I’ve never seen Sayanora, the film for which Red Buttons won his Oscar in 1958, so I can’t say anything about that. In fact, as I’ve tried to think of a signature Buttons role to hang this tribute on, I find I can’t think of him in any specific part or film. He’s simply one of the many familiar faces that I grew up recognizing on television and in movies, like Barnard Hughes. However, unlike Hughes, who stands out in my mind because of specific characters (or at least a specific character type) that he played, Buttons was always just… Red Buttons.
Not that this is a bad thing. There are many actors who make a living by essentially playing themselves. And in Buttons’ case, he made a fine living indeed, especially on television. He had recurring roles on a number of big series, including Knots Landing, Roseanne, The Cosby Show and its successor Cosby, and, more recently, ER. Back in the ’70s, he was practically a regular cast member on Fantasy Island and The Love Boat, putting in three appearances on each; I think it’s probably from those guest shots as much as anything that I knew his face. Of course, he was also in the original Poseidon Adventure, which I saw as a kid and watched again not too long ago.
But mostly he was just part of a stable of men and women who seemed to be in everything when I was younger, people like the late greats Roddy McDowell and Vincent Price, folks whose presence seemed to elevate even the most mediocre material a notch or two just because they were so amiable. That stable of comforting, aging faces gets smaller every year, and I don’t believe the generation of actors coming up these days is producing any replacements for them. These days, we have movie stars and we have character actors, but I can’t think of any personalities who lift your spirits just by being themselves, the ones you point to when they appear on screen and say, “oh, it’s that guy — I like him!” I couldn’t name a single character Red Buttons ever played… but I liked him. And I’ll miss his familiar face.
Here are a few vital Buttons-related links:
- New York Times obituary
- Evanier’s usual personal anecdote
- Another personal remembrance, this one by Army Archer of Variety
