Red Buttons

He became a nationally recognizable comedian, and his "Never Got A Dinner" sketch was a standard at the Dean Martin roasts for many years. Sir Thomas Courtenay was knighted in 2001. After his Oscar-winning role in Sayonara, Buttons performed in numerous feature films, including Hatari!, The Longest Day, The Poseidon Adventure, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, and Pete's Dragon. In 2003 he appeared on the West End stage again in the one-man show Pretending To Be Me, as Philip Larkin. His catchphrase from the show, "strange things are happening", entered the national vocabulary briefly in the mid-1950s. His best known film role after the 1960s is probably in The Dresser, (from Ronald Harwood's play of the same name, in which he also appeared), with Albert Finney. After years performing burlesque and doing comedy routines in the Catskills, Buttons received his own variety series on television in 1952 -- The Red Buttons Show ran for three years and achieved high levels of success. He appeared in "I Heard the Owl Call My Name" on US television in 1973.

Born in New York City, Chwatt received the nickname as a young man, when he worked as a waiter in Dinty Moore's tavern in the Bronx -- his uniform's shiny buttons and his bright red hair caused patrons to give him the name he would later perform under. His television appearances have been relatively few, but have included She Stoops to Conquer on BBC and several Ayckbourn plays. He won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Sergeant Joe Kelly in Sayonara (1957). He showed his comic talent again by creating the role of Norman in Alan Ayckbourn's trilogy, The Norman Conquests. He was briefly married to the actress, Cheryl Kennedy. Red Buttons (born February 5, 1919) is the stage name of American comedian and actor Aaron Chwatt. His Hamlet at the Edinburgh Festival of 1968 marked him out as one of Britain's leading stage actors as well as a film actor. He was born Thomas Courtenay in Hull, England, and made his stage début in 1960 with the Old Vic company.

(In the latter two, he appeared alongside Julie Christie). Zhivago (1965). Tom Courtenay (pronounced "Courtney") (born February 25, 1937) is a British actor who came to prominence in the early 1960s with a succession of critically-acclaimed films including The Loneliness of the Long-distance Runner (1962), Billy Liar (1963) and Dr.