Pat McCormick (June 30, 1927 – July 29, 2005) was an American actor and comedy writer known for playing Big Enos Burdette in '' Smokey and the Bandit'' and its two sequels. He wrote for a number of performers such as

Red Skelton Richard Bernard Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national old-time radio, radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program ''The Red Skelto ...

Phyllis Diller Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, Actor, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric stage persona, Self-deprecation, se ...

and

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

as well as for shows including ''

Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the Spy fiction, secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Bu ...

''. McCormick had a distinctive appearance being 6'7" tall, weighing 250 lbs and having a walrus mustache.

Early life

McCormick was born in

Lakewood, Ohio Lakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Established in 1889, it is one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs and part of the Greater Cleveland, Cleveland metropolitan area. The popula ...

, on June 30, 1927. He was a 1945 graduate of Rocky River High School.

Career

McCormick was a high school athlete and served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He then enrolled at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

as a freshman in the autumn of 1947 where he played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

that year. He later dropped basketball to concentrate on track (hurdles). He dropped out of

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

for a career in advertising, but abandoned that career as well when he started writing jokes for television and standup comedians, including Jonathan Winters. Eventually, he became a writer for '' The Jack Paar Show''. He wrote for ''

'', '' The Danny Kaye Show'' and wrote and appeared on '' Candid Camera''. He was also a member of the '' I've Got a Secret'' production staff in the early 1960s.Hickey, William. "Pat McCormick: Jolly Green Giant", ''Cleveland Plain Dealer'', September 13, 1968, PD Action Tab magazine section, p. 3.Heffernan, Virginia. (August 2, 2005)
"Pat McCormick, 78, Comedian and Writer for 'Tonight Show', Dies"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''.Thurber, Jon (July 30, 2005)
"Pat McCormick, 78; Comedy Writer Had a Gift for Wacky Humor"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''. McCormick was both the announcer and straight man for

Don Rickles Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep (film), Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958), ''Enter Laughing ...

on ''The Don Rickles Show'' in 1968. He was a regular on ''

The New Bill Cosby Show ''The New Bill Cosby Show'' is an American variety television series aired in the United States by CBS as part of its 1972–73 lineup. Overview ''The New Bill Cosby Show'' was an attempt to exploit the widespread popularity of Bill Cosby, who ...

'' in 1972. Behind the scenes, he was one of the lead writers on ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

'' writing many of its most well-known lines. He wrote the line "Due to today's earthquake, the God is Dead rally has been canceled." As part of a skit on a Jonathan Winters special McCormick, as a court jester, quipped to the regally-attired Winters "Is that a scepter in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?" a quite risque line for early 1970s television. His first screen performance was in '' The Shaggy D.A.'' in 1976. He played President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

in Robert Altman's '' Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson'' in the same year. In 1977, he appeared in ''Smokey and the Bandit'' and appeared in the sequels in both 1980 and 1983, alongside Paul Williams as wealthy con men Big and Little Enos Burdette respectively. Pat appeared in the 1982 TV movie ''

Rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

'', which also starred Williams. In 1984 he co-starred in the

George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercultur ...

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

TV show Apt. 2C of which only the pilot episode was ever made. He appeared as the Ghost of Christmas Present in a TV production in the Bill Murray comedy '' Scrooged'' in 1988, with his final appearance being in '' Ted & Venus''. On March 26, 1974, Johnny Carson's Tonight Show monologue was interrupted by McCormick streaking across the stage, done on a bet with the rest of the writing staff.

Retirement and death

Living in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

, in 1996, McCormick retired in 1998 after being left partly paralyzed by a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. According to fellow writer Mark Evanier, McCormick was driving to the Beverly Hilton Hotel when he suffered a stroke and crashed his car into a concrete wall. The vehicle caught fire, but a woman named Danielle Villegas pulled him out and dragged him to safety before the car exploded.Evanier, Mark (July 30, 2005)
"Pat McCormick, R.I.P."
News from Me. McCormick was admitted to the

Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital The Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) is a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries and their families with limited or no resources, including services such as tempo ...

in Woodland Hills, California, where he spent the remainder of his life. He died there seven years later, aged 78. He was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills. He was survived by a son, Ben, and two grandsons.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCormick, Pat 1927 births 2005 deaths People from Rocky River, Ohio American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Male actors from Palm Springs, California Harvard Law School alumni Male actors from Ohio Writers Guild of America Award winners Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) 20th-century American male actors Rocky River High School (Ohio) alumni