''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
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
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 ...
, announcer
[Alicoate, 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
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