HACKETT, BUDDY

HACKETT, BUDDY (Leonard Hacker; 1924–2003), U.S. comedian. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Hackett's wit and story-telling ability won him success on television in the 1960s. Previously he had performed in nightclubs and appeared in the Broadway farce Lunatics and Lovers (1954) and the comedy I Had a Ball (1965). In 1960 he won attention in David Susskind's television program Open End. This was followed by roles in such films as All Hands on Deck (1961); Everything's Ducky (1961); The Music Man (1962); The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962); It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963); and The Love Bug (1968). His distinctive voice also earned him a variety of vocal roles in animated films, such as the TV movie Jack Frost (1979); The Little Mermaid (1989); Mouse Soup (1992); and The Little Mermaid II (2000), as well as the 1992 TV series Fish Police. Hackett's TV career encompassed frequent appearances on such shows as What's My Line?; The Dean Martin Show; Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In; and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, as well as a recurring role in the 1999 sitcom Action. He also played Lou Costello in the 1978 TV movie Bud and Lou. Despite his success in movies and on television, Hackett preferred his nightclub work. He performed in clubs around the country, particularly in Las Vegas, where he ultimately became one of the top headliners in Vegas history. One of the pioneers of "blue" comedy, Hackett was noted for his risqué material and off-color language. But among his fellow comedians, he was regarded as an ingenious ad-libber and a comic who knew just how long to keep a joke or a routine in his act before it became stale. Hackett devoted much time to a foundation combating Tay-Sachs disease, a malady that occurs mostly among Jewish children of Middle European background. He wrote The Truth about Golf, and Other Lies (1968) and The Naked Mind of Buddy Hackett (1974). (Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)