Artist:Buddy Hackett
Song:Shipoopi
Album:The Music Man: Original Soundtrack
Buddy Hackett was a beloved comedian of the 50s and 60s mostly through TV appearances. He appeared on the most episodes of The Tonight Show. Johnny Carson loved comedians and Hackett was one of his favorites. The 1962 film The Music Man was his only appearance in a film musical and Shipoopi is his big song. He was born Leonard Hacker August 31, 1924 in Brooklyn, NY. Hackett suffered from Bell's Palsy as a child and he used the effects of that like the slurred speech as part of his comedy. As a teen Hackett performed in the Catskills. Then he was in the US Army during WWII. He became a nightclub comic upon his return. That's when he started calling himself Buddy Hackett. After appearing in the 1955 Broadway show Lunatics and Lovers, producer Max Leibman started using Hackett on TV. He did his Chinese Waiter character in the 1953 film Walking My Baby Back Home with Donald O'Connor and Janet Leigh. He later recorded a Chinese Waiter album. Hackett replaced Lou Costello in the 1954 film Fireman, Save My Child. It was supposed to be an Abbott & Costello film but it starred Spike Jones. Yes, I have seen it. It's pretty bad. Hackett's appearances on variety shows made him popular. Hackett starred in the 1957 NBC sitcom Stanley with Carol Burnett and produced by Max Leibman. All 19 episodes can be streamed on The Film Detective. Hackett mostly did comedy though he appeared in the 1958 drama God's Little Acre and two episodes of The Rifleman. He starred with Mickey Rooney in the 1961 film Everything's Ducky. This got him into the 1962 film of the hit Broadway musical The Music Man as Marcellus Washburn. Shipoopi is his big number. He looks pretty good considering he doesn't dance. All credit to choreographer Onna White. According to composer Meredith Wilson, Shipoopi is a nonsense word. Hackett continued to appear in films and TV, most notably in It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Muscle Beach Party, The Love Bug and as the voice of Scuttle in The Little Mermaid. Hackett appeared weekly on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn. After being diagnosed with heart disease, Hackett refused to have bypass surgery. He was also diabetic. After suffering a stroke, Buddy Hackett died on June 30, 2003 at age 78. Here's Buddy Hackett performing Shipoopi in the 1962 film The Music Man.
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