Red Buttons, the stand-up comedian who gained fame -- and an Academy Award -- as a character actor in numerous films and television shows, died Thursday in Los Angeles of vascular disease; he was 87. Born Aaron Chwatt in New York City, Buttons began his comedy career very young, performing on street corners before being discovered by burlesque theater owners, who made him the youngest comedian on the comedy circuit. Playing in the Catskills and on Broadway before being drafted in 1943, Buttons made his film debut in 1944's Winged Victory, based on a play created by Moss Hart for the Air Force. Performing under the credit "Cpl. Red Buttons", Buttons recreated a part he originated on Broadway alongside a number of other budding stars, including Karl Malden, Judy Holliday and Lee J. Cobb. He returned to show business in 1946, performing mainly on Broadway before landing his own TV vehicle, The Red Buttons Show, which ran from 1952-1955. Numerous other comedic TV appearances followed before director Joshua Logan cast him in the 1957 Marlon Brando drama Sayonara as a solider in post-World War II Japan who embarks on a tragic romance with a Japanese woman, played by Miyoshi Umeki. The role won him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (co-star Umeki won an Oscar also) and launched his prodigious acting career. Among his most notable films were The Longest Day, Harlow, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (the latter two earned him Golden Globe nominations) and the cult favorite and commercial hit The Poseidon Adventure, in which he was one of five Oscar-winning cast members. Though his film career lost steam in the 70s, he continued to work non-stop in television, appearing on '70s favorites (The Love Boat, Fantasy Island), '80s hits (The Cosby Show, Knots Landing), and a variety of shows in the '90s, from sitcoms (Roseanne) to dramas (ER); Buttons recently earned an Emmy nomination in 2005 for a recent guest appearance on ER. He also continued his stand-up career, appearing in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, the Catskills and at numerious celebrity comedy roasts. Married and divorced twice early in his career, Buttons is survived by his third wife, Alicia, and their two children
