Brooklyn-born Buddy Hackett was a renowned nightclub comic, particularly in Las Vegas, where he first performed in 1952 and eventually became one of the city's biggest headliners in history. Hackett often referred to himself as a "saloon comic" and preferred the intimacy of his stage act, which often featured him bringing members of the audience up on stage with him, to films and television.
Hackett, along with Lenny Bruce, was a pioneer of "blue" comedy, although his career did not suffer as much as Bruce's did due to it. His act was notable for its adult content, and at one point, he was even sued by a woman who claimed to have been shocked and offended by his language during a show. However, she ultimately lost the lawsuit.
Contrary to his nightclub image, Hackett's film appearances were mostly family-friendly, such as his roles in the "Herbie" series of comedies for Disney and as Robert Preston's sidekick in "The Music Man" (1962).
In 1954, Hackett was paired with Hugh O'Brian by Universal Pictures as a potential comedy team to replace the studio's reigning team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. They actually replaced the famous team in the film "Fireman Save My Child" (1954) due to Costello's illness. Hackett took the part that Costello was playing, and O'Brian took Abbott's place, but the film was not successful, and Universal dropped its plans to make a team out of the two.
Hackett also had a showy part in the ensemble comedy "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" (1963),partnered with Mickey Rooney. Despite his success in movies, he still preferred his nightclub work and played Las Vegas and clubs in other cities whenever possible. He was known among his fellow comics as a brilliant ad-libber and someone who knew exactly how far to take a joke before it ran its course, something not all comedians managed to do.
Buddy Hackett died at the age of 78 due to natural causes at his beach house in Malibu, California, on June 30, 2003.
