by Ronald L. Smith

AL LEWIS (95) February 3, 2006

He got my vote. When "The Munsters" irrascibly feisty "Grandpa" Al Lewis ran for Governor, I was proud to cast my ballot for him. From his beginnings as a Punch-nosed simmering complainer on "Car 54" (appropriately named Schnauzer), to his signature role on "The Munsters," Lewis just got funnier and more colorful. After the show ended, he refused to just fade away...instead promoting a line of cheap horror videos, guesting on Howard Stern's show, running his own Greenwich Village restaurant and even becoming the Green Party candidate for N.Y. Governor at age 90. What finally slowed him, at 93, was a heart operation that created complications. He was in a month long coma and emerged with a missing leg below the knee and missing toes on his other foot. Even so, he soon returned to radio via his own radical program over WBAI.

Born Al Meister, he grew up in Brooklyn with dreams of becoming a basketball star. The 6-foot-1 athlete found his way into show business through circus work, and also vaudeville. He remained interested in basketball as a talent scout, and by middle-age had developed into a reliably crotchety sitcom personality, his wide, down-turned mouth always charged up for sniggering, grousing and ironic wisecracks. He won 52,000 votes against Governor George Pataki, but easily had ten times as many people who knew his name and loved his unique comedy style.

PEDRO GONZALEZ GONZALEZ (80) February 6, 2006

To this day, many remember a highlight of Groucho's "You Bet Your Life" show as nothing but Marx's eyebrow-raised amusement at his contestant's redundant name. Pedro deadpanned it all perfectly, because he wasn't just a contestant, he was already a seasoned comedian performing locally with the Teatro Zaragoza in San Antonio, Texas. He also had bit roles in movies, and it was John Wayne who became impatient with "Ramiro Gonzalez" and insisted on the first name being changed to Pedro. But it was the middle name that got him the fame. On the February, 1953 show, he pre-dated Bill Dana's "Jose Jimenez" with likable comic honesty. "What would we call our act if we went out together," Groucho asked. "The Two Tamales?" "No," came the reply, "It would be Gonzalez Gonzalez. And Marx." "That's nice, Two people in the act and I get third place!" From there, Pedro appeared in dozens of films and TV shows, ranging from "The Bill Cosby Show" and "I Dream of Jeannie" to "Perry Mason" and "Gunsmoke," to one of his last roles, an appearance on "American Family" with Edward James Olmos. He's survived by his wife, three children and seven grandchildren. And three great-grandchildren.


RICKIE LAYNE (81) FEBRUARY 11, 2006

Richard Israel Cohen was nine years old when an uncle bought him a ventriloquist dummy. From imitating Bergen & McCarthy Cohen developed his Semitic skills and became a hit in the Catskills with his little friend "Velvel" (a Yiddish version of William). In the 40's and 50's, through reviews such as "Borscht Capades" and "Halvah Hilaities," he made progress. As a nightclub act, Rickie Layne and Velvel hit posh spots such as Ciro's, where Nat "King" Cole discovered them and pressed Ed Sullivan to book them sight unseen. From that 1956 to 1964 the duo were consistently booked, and they continued to work in the 1970's. They even issued an album, "Fairy Tales" in "live color stereo." How could that be? Easy, the album was pressed on gold colored vinyl.

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DON KNOTTS (81) February 24, 2006

Thin, nervous and fish-eyed, Jesse Donald Knotts easily found work as a character comedian, especially playing tongue-tied and jittery types on Steve Allen's "Tonight Show." But he got past that to co-star on "The Andy Griffith Show" as Deputy Barney Fife, a high-strung martinet with seemingly little appeal except as an excitable foil to his placed boss, Sheriff Taylor.

Yet, like Jack Benny, Don Knotts took a lot of unpleasant human failings and made a warmly vulnerable and likable character out of them. Knotts would forever be known for the role, but remarkably he managed to vault into starring movies including "The Incredible Mr. Limpet" (1964), "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" (1966), "The Reluctant Astronaut" (1967), "Shakiest un in the West" (1968) and "The Love God?" (1969) all playing off his spindly and weak image. He later teamed with Tim Conway for a few more successful film comedies in the 70's.


The five-time Emmy winner returned to TV sitcoms years later via "Three's company" (1979-1984) and in the 90's was used quite often as a cartoon voice in major movies including "Cat's Don't Dance" (1997) and his last effort, "Chicken Little" (2005).


Always associated with Andy Griffith in some way or other, Knotts turned up as neighbor Les Calhoun on Griffith's "Matlock" show (1989-1992) and Andy was at Don's bedside during the star's losing battle with lung cancer

LINDA SMITH (48) February 27, 2006

British comedian and quiz show veteran Linda Smith was voted "Wittest Living Person" in a 2002 BBC RADIO 4 poll. The star of her own radio series "A Brief History of Timewasting," she was well known to U.K. audiences via "The News Quiz," "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue" and "Just a Minute."

Diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2003, Linda Smith maintained her sense of humor and her work schedule, and was praised by co-workers for her intelligence and enthusiasm. BBC 4's Jeremy Hardy remembered her: "She was so funny. She had such a wicked sense of humour. It just came effortlessly. She didn't even try."

RYUSUKE MATSUMOTO (49) April 1, 2006

April Fool's day probably isn't celebrated in Japan, and certainly wasn't this year, with the death of Ryusuke Matsumoto, who was half of a comedy team with Shimada Shinsuke. A cerebral hemorrhage felled him, after some lean years out of show business and bankrupty in 1998.
Born Minoru Matsumoto, he joined up with Shinsuke Shimada in 1975 and was also part of the Unazuki Trio with Beat Kiyoshi and Yohachi Shimada for the "Oretachi Hyokinzoku" show. His trio also had a hit song, "The Unazuki March."

ROBERT STERLING (88) MAY 30, 2006

"That most sporty of spirits," Robert Sterling was chosen to star in the TV version of "Topper." Cary Grant had played the "George" role in the original film. Sterling had the right mix of panache and his own droll sense of humor to get some laughs even against the formidable competition of wife Anne Jeffreys and co-star Leo G. Carroll in the title role. Sterling and Jeffreys had been a nightclub team. Together they had three sons (Tisha Sterling is Robert's daughter by an early marriage to Ann Sothern). Sadly, while Anne remained ebulliently visible in acting roles and over the past decade at parties and high profile events (Liza Minnelli's marriage to David Gest) Robert Sterling, suffering from shingles and other problems, remained at home. In addition to "Topper" he appeared in short-run sitcoms "Love that Jill" and "Ichabod and Me," and many musicals and dramas. His last TV appearance was a 1986 "Murder She wrote."

RICHARD STAHL (74) June 18, 2006

A consummate comic character actor, balding and acerbic Richard Stahl was the "go to" guy when a sitcom needed a mildly sarcastic doctor, a surprisingly snippy monk or a doleful father-in-law.
A regular on "It's a Living," he was also well known for appearances on "Laverne and Shirley" "Barney Miller" and several of the funniest episodes of "The Odd Couple."
Born in Detroit, a veteran of the Korean War, Stahl graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and honed his comic skills via improv work, becoming a regular with The Committee in San Francisco. Stahl's film work included "Five Easy Pieces," "High Anxiety," and "9 to 5." Married since 1959, wife actress Kathryn Ish said that Stahl had been in ill health for the past ten years due to Parkinson's Disease" "He had been declining for some time now." The couple raised two children, daughter Allegra and son Oliver.

LENNIE WEINRIB (71) June 28, 2006

Comedian Lennie Weinrib spent much of his time behind a microphone...doing cartoon voices. A few comedy buffs might remember "Have a Jewish Christmas" (a novelty album from the mid 60's) or a "Dick Van Dyke Show" where he played a typical obnoxious stand-up comic of the era, but more fans would smile hearing "he was the voice of H.R. Pufnstuf" and created the voice for "Scrappy Doo."

Born April 29, 1935 in the Bronx, Weinrib worked in Spike Jones' band and the off-Broaday "Billy Barnes Revue." His palm-on-hip stance as a cocky schtick comic got him guest spots on various sitcoms and he turned up in "Dobie Gillis," "Burke's Law" and "The Munsters." At the same time he was doing better with "The Jetsons" and later the goofier voices on "New Adventures of Batman," "Tarzan and the Super 7" and "Hong Kong Phooey." He was the voice of Timer on ABC's educational "Time for Timer." While his daughter Linda continued the cartoon voice tradition, Lennie made a radical decision in the 1980's to relocate to Santiago, Chile, and he died there following a stroke.

JAN MURRAY (89) July 2, 2006

A little before Johnny Carson came along, Jan Murray was the epitome of the ruggedly handsome quiz host-comedian. He was also an excellent actor. Through his long career, he was known as a "comedian's comedian," and the ultimate professional.
The Catskills veteran became a television favorite via his most memorable quiz show, "Treasure Hunt," which was a fixture (both day and night!) on late 50's TV. Not quite making it to sitcoms ala Joey Bishop, or late night ala Carson, Murray remained a durable nightclub star and character actor. He appeared in "A Man Called Dagger" "Thunder Alley" and played the lead role of a tough, seemingly un-hinged detective in the tawdry cult classic "Who Killed Teddy Bear?"

He guest-hosted "The Tonight Show" and appeared in many 70's TV shows including "Love American Style" and "The Name of the Game."
The former Murray Janofsky remained a favorite at roasts and resorts, and often turned up on telethons, along with colleagues such as Jack Carter and Norm Crosby. The "comedians' comedian" was popular at parties, and ran one of Hollywood's most star-studded seders, a Passover dinner that would often include Sid Caesar, Milton Berle, Jerry Lewis, George Burns and Jack Benny.

He retired around ten years ago. "Until I was 80," he explained, "I wasn't exhausted. There's no medicine like
being on stage hearing people laugh."
He's survived by his wife Toni, two sons, two daughters, and eight grandchildren.

RED BUTTONS (87) July 13, 2006

A "yiddish leprechaun," born Aaron Chwatt, little Red Buttons parlayed a cheerful Borscht Belt presence and a whimsical novelty song into an enduring comedy career...which detoured into drama roles and ultimately blossomed into his catch-phrase "never got a dinner" routines at roasts and on talk shows.
Named for his multi-button uniform as "The Singing Bellboy" Red Buttons worked through vaudeville, burlesque and the Borscht Belt and even tried Hollywood for a while, appearing in a few films. He ultimately became one of early TV's biggest comedy stars. He was also known for his novelty hit "The Ho Ho Song (Strange Things Are Happening")" and comic alter ego characters Mugsy and The Kupke Kid.
Chasing rival Milton Berle only to be burned out by hectic weekly TV demands, Buttons was viewed as a cautionary example of how video could destroy a career. Red made a comeback via his Oscar-winning straight role in the film "Sayonara," and emerged through the 60's and 70's as an entertainer capable of nightclub comedy as well as serious acting assignments. Since he only made one record album (for children) most of his readily available credits are in such films as "The Longest Day," "Up From the Beach," "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" and "The Poseidon Adventure."

In 1966, when "Get Smart" and "Amos Burke Secret Agent" were popular, Buttons was given the sitcom "The Double Life of Henry Phyfe," but it lasted only half a season. He lasted a lot longer guesting on a variety of shows (most recently "Roseanne" and "ER" and after Jackie Mason's successes, even made a brief trip to Broadway with his own "Buttons on Broadway" show in 1995. He of course reprised his signature "Never got a dinner" routine, which he created doing endless Friars roasts and other functions It was a series of celeb names each sealed into a one-liner with the tag-line ending:

"George Washington, who said to his father, "If I never tell a lie, how can I get to be President?" Never got a dinner..."

BRUNO KIRBY (57) August 14, 2006
A sidekick-character comic who could portray average losers with humor and sympathy, the former Bruno Quidaciolu Jr. was best known as a chunky obstacle to Robin Williams ("Good Morning Vietnam") and Billy Crystal ("City Slickers"). His father Bruce Kirby had an acting career as well.
The actor with the ethnically off-kilter name began his career circa 1971, landing a role on the sitcom "The Super," and had a small role in "Godfather II" listed as B. Kirby, Jr. The "cranky straight man," as Leonard Maltin called him, had key roles in "This is Spinal Tap" and "When Harry Met Sally," but his one-note roles of exasperation and impatience led him into self-parody, most notably playing himself as a 3rd rate guest always getting bumped on "The Larry Sanders Show." He took more serious roles when he could get them and had a recurring part on HBO's "Entourage."
Bruno married actress Lynn Sellers in 2004, and had every reason for optimism in the past two years, until his sudden diagnosis of leukemia.

BLASTER BATES (83) September 1,2006

American comedy fans may have seen "Blaster Bates" albums in the racks...the British comedian was popular enough for his imports to turn up from time to time.
Derek Mcintosh Bates, born February 5 1923, was a demolition expert by trade. After flying bombers for the RAF, he opened his demolitions business in 1946, specializing in the removal (by blasting) of chimney stacks as well as anything from septic tanks to debris in lakes. He had some colorful anecdotes to tell about his work (notably "The Naming of Knicker Brook" and once persuaded to get up on stage, he found a nice second career for himself. He was known to light a stick of actual dynamite and keep it dangerously sputtering through his jokes...till he'd extinguish it. Put in your own "killing the audience" joke here.

He began making albums in 1967 with "Laughter with a Bang," followed by "1001 Gelignites" (1968), "TNT for Two" (1969) and many more through 1984. He performed stunts on television and was even a constable with the Cheshire Police in the 70's, a post more social than anything else. Bates had a stroke in 2001 but continued to work for several more years. He's survived by three daughters.

FOUAD EL-MOHANDES (82) September 16, 2006

One of the most popular film comedians in the Arab world, Fouad El-Mohandes had a long career that spanned many generations of fans. Born in Cairo, influenced by Arab comedian Naguib El-Rihani, El-Mohandes earned a B.A. degree in commerce but went tracking laughter instead, earning a break in the 50's with a radio show called "To Housewives." He later starred in the long-running "Just a Few Words."
He was well known for his stage and film work in the 60's, some of it with his actress wife Shwikar. Divorced, he's survived by two songs, Ahmed and Mohammed.

JACK DELEON (aka CHRISTOPHER WEEKS) (81) October 16, 2006

Best remembered as the vulnerable, flinty-faced "Marty," gay kleptomaniac in a series of appearances on the sitcom "Barney Miller," Jack DeLeon's career stretched back decades, and included comedy albums done under the name Christopher Weeks.
Born in 1924, he started making films in the early 60's and as Christopher Weeks had a few political comedy albums out: "My Son the President" (on John F. Kennedy) and "LBJ in the Catskills." These were attempts to cash in on the interest in light political humor spawned by "The First Family." Weeks was able to imitate Kennedy and Johnson but not able to make a hit of either album. Just to confuse matters, he also mde "De Leon Roars" under the Jack DeLeon name (stand-up rather than impressions) and in 1972 as DeLeon was in the cast of "The Firsta Family" (imagining The Godfather as president)
His vocal talents were used extensively via cartoons, and he was busy with Saturday morning fare such as Emergency +4 (1973), Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (1979), Spider-Man (1981) and The Kwicky Koala Show (1981).

His film work ran the gamut from "Carhops" and "Linda Lovelace for President" (both 1975) to "The Choirboys" (1977). In the 80's he evidently reverted back to his Christopher Weeks name, appearing in "Valet Girls" (1987), "Violent Zone" (1989), Temptress (1994) and his last movie, "Allyson is Watching" (1997)
His varied on-screen TV credits include "Switch," "Sanford and Son" and "Starsky and Hutch." He guested on "Get Smart" and was a friend of Don Adams. Jack was a member of "Yarmy's Army"(a reference to Don's real name), a group of actors who would get together each month for social activity and charity work. He is survived by his son Ricky and brother George, as well as several grandchildren.

ANNA RUSSELL (94) October 18, 2006

The doyenne of classical comedy, Anna Russell was a rival to Victor Borge in the 50's and 60's, for the affections of music fans interested in silly spoofs of serious music.

She started out as a folk singer, appearing on BBC radio in the 30's. She emigrated to Canada and gradually discovered that her comic introductions were going over better than the actual music, and drifted into parody. No longer taking her singing seriously, she came to New York for a one-woman show in 1948, and combined her famous re-interpretations of opera with general satires of other music styles. She made several albums for Columbia that never seemed to go out of print. Compilations of her best material is still available on CD. A video-taped concert was released on DVD.

Russell continued through the decades, eventually becoming known for "Farewell" concerts. When she actually did retire it was to Canada, and a street named in her honor. The aging diva was often amused at the reaction of store clerks when she announced herself as Anna Russell, and her address as "Anna Russell Way." Those who weren't aware of her fame had to think she was one crazy old lady

Russell had an earnest fan in Dierdre Prussak. Prussak wrote a book, "Anna in a Thousand Cities," and eventually Russell decided to move in with her Australian fan and even adopt her as a daughter. The last two and a half years of her life were spent in Australia. Prussak told reporters, "From Australia, I would call her every morning in Canada, she was getting a little vague and I just thought to myself I really don't want to see her go into a nursing home. So one morning I said to her, how would you like to come back to Australia and stay with me...Anna would have been 95 this December,she went very peacefully but still, we're without her."

MARIE RUDISILL "FRUITCAKE LADY" (95) Nov 3, 2006

One of the oldest laugh-getters of all time, Marie Rudisill didn't make a comic TV appearance till she was over 90. An aunt to Truman Capote, the wily woman from Alabama first stabbed at fame at age 72 by writing a book about her nephew (though it was a more favored aunt, Sook, who was used by Capote as the model for the old lady of "A Christmas Memory").

When her book arrived, Truman Capote announced "If there are 20 words of truth in it, I will go up on a cross to save humanity." He evidently said this when he saw the original draft at Delacorte. He quashed the book's publication there, and it ended up, revised, at William Morrow. Marie re-visited Capote for several more books, turned out some cookbooks, and then offered up "Fruitcake: Memories of Truman Capote & Sook." No fool, and well aware of how to present herself to the public, she turned up on "The Tonight Show" to promote her book and demonstrate a fruitcake recipe. Her spry no-nonsense put-downs during a cooking segment broke up Jay Leno and ultimately led in 2002 to "Ask the Fruitcake Lady," with Marie sitting at home and firing sour and sometimes surprisingly frank responses to videotaped questions asked by audience members.

Asked how to please a man, the old lady went off on an ad-lib about keeping "Miss Puss clean" so she'd "never go to bed hungry." The ad-libbing became more predictable and feeble over the next 20 segments, but never stopped. Marie's new book, a collection of her wit and wisdom subtitled "Everything You would Already Know If You Had Any Sense," hit bookstores 4 days after her death, and a day later, Jay Leno opened his show with a collection of her snappiest quips.

PETER BOYLE (71) Dec 12, 2006

In the September 25, 1970 issue of "L.A. Free Press," Harlan Ellison reviewed Peter Boyle's breakthrough movie, which was far from comedy: "I could not focus. I was trembling like a man with malaria. There was a large potted tree on the sidewalk outside the theater. I managed to get to it, and sat there, unable to communicate, for twenty minutes. I was no good for two days after...JOE will kick the shit out of you. It will set the blood slamming against your cranial walls. It will make you as cold as Ultima Thule."

Few would have figured Peter Boyle would end up best known for comedy, but he used his bald-domed height and imposing frown to play it straight and get laughs as the monster in "Young Frankenstein" and as Ray Romano's father in "Everybody Loves Raymond." Aside from his various heavy roles, he also got laughs in "Where the Buffalo Roam" (1980), "Yellowbeard" (1983) and "The Dream Team" (1989).

Born in Pennsylvania, Boyle graduated from LaSalle College and joined a monastery for three years. Not finding the peace he sought, he joined the Navy, which left him with a nervous breakdown. He took acting lessons and gravitated to improv comedy at the Second City in Chicago in 1968. His familiarity with humor and comedians led him to eventually star in Carl Reiner's 1980 Broadway play, "The Roast," as the comedian guest of honor.

While "Young Frankenstein" (1974) was probably his most vivid role since "Joe," it had to be a favorite for Peter Boyle because it led to his marriage. Rolling Stone writer Laraine Alterman arrived on the set to interview Mel Brooks, but ended up with a different person of interest. Laraine and Peter were married in 1977 (John Lennon served as best man, not Brooks) and they had two daughters.

The big man's health became a problem back in 1990 when he suffered a stroke. He had a heart attack in 1999 while taping an episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond" (the show for which he received 5 Emmy nominations). At 70, Boyle's health issues led the National Enquirer to report him "near death" and unable to get a needed heart transplant. The story was refuted by a publicist, but not too long after, another publicist confirmed after his death that Boyle had suffered from multiple myeloma and heart disease.

MIKE EVANS (57) December 14, 2006

"Straight man" Mike Evans played Lionel Jefferson, a calm, ironic counterpoint to Archie Bunker on "All In the Family" and to his irascible father George Jefferson on the spin-off "The Jeffersons." Sensing that his acting career would always be limited and typed if he stayed "Lionel," Evans left "The Jeffersons" for the sitcom "Good Times," but returned after "Good Times" left the air.

Evans invested in real estate and occasionally took acting jobs, but his last TV appearance was in 2000, in an episode of "Walker, Texas Ranger." The throat cancer that eventually claimed his life probably prevented him from attending a July, 2006 taping of a TV Land special honoring Sherman Hemsley.

CHARLIE DRAKE (81) December 24, 2006

In America, Charlie Drake was probably not known at all, although his one hit novelty single got a lot of airplay: "My Boomerang Won't Come Back." The original version was a little too politically incorrect for American audiences, and so "I waved the thing all over the place, practiced till I was black in the face" had to go. Black became blue.

In England, Drake had a long career on TV and in films. The diminutive Charles Edward Springall (Drake was his mother's maiden name) was a hit in the late 50's and early 60's via "Drake's Progress," "Charlie Drake In..." and "The Charlie Drake Show" while he simultaneously had film successes with "Sands of the Desert" (1960) and "Petticoat Pirates" (1961). He even had novelty hits with a cover of the American hit "Mr. Custer" (1960) and "My Boomerang Won't Come Back" (1961). A slapstick TV stunt went horribly wrong and after being knocked out by a non-breakaway bookcase the little comic remained unconscious for three days, and it took two years to fully recover.

He returned to "The Charlie Drake Show" in 1963 and had another hit with "The Worker" (1965-1970). The man who had a catch-phrase with "Hello My Darlings" continued on through the 70's and 80's, and as he aged, he found himself in demand for serious roles as well as comic ones, including parts in produtions of Pinter's "The Caretaker" and "As You Like It." He retired in 1995 after suffering a stroke. He suffered a series of strokes just before his death.