to feel they did not need to shadow him all day. Of corse that doesn't change my opinion of his acting only his character.