Morey Amsterdam was known as "The Human Joke Machine," a sobriquet that was no mere hyperbole. You could toss him any subject and within seconds, the database in his head produced the requisite joke needed to match the situation. Thought processes aside, it wasn't cerebral, it wasn't comedy that you could savor like a well-turned phrase or a clever idea; it was stand-up comedy straight out of the Catskills and Borsch Belt tradition of 'here comes the jokes, folks!,' an energetic style short on subtleties and long on rapid-fire delivery. But like Milton Berle -- who had been mining a similar approach for years -- Amsterdam could work an audience to death and get over on just sheer energy of presentation alone. Long before he became entrenched in the national consciousness with his role as Buddy Sorrell on The Dick Van Dyke Show, Morey had already built up a solid reputation as a nightclub performer, comedian, and behind the scenes comedy writer. He also regularly dabbled in songwriting and exhibited a flair for constructing a top-flight novelty tune. That Amsterdam wrote "Rum and Coca-Cola," a big World War II hit for the Andrews Sisters is perhaps the best trivial pursuit question you could ask about the man. And his theme song of sorts, "Yuk A Puk," along with "Why Oh Why Did I Ever Leave Wyoming?" emanated from his prolific pen as well.
He was born in Chicago on December 14, 1914, but the family soon emigrated to the West Coast, settling in San Francisco. It was there that he entered show business at the age of 10, working as a boy soprano on a local radio station. His early lessons on the cello came in handy when he joined his older brother's vaudeville act a short time later. When his brother later decided to quit show business, Morey decided to continue as a single. In between developing his rapid fire joke machine, novelty tunes with cello nightclub act, Amsterdam found himself regularly in demand as a comedy writer. Sometimes brought in at the last minute to punch up a tired radio or television script, Morey worked at various times for Will Rogers, Milton Berle, Fanny Brice, Jack Benny, and Henny Youngman. He also frequently appeared as a guest on a number of radio and television shows in the late '40s-early '50s pre-Van Dyke period, among them Can You Top This?, Stop Me If You've Heard This One, Sooner or Later, and the Morey Amsterdam Silver Swan Show. Equally adept at both comedic and dramatic turns, his film credits included Machine Gun Kelly, The Horse In The Gray Flannel Suit, Don't Worry, We'll Think Of A Title, Murder, Inc., Muscle Beach Party, and Wholly Moses with Richard Pryor. He would later go on to direct and produce as well. But it was his role as Buddy Sorrell on the Van Dyke show that truly brought him to national awareness. Playing the wisecracking TV-show writer Buddy -- in what was perhaps the perfect ensemble sitcom cast of all time -- some saw his role as art imitating real life. "I am Buddy," Amsterdam would tell interviewers. "Buddy is not only a comic, but an experienced writer, a fellow who knows timing and funny situations." Others would point to that impeccable comic timing, which acted as the anchor in almost every scene he worked in. One episode in particular, "Divorce," provided a hitherto unseen glimpse of Morey's dramatic talents playing the Buddy character for something other than straight laughs. When the show closed up shop in 1966, the comedian sent a thank-you letter to the producers, commenting, "I learned a great deal. When you surround yourself with happy people, it's much easier to do the show. We had fun." Amsterdam would always fondly recall it as the happiest five years of his show business career. After completing his five-year run on the show, Morey also wrote two books, Keep Laughing and Morey Amsterdam's Book for Drinkers or Betty Cooker's Crock Book. Still active into his 80s, his final appearance before the cameras was a 1996 guest appearance with old friend and Van Dyke Show co-star Rose Marie on the NBC sitcom, Caroline in the City. When he passed away in November 1996 from a heart attack, his old boss Dick Van Dyke said fondly and truthfully, "When Morey died, he took about 100,000 jokes with him." The human joke machine, indeed. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide
Career Highlights: Machine Gun Kelly, Career Girl, The Dick Van Dyke Show
First Major Screen Credit: The Ghost and the Guest (1943)
Biography
Born in Chicago, Morey Amsterdam was raised in California, where his musician father was in charge of the San Francisco Symphony. Originally intending to be a cello player, Amsterdam instead gravitated to entertaining with words. A well-above-average student, Amsterdam was enrolled at the University of California at the age of 14, but quit after one year to go on the road with a comedy act. At 16, he was master of ceremonies at Colosimo's, a Chicago speakeasy run by Al Capone. Amsterdam got along fine with big Al, but after getting caught in the middle of a gangland shoot out, the young comic sought out safer work in California. He wrote gags and special material for such prominent laughmakers as Jimmy Durante, Fannie Brice and Will Rogers, and in 1939 made his television debut in an experimental Hollywood broadcast. He spent the war years touring with the USO, taking time out to write radio and movie scripts and to pen the popular novelty song "Rum and Coca-Cola." After the war, he was headlined on several radio and TV programs, notably NBC's Broadway Open House, the 1950 precursor to The Tonight Show. By the mid-1950s, Amsterdam was renowned far and wide as "The Human Joke Machine," able to come up with a joke on literally any topic without even pausing for breath. In 1960, his livelihood was sorely threatened when he suffered a head injury while appearing in the film Murder Inc.; for three tension-filled weeks, he completely forgot every one of the thousands of jokes he'd filed away in his memory banks. Happily, he recovered, and by 1961 he was gainfully employed as Buddy Sorrell on the long-running TV sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show. After Van Dyke's series folded in 1966, Amsterdam continued to play nightclub dates and make TV guest-star appearances (he briefly produced and hosted a 1970 TV revival of the old radio series Can You Top This?) As funny as ever in his eighth decade, Morey Amsterdam surprised his fans by playing a villainous role on the CBS daytime drama The Young and the Restless. Amersterdam died of a heart attack on October 27, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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