Shecky Greene (born Fred Sheldon Greenfield; April 8, 1926 – December 31, 2023) was an American comedian and actor. He was known for his
nightclub
A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...
performances in
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
, where he became a headliner in the 1950s and 1960s.
He appeared in several films, including ''
Tony Rome''; ''
History of the World, Part I''; and ''
Splash''. In television, he guest-starred on such television shows as ''
Love, American Style
''Love, American Style'' is an American anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from September 29, 1969, to January 11, 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a pa ...
'' and ''
Combat!'', and later ''
Laverne & Shirley
''Laverne & Shirley'' is an American television sitcom that ran for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of ''Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' stars Penny Marshall and Cindy Wi ...
'' and ''
Mad About You''.
Early life and education
Fred Sheldon Greenfield was born on April 8, 1926, to Jewish parents, Carl and Bessie Greenfield, and raised on the
North Side of
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
.
In his youth, Greene enjoyed performing as a singer and in a drama club he formed while attending
Sullivan High School.
He emulated his older brother, who liked to speak in accents.
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 ...
, Greene served in the
U.S. Navy for three years and was discharged in 1944.
He was briefly, but more than once, enrolled at
Wright Junior College.
Career
Greene had planned to become a gym teacher.
But after regularly performing stand-up in Chicago at mob-run nightclubs
and various venues in the upper Midwest, he instead started his comedy career at the Prevue Lounge in
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
, Louisiana, where he worked for six years.
From there, he went on to showrooms in Miami, Chicago, and
Reno/
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...
before an agent persuaded him to move to Las Vegas and open in 1954 for
Dorothy Shay, "the
Park Avenue
Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...
Hillbillie", at
the Last Frontier. His act was held over for 18 weeks, a first for that venue.
He began performing at the
Tropicana Hotel in 1957, remaining there for five years as one of their headliners.
Greene played
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
and appeared on TV variety show ''
The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...
'', which he said he hated because "They'd rush you on and off". He played Pvt. Braddock for a year on ''
Combat!'' and guested on ''
The Joey Bishop Show'', ''
The Love Boat
''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...
'', and played Lou Carnesco in two episodes of ''
The Fall Guy''. He appeared in "Members Only", a fourth-season, 1985 episode of the action TV show ''
The A-Team
''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...
''. Greene was widely respected by his peers, including
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 ...
who was a longtime fan. Greene made 40 appearances 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 ...
'' on which he also served as a guest host. He appeared on ''
The Merv Griffin Show'' and also served as a guest host there upon occasion. He noted that he gave
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
and
Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...
their first national television exposure. Furthermore, he also appeared on ''
Match Game
''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity paneli ...
'' and ''
Tattletales
''Tattletales'' is an American game show produced by Mark Goodson, Goodson-Bill Todman, Todman Productions in association with Fremantle (company), Fremantle. The program had two runs on the CBS daytime schedule between February 1974 and June ...
'' (with his first wife Nalani Kele) in the 1970s. In December 1977, he appeared in ''
The Love Boat
''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...
'' S1 E11 vignette "Divorce Me, Please" as Paul Baynes, who discovers newfound appreciation for his wife Audrey, played by
Florence Henderson.
When the
MGM Grand Hotel opened in 1975 with
Dean Martin
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...
as headliner, the second headline act was Greene whose salary at one point climbed to $150,000 a week; he quipped that $125,000 went to "my
bookmaker
A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays out bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds
In probability theory, odds provide a measure of the probability of a particular outco ...
".
Greene claimed
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir Leno ( ; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, and writer. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show'' from 1992 until 200 ...
once told him that his all-time favourite joke was one Greene recounted about
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
(with whom Greene had a contentious relationship) "saving his life". Offended by a remark made by Greene, Sinatra sent five men to assault him; after some time, he heard Sinatra say, "OK, he's had enough."
Beginning in 2003 and lasting for six years, Greene suffered from
panic attack
Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and Comfort, discomfort that may include palpitations, otherwise defined as a Tachycardia, rapid, Arrhythmia, irregular Heart rate, heartbeat, Hyperhidrosis, sweating, chest pain or discomfort, s ...
s and
stage fright
Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia that may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...
that rendered him unable to perform. In 2009, in Las Vegas, Greene returned to performing.
Greene owned several nightclubs over the years and in different cities, including New Orleans.
Personal life and death
Offstage, Greene's main passion was
Thoroughbred racing
Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...
. A horse named
Shecky Greene (1970–1984) was the 1973
American Champion Sprint Horse
The American Champion Sprint Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a ...
and the front-runner for nearly seven furlongs in the
1973 Kentucky Derby until
Secretariat (1970-1989) ran off with the race.
Arlington Park
Arlington Park (formerly known as Arlington International Racecourse) is a former horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Once called the ''Arlington Park Jockey Club'', it was located adjacent to the Illinois Rou ...
in
Arlington Heights, Illinois
Arlington Heights is a village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County Illinois, United States. A northwestern Chicago metropolitan area, suburb of Chicago, it lies about northwest of the city's downtown. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...
, outside Chicago, held a Shecky Greene Handicap race until it closed.
Greene was married twice.
He was married to Nalani Kele from 1972 to 1982. She had a successful nightclub act, the Nalani Kele Polynesian Revue, from the 1960s to the early 1970s. Beginning in 1985, he was married to Marie Musso, daughter of
Vido Musso
Vido William Musso (January 16, 1913 – January 9, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist.
Biography
Musso is a fairly obscure figure in the history of jazz and big band music. He relocated with his family from Carini, Sicily to the U.S. in Ju ...
, a Las Vegas musician who played saxophone with
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially.
From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...
.
Greene experienced career obstacles due to depression,
bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...
,
stage fright
Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia that may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...
, gambling,
panic attack
Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and Comfort, discomfort that may include palpitations, otherwise defined as a Tachycardia, rapid, Arrhythmia, irregular Heart rate, heartbeat, Hyperhidrosis, sweating, chest pain or discomfort, s ...
s,
drug abuse
Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definitions ...
and alcoholism.
He integrated his bipolar disorder into his public persona, telling an interviewer in 2010 that "I'm more than bipolar. I'm South Polar, North Polar. I'm every kind of polar there is. I even lived with a polar bear for about a year."
Greene led "humanitarian efforts" to create
St. Jude's Ranch, a shelter for indigent and neglected children in
Boulder City, Nevada
Boulder City is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is approximately southeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Boulder City was 14,885. The city took its name from Boulder Canyon ...
.
Greene died at home in Las Vegas on December 31, 2023, at age 97.
Awards
*
Las Vegas Entertainment Award — Best Lounge Entertainer
*
Jimmy Durante Award — Best Comedian
* Las Vegas Academy of Variety and Cabaret Artists — Male Comedy Star
Select filmography
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Shecky
1926 births
2023 deaths
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American Jews
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American comedians
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American male actors
American male comedians
American male film actors
American male television actors
Columbia College Chicago alumni
Comedians from Chicago
Jewish American male actors
Jewish American comedians
Jewish male comedians
Jewish American military personnel
Jews from Illinois
Military personnel from Chicago
Military personnel from Illinois
People with bipolar disorder
Sullivan High School (Chicago) alumni
United States Navy personnel of World War II
Wilbur Wright College alumni