Stubby Kaye

Stubby Kaye (November 11, 1918 – December 14, 1997) was an American comic actor. He was born Bernard Kotzin in New York City on West 114th Street in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan to first generation Jewish-Americans originally from Russia and Austria. He was raised in the Far Rockaway section of Queens and in the Bronx.

Directors viewed Kaye as a master of the Broadway idiom during the last phase of the musical comedy era. This was evidenced by his introduction of three of the greatest show-stopping numbers of the era: “Fugue for Tinhorns” and “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat” from Guys and Dolls (1950) and “Jubilation T. Cornpone” from Lil Abner (1956) Kaye is best known for defining the role of Nicely-Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls, first on Broadway and then in the film version. He also played Marryin' Sam in Li'l Abner, again on both stage and screen. In 1962 he played the Mikado in Michael Winner's The Cool Mikado. He also made a guest appearance in "Delta And The Bannermen", a story in the British science fiction series, Doctor Who in 1987. His last featured role was as Marvin Acme in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

In 1958, he guest starred on NBC's short-lived The Gisele MacKenzie Show. In the 1959–1960 television season, Kaye co-starred with William Demarest, Jeanne Bal, and Murray Hamilton in the NBC 18-week sitcom Love and Marriage. Demarest played William Harris, the owner of a failing music company who refuses to handle popular rock and roll music, which presumably might save the firm from bankruptcy. Kaye played the promotion agent.^[1]

In the 1960-1961 season, Kaye appeared as Marty, the agent of aspiring actress Eileen Sherwood, in the CBS sitcom My Sister Eileen, starring Shirley Bonne, with Elaine Stritch as Eileen's older sister, magazine writer Ruth Sherwood.

During the 1960s, Kaye became well known as host of a weekly children's talent show, Stubby's Silver Star Show. During the 1962–1963 season, he was a regular on Stump the Stars. On April 14, 1963, he guest starred as "Tubby Mason" in NBC's Ensign O'Toole comedy series, starring Dean Jones. Kaye portrayed an obese sailor going on a crash diet to avoid expulsion from the United States Navy because of his weight.

From 1964–1965 he hosted the Saturday morning children's game show Shenanigans on ABC. He also appeared in the 1974 Broadway revival of Good News.

Personal life

His first wife was Jeanne Watson from Chicago, who was a clerical worker at the movie studios in the late 1950s. They were married in 1960 as Love and Marriage the series ended, but because of personal differences, the couple divorced within a year of their marriage. After Love and Marriage Kaye soon had another supporting role in a sitcom with Elaine Stritch, Shirley Bonne, Rose Marie, and Raymond Bailey in CBS's My Sister Eileen.

Kaye's second wife, Angela Bracewell, was a former Broadway chorus girl whom he met while living in Great Britain. She was the hostess of the British version of the Beat the Clock (1950) game show, a segment of Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium (1955). They remained wed until his death.

His home was in Rancho Mirage, California. He died on December 14, 1997 from lung cancer in Los Angeles, California.

Partial filmography

• Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
• Ellis Island (1984) TV Miniseries
• Sweet Charity (1969)
• Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? (1969)
• The Way West (1967)
• Cat Ballou (1965)
• Sex and the Single Girl (1964)
• The Cool Mikado (1962)
• Li'l Abner (1959)
• Guys and Dolls (1955)

References

External links

• Stubby Kaye at the Internet Movie Database
• Stubby Kaye at the TCM Movie Database
• Stubby Kaye at the Internet Broadway Database
• Stubby Kaye at Find A Grave