HENRY, BUCK

HENRY, BUCK (Zuckerman; 1930– ), U.S. screenwriter and actor. Born in New York, Henry began his career at age 16 in the cast of the long-running Broadway production Life with Father. Henry saw military service with the army during the Korean War and afterwards found work writing jokes for the Steve Allen and Garry Moore television shows. Although he gained national attention as a writer/performer on the TV satire That Was the Week That Was (1964–65), his first big success was as co-writer with Mel Brooks of the hit comedy series Get Smart (1965–70). Henry became a member of the screenwriters' elite when he shared credit for the script of the feature film The Graduate (1967), and subsequently wrote the screenplays for such films as Candy (1968), Catch-22 (1970), The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), Is There Sex after Death? (1971), What's Up, Doc? (1972), The Day of the Dolphin (1973), Protocol (1984), To Die For (1995), and Town and Country (2001). In 1978 he co-produced and co-directed Heaven Can Wait with Warren Beatty, and in 1980 he directed First Family, which he also wrote. As an actor, Henry appeared in many of his films, as well as making cameo appearances in a long string of other movies. Films in which he played a significant role include Taking Off (1971), The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), The Absent-Minded Waiter (1977), Strong Medicine (1979), and Curtain Call (1999). (Jonathan Licht / Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)