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Pat McCormick

 
Dictionary: McCormick, Patricia
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(Known as "Pat.") Born 1930.

American diver. She was the first to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in both springboard and platform diving and was the first woman inducted into the International Diving Hall of Fame.


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Actor: Pat McCormick
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Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: Jul 17, 1934 in Rocky River, Ohio
  • Died: Jul 29, 2005 in Woodland Hills, California
  • Occupation: Actor, Writer
  • Active: '70s-'80s
  • Major Genres: Comedy
  • Career Highlights: Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad, Under the Rainbow, Bombs Away!
  • First Major Screen Credit: The Andy Griffith Show: Mind Over Matter (1966)

Biography

Surprisingly little known to the public at large, bear-like, walrus-mustached Pat McCormick is a very busy stand-up comedian and comedy writer. McCormick's sly wit and taste for the humorously grotesque has won him many fans in the showbiz community, including Johnny Carson, Don Rickles, Don Adams, Jonathan Winters, Mel Brooks and Burt Reynolds. He was among the head writers of Carson's Tonight Show, and in 1968 both wrote for and served as announcer/straight man on Don Rickles' short-lived variety series. In films, McCormick is usually seen in showy featured roles, notably President Grover Cleveland in Robert Altman's Buffalo Bill and the Indians (1976) and Big Enos in the first two Smokey and the Bandits flicks. He also contributed to the scripts of the theatrical features Oh Dad Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad (1966) and Under the Rainbow (1986). In 1983, Pat McCormick was appropriately cast as "Mound" on the TV sitcom Gun Shy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Wikipedia: Pat McCormick (actor)
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
For other, similarly named persons, see Pat McCormick (disambiguation)
Pat McCormick
Born June 30, 1927
Rocky River, Ohio
Died July 29, 2005
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles

Pat McCormick (June 30, 1927 – July 29, 2005)[1] was an American actor and comedy writer known for playing Big Enos Burdette in Smokey and the Bandit and its two sequels. He wrote for a number of performers such as Red Skelton, Phyllis Diller and Johnny Carson as well as for shows including Get Smart. McCormick had a distinctive appearance being six feet, eight inches tall, weighing 250 pounds and having a walrus moustache.

Contents

Early life & career

McCormick was born in Rocky River, Ohio. He was a high school athlete and served in the Army. He dropped out of Harvard Law School for a career in advertising but abandoned that career as well when he started writing jokes for television and standup comedians. Eventually, he became a writer for Jack Paar on The Jack Paar Show. He also wrote for Get Smart, The Danny Kaye Show and wrote and appeared on Candid Camera.

McCormick was both the announcer and straight man for Don Rickles on The Don Rickles Show in 1968. He was a regular on The New Bill Cosby Show on 1972. Behind the scenes, he was one of the lead writers on The Tonight Show writing many of its most well-known lines. He wrote the line "Due to today's earthquake, the God is Dead rally has been canceled."

His first screen performance was in The Shaggy D.A in 1976. He played President Grover Cleveland in Robert Altman's Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson in the same year. In 1977, he appeared in Smokey and the Bandit and appeared in the sequels in both 1980 and 1983. He appeared as the Ghost of Christmas Present in a TV production in the Bill Murray comedy Scrooged in 1988, with his final appearance being in Ted & Venus[2].

He also made frequent appearances as a panelist on innumerable television game shows including I've Got a Secret and The Gong Show. He also enjoyed a successful radio and television voice-over career.

Retirement and death

McCormick retired in 1998 after being left partly paralyzed by a stroke leading to his admission to the Motion Picture and Television Fund's hospital in Woodland Hills, California in that year. He died there seven years later, aged 78. His interment was located in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery.

He is survived by a son, Ben, and a grandson. He has a twin brother (who assumed a different surname), Sgt. James McKittrick, of Chicago.

References

  1. ^ Although media reports of his death state he was 78, Allmovie.com states that he was born on July 17, 1934 in Rocky River, Ohio. The Social Security Death Index lists a Patrick B. McCormick born June 30, 1927 who died July 29, 2005.
  2. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074254/

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Pat McCormick (actor)".  Read more