Red Buttons, who in the early days of TV was tremendously popular, died today at 87. According to his publicist Warren Cowan he died at his home after a long battle with vascular disease.
He was a virtual overnight hit on television when in 1952 when "The Red Buttons Show" hit the air on CBS.
In 1954 he was named the Comedian of the Year by the Academy of Radio and Television Arts and Sciences.
After a couple of slow years he got hurled into success again in his terrific supporting role in the adaptation of James Michener's novel "Sayonara" which starred Marlon Brando.
Buttons played Joe Kelly, who married a Japanese woman in spite of the current military policy of interracial marriage. The role won him an Oscar and a Golden Globe as best supporting actor.
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