He was a figure from an earlier age of comedy--brash, New Yorky...oh, wait, isn't that Howard Stern's act ? But Red Buttons, who was a smash hit on early CBS television, and then became a fixture on the nightclub-and-roast circuit, was funnier in his 80s than most comedians are in their 20s. I saw him performing a couple of years ago at a friend's first wedding anniversary party. Although my colleagues and I had enjoyed chuckling at the predictability of his roast act--"I have a little list here of people who never had a dinner..."--Buttons was razor sharp, fresh, unpredictable, with the delivery of a master. Having had the privilege of seeing him so recently, I just wanted to note that his mastery remained undimmed.
