''The

Red Buttons Red Buttons (born Aaron Chwatt; February 5, 1919 – July 13, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role in the 1957 film '' Sayonara''. He was nominated for awards for his acting work ...

Show'' premiered on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

television network On October 14, 1952, and ran for two years on that network, then moved to

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

for the final 1954–55 season. Red's catch phrase from the show, "Strange things are happening!" entered the national vocabulary briefly in the mid-1950s. The series finished #11 for the 1952–1953 season in the Nielsen ratings and #12 in 1953–1954.

Format

The CBS run of the series featured monologues, dance numbers, and sketches with Red and the other series regulars. The characters played by Red included the boxer Rocky Buttons, the Kupkekin Kid, the Sad Sack, and Keeleforven. When the series was canceled by CBS, it moved to NBC which at first kept it as a variety show. When the ratings remained low the program was overhauled and turned into a

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

with Red playing himself as a TV comic.

Phyllis Kirk Phyllis Kirk (born Phyllis Kirkgaard; September 18, 1927 October 19, 2006) was an American actress. Early life Kirk was born in Syracuse, New York, although some sources state her birthplace as Plainfield, New Jersey. She contracted polio as ...

played his wife, Bobby Sherwood played the director of Red's program and

Paul Lynde Paul Edward Lynde (; June 13, 1926January 10, 1982) was an American comedian, actor and game show panelist. A character actor with a distinctively campy and snarky persona that often poked fun at his barely closeted homosexuality, Lynde was we ...

the network's vice president.

CBS regulars

*Red Buttons * Dorothy Jolliffe *

Pat Carroll Patricia Ann Carroll (May 5, 1927 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress and comedian. She was known for voicing Ursula in ''The Little Mermaid'' and for appearances in CBS's ''The Danny Thomas Show'', ABC's '' Laverne & Shirley'', and NB ...

* Beverly Dennis *Allan Walker *

Joe Silver Joe Silver (September 28, 1922 – February 27, 1989) was an American stage, television, film and radio actor. His distinctive deep voice was once described as "the lowest voice in show business; so low that when he speaks, he unties your sho ...

* Betty Ann Grave

NBC regulars

*Red Buttons *

as Mr. Standish * Bobby Sherwood *

Nelson Case Nelson Case (February 3, 1910 – March 23, 1976) was an American radio and television announcer. Case was the son of Walter and Ethel Case. His father was a newspaperman, and his mother was a driving force in the Long Beach Community Players. He ...

, announcerAlicoate, Jack, Ed. (1955). ''The 1955 Radio and Television Yearbook''. Radio Daily Corp. P. 1173.

References

External links

*The Red Buttons Show at th
Internet Movie Database
*The Red Buttons Show a
Classic TV & Movie Hits
*The Red Buttons Show theme song lyrics a

1950s American variety television series 1950s American sitcoms 1952 American television series debuts 1955 American television series endings American television series revived after cancellation Black-and-white American television shows CBS original programming NBC original programming {{US-comedy-tv-prog-stub