Oscar Winner and Stage Vet Red Buttons Dead at 87

Legendary performer Red Buttons died July 13 of vascular disease at his home in the Century City area of Los Angeles. He was 87, according to The Associated Press.

Buttons began his career as a Borscht Belt comedian in the 1930s and then moved on to acting. He made his Broadway debut in Vickie in 1942 and went on to appear on the Great White Way in Vickie, Winged Victory which he later appeared in the film version of, Barefoot Boy With Cheek and Hold It! before moving to Hollywood. Buttons first found success as a funnyman on numerous television shows, but wanted to do serious work as well. He had his biggest silver screen triumph in the dramatic film Sayonara, winning a 1958 Academy Award for his supporting turn. His other film credits include Imitation General, The Big Circus, Five Weeks in a Balloon, A Ticklish Affair, Your Cheatin' Heart, Stagecoach, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name?, The Posideon Adventure, Gable and Lombard, Pete's Dragon C.H.O.M.P.S., When Time Ran Out, 18 Again!, It Could Happen to You and The Story of Us. A decade ago, Buttons returned to the New York stage in the Broadway special Buttons on Broadway, which ran from June 5 through July 16, 1995. Last year he was nominated for an Emmy Award for a guest-starring appearance on ER.

Buttons' family was with him at the time of his death.