Shecky Greene
Top nightclub comedian Shecky Greene made his TV acting debut as the bumbling,
wise-cracking Private Braddock in Combat! To make the pilot, he had to get time off from his hotel commitments in Las
Vegas, where he worked twenty weeks a year as one of the strip’s most prominent lounge entertainers. Greene was ready to make the leap into
dramatic acting and was sought after for television and film producers.
Sheldon Fred (Shecky) Greene began his show business career in 1944, after
three years of Navy service aboard the aircraft carrier Bon Homme Richard, based
in the Pacific. "I planned to become a gym teacher," Shecky recalls. "I took a
summer job at a resort near Milwaukee called Oakton Manor. They paid me $20 a
week and gave me a fancy title, 'Social Director.' We couldn't afford to bring in
acts, so I'd get up and tell a few jokes, do pratfalls and whatever came to
mind.” He spent a year working toward his degree, while continuing to do club dates.
In the late forties, Greene was booked for two weeks at the Prevue Lounge in
New Orleans. He stayed three years. Greene eventually wound up owning a share of
the Prevue and planned to settle permanently in New Orleans. But when the club
burned down, he returned to Chicago and college. "I was in the dorm one night
when Martha Raye called from Miami and asked me to play her club down there. I
quit school again when they held me over for six weeks. This time, I made up my
mind, I would stick with show business. I was only 25 years old and making
$500 a week."
In 1953, when the Golden Hotel in Reno offered him over $1,000 a week, Shecky
made a beeline for the Wild West. The owners tore up his four-week contract on
opening night and made him a deal for $20,000 a year. Over the years, Shecky
played many Las Vegas casinos and lounges, including the Starlight Lounge, the
Tropicana, and the Last Frontier, becoming one of the biggest names in lounge
entertainment in Nevada.
Robert Blees says of Shecky Green, “He’s a much better actor than people think. He's a sensational comic. He's a very
witty guy — well read and intelligent. He wanted to establish himself on film, but wasn’t being offered the right roles. He got offers to play third-rate Henny
Youngmans, but he thought he was better than that. I thought so, too.”
Shecky Greene is considered by many to be the consummate nightclub performer.
Shecky admits that all this success has come to him with no pursuit on his
part. Rather than help his career along, he's probably been his own worst enemy.
Tales are legion of his drinking, carousing, gambling, turning over crap tables
and busting up entire casinos; many of the stories are even true. However,
Shecky has a different attitude about himself and his career today.
Several years ago, he stopped drinking. Then he had surgery for his throat and
lost his voice for over a year. He was told he would never perform again. But
through faith, his own courage, and the support of friends, he completely
recovered. Later, he underwent cancer surgery and was cured.
Shecky has won numerous awards for nightclub performances, including the Las
Vegas Entertainment Award for Best Lounge Entertainer, the Jimmy Durante Award
for Best Comedian, and Male Comedy Star from the Las Vegas Academy of Variety
and Cabaret Artists. He did eventually work in films, including Splash, Mel Brooks' History of the World — Part 1, and Tony Rome. He has appeared on many game shows and was a substitute host on Johnny
Carson's "Tonight Show."
Shecky has appeared on television series ranging from "Laverne and Shirley" to
"Northern Exposure" to “Roseanne.” He spends several hours a day helping fellow talents to improve their acts
and continues to perform his stand-up act.