Red Buttons

Red Buttons (born Aaron Chwatt; February 5, 1919 – July 13, 2006) was an American comedian, actor, and singer whose six-decade career spanned vaudeville, burlesque, television, and film, highlighted by his Academy Award-winning dramatic performance in Sayonara (1957). Born to Jewish immigrant parents on New York City's Lower East Side, with his father a Polish hatmaker who inspired his show business aspirations, Buttons began performing as a child singer in burlesque shows and on street corners to support his family. In 1939, at age 20, he joined Minsky's burlesque circuit, and at age 16, while working as a bellhop at Ryan's Tavern in the Bronx, his red hair and the shiny buttons on his uniform earned him the stage name "Red Buttons," suggested by orchestra leader Charles "Dinty" Moore.

Buttons rose through the Borscht Belt resorts and vaudeville circuits in the 1930s and 1940s, performing comedy routines and impressions, before serving in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, where he entertained troops in Europe. Postwar, he transitioned to television with guest spots on shows like The Admiral Broadway Revue and The Colgate Comedy Hour, leading to his own NBC variety series, The Red Buttons Show (1952–1955), which featured sketches, monologues, and guest stars, earning him Emmy nominations for his energetic hosting and character work. After the show's cancellation, he pivoted to film, debuting in Winged Victory (1944) but gaining acclaim for dramatic roles, culminating in his Oscar and Golden Globe wins for portraying Airman Joe Kelly, a soldier in a forbidden interracial romance, in Joshua Logan's Sayonara.

Red Buttons was born Aaron Chwatt on February 5, 1919, in New York City's Lower East Side to Jewish immigrant parents, Michael Chwatt from Poland and Sophie Chwatt, a Polish Jewish immigrant. His family was part of the wave of Eastern European Jewish immigrants seeking opportunity in early 20th-century America, settling in Manhattan's densely populated tenements amid the vibrant but challenging immigrant communities.

The Chwatts were a working-class household, with Michael employed as a milliner's assistant in the garment trade, a common occupation for Jewish immigrants in New York's apparel industry, while Sophie managed the home. His father inspired his show business aspirations by taking him to Yiddish theater performances. Aaron was the middle child of three siblings, including an older brother, Joseph, and a younger sister, Ida, in a family that emphasized resilience and resourcefulness during times of economic strain. As the family relocated to the Bronx during his grammar school years, young Aaron grew up in a neighborhood of modest apartment buildings and bustling streets, where the cultural influences of Yiddish theater and Jewish traditions shaped his early worldview.

During summer breaks, Buttons entertained at Catskills resorts in the Borscht Belt region, immersing himself in the vibrant Jewish humor and tummler tradition that emphasized quick-witted banter and audience interaction. This exposure to the area's comedic culture profoundly shaped his timing and style, drawing from the self-deprecating wit and Yiddish-inflected routines prevalent among performers at these mountain hotels.