Buddy Hackett
Stand-up comedian · 1924–2003 · Malibu, CA

Buddy Hackett

Also known as Leonard Hacker and Butch Hacker

Who Buddy Hackett is

Buddy Hackett was a stand-up comedian and comic actor from Brooklyn, New York, who started out doing stand-up in the Catskills Borscht Belt resorts. He was a frequent guest on the Jack Paar and Johnny Carson versions of The Tonight Show, starred in the NBC sitcom Stanley (1956–1957) and made uncensored stand-up specials for HBO, including Buddy Hackett: Live and Uncensored in 1983. His film roles included Marcellus Washburn in The Music Man (1962), Benjy Benjamin in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Tennessee Steinmetz in The Love Bug and the voice of Scuttle in The Little Mermaid (1989).

At a glance

Born
1924
Died
2003
Based in
Malibu, CA
Came up through
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Stand-up specials
Buddy Hackett II: On Stage at Caesar's Atlantic City and Buddy Hackett: Live and Uncensored
Albums
How You Do? and The Original Chinese Waiter
Podcasts
The Naked Mind of Buddy Hackett
On screen
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Jack Paar's Tonight Show, Stanley and 5 more

Specials, shows and podcasts

Stand-up specials

Albums

On screen

Podcasts

Where they got their start

Came up the same way

Other comedians in SUCDb who came through The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson:

The Launching Pads: the shows the comedians came through →

Comedians like Buddy Hackett

Each linked to them by something on the record — a stage they both came through, a bill, a show, a style or a home town.

Every stand-up comedian with a page, A to Z →

Career timeline

  1. 1924Born
  2. 1956Stanley (title role, NBC, 1956–1957) On screen
  3. 1960The Original Chinese Waiter (1960) Album
  4. 1962The Music Man (Marcellus Washburn, 1962) On screen
  5. 1963It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (Benjy Benjamin, 1963) On screen
  6. 1963How You Do? (1963) Album
  7. 1974The Naked Mind of Buddy Hackett (book, 1974) Book
  8. 1980You Bet Your Life (host of the syndicated revival, 1980) On screen
  9. 1983Buddy Hackett: Live and Uncensored (1983, HBO) Special
  10. 1986Buddy Hackett II: On Stage at Caesar's Atlantic City (1986, HBO) Special
  11. 1989The Little Mermaid (voice of Scuttle, 1989) On screen
  12. 1992The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (frequent guest, until Carson's retirement in 1992) On screen
  13. 2003Died

Questions about Buddy Hackett

What stand-up specials has Buddy Hackett released?

Buddy Hackett II: On Stage at Caesar's Atlantic City and Buddy Hackett: Live and Uncensored.

What podcast do they host?

The Naked Mind of Buddy Hackett.

What TV shows and films are they in?

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Jack Paar's Tonight Show, Stanley, You Bet Your Life, Hollywood Squares and The Music Man, among 8 credits.

Where did they get their start?

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (frequent guest).

Where are they based?

Malibu, CA, as their record gives it.

Who are some comedians like them?

Dick Shawn (also in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World), Elayne Boosler (also in Hollywood Squares), Jay Leno (also in You Bet Your Life), Joan Rivers (also in Hollywood Squares) and Totie Fields (also in Hollywood Squares).

The full SUCDb record

The full record — the career in order, the specials and credits, and the sources for each — is on SUCDb, with their place on the Legends ballots.

Their SUCDb record →

Sources

Updated 5 October 2026 · the record checked 27 September 2026