Topic: Buddy Hackett

Buddy Hackett (August 31, 1924 – June 30, 2003) was an American comedian and actor.

Hackett was born Leonard Hacker in Brooklyn, New York, New York, the son of a Jewish upholsterer. He grew up on 54th and 14th Ave in Borough Park, Brooklyn, across from Public School 103 (now a yeshiva). Living next door was a yet-to-be-famous aspiring baseball player named Sandy Koufax. He graduated from New Utrecht High School in 1942. While still a student, he began performing in nightclubs in the Catskills Borscht Belt resorts. He appeared first at the Golden Hotel in Hurleyville, New York, and he claimed he did not get one single laugh.

Hackett enlisted in the United States Army during World War II and served in an anti-aircraft battery.