I remember him also from an episode of Night Gallery . It was just a 1-2 minute lighthearted short about a vampire (Buono) who goes into a bedroom to bite a woman on the neck, only to have her say that she already gave blood at the bloodbank. He just sighed and crosses her name off a list in his pocket. The introduction painting was of a blood bank door with the vampires shadow on it (My apologies for a long winded post)
I have seen Victor Buono in so many of the tv shows you mentioned, but I must say every Perry Mason episode he was in kicked ass...Batman comes in a strong second place.
Victor was a friend of the family, I'm still in touch with friends and family of his. He was so unlike the villainous and over the top characters he played. Much better looking in real life too, he was so tall and had these beautiful bright blue eyes, a very sweet smile and he was, despite his size quite elegant. He was a sweet, often quiet man, incredibly gracious, smart and multi talented. He had a beautiful bass baritone and liked to sing italian opera. And who has seen his Tonight Show appearances knows he was very charming and funny too of course. He was a total gem of a human being who loved people. It hit everyone hard when he passed away so young and unexpectedly.
I remember his voice. He was a master. Those were great times to be a kid. I was 8 in 64. Wild Wild West, Batman, Star Trek, I Dream of Genie, etc, etc.
I really appreciate your videos. I'm your age and appreciate the content you make. Your short but sweet summations of classic actors lives and deaths are fabulous! Thank you, sincerely!
I always thought he could have played a bad guy in James Bond movies too. Too bad he didn’t live longer, seemed like he was older because he was in the public spotlight for so long. Maybe. Thanks again
(This is Tom, not Sandra.) Yeah, Mr. Buono was great as "Iggy's" Dad on 'Taxi'. He was on there a few episodes, l believe. I mostly remember him as "King Tut" on 'Batman', though. He was great on there, also. One of my favorite 'King Tut' episodes is when he found the Bat-Cave and was getting ready to scream it at the top of his lungs when a log fell from the cave and knocked him out, thus halting that issue. Batman's secret was still safe!! (Tom)
Not to be forgotten -- He was also a published poet! And yes, it sold. A friend managed an old Waldenbooks outfit and said they couldn't keep his book in stock it sold so well. The book of humorous poetry is titled "It Could Be Verse". A witty fellow.
He always looked older than his actual age, certainly when he died at only 43, the same age Natalie Wood, John Candy and Dan Blocker were at their demise. He was a marvelous actor with a wicked sense of humor.
When I worked for a credit card company one of my accounts was Victor. I was a huge fan, and I was always cooking up a reason to call him and just hear his voice. His secretary never let me get to him. I would claim we had a a promotion I needed to explain to him. His secretary was a great guardian.
I loved Victor. He would occasionally appear on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show. After an interview he would read a long poem that he wrote which were ALWAYS fantastic.
Powerful actor, when he was on camera you couldn’t help but watch him and enjoy his talent. Who else could play sheriff Potts in Robin and the 7 Hoods. He was definitely one of a kind. Thank you for all your hard work, great post!!
he was great on the batman shows. Remember when batman and robin would be fighting the screen would be tilted. .. "The dutch tilt creates unease for the audience" He was great on Get Smart.
He also played President William Howard Taft in the mini series, Backstairs at the White House before his death. Yes he looked just like President Taft.Great video!.
He wasn't even 30 when he played King Tut! I saw the Night Gallery reference in the comments. He also did another skit where he was at an employment agency looking for a full figured woman-- when they asked him where to send her, he opened a briefcase with a bib, knife and fork and said he'd have her right there! Great bio Original Steve 😊
Thanks for that clip, Don't hear much about him but Victor was a very well polished actor. Loved him in hush, hush, sweet Charlotte & the bat man series among everything else. Didn't realize he died that young either. 🙏🙏
When you posted your video on Michael Dunn, I immediately thought of Victor Buono too as he was a great villain on The Wild West too. But I do remember his times on "Batman" and he was so entertaining. You are right Steve in mentioning how Mr. Buono had such range in his acting as seen by the different characters he played in both The Movies and Television. He could absolutely mesmerizing in a dramatic role and so hilariously over the top in a comedic role as well. I'm thinking away from the stage and TV sets, he was so entertaining to listen to and converse with. A really wonderful post here. Just tragic how many wonderful people die so young. Blessings From COW-lumbus, Ohio MOO 👋
Thanks for sharing this! This brought back memories of this show Batman, I would have went to my sad ending not remembering this actor,which I enjoyed watching.
Julir Newmar spoke highly of Victor when I interviewed her and compared him to Peter Sellers in the sense that he was also a complete character actor who would not only transform hims3lf physically but manages to completely embody a character he played.
He went to St. Augustine High School in San Diego. His acting talent was encouraged by the principal, Father Ahern. In 1964, he was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame.
Fr John Aherne was a pretty imposing man too, apparently a lot of the youngsters didn't like him very much. Victor and him remained life ling friends though. Aherne instilled in Victor also his love for poetry. When Aherne was at Merrimack College him and Victor would perform annually a two man show that was very popular.
I remember watching him in the movie Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? He did a presentation of the ABC Movie Of The Week film Goodnight My Love, which was a take on the private eye films. He played a villain named Jullian Limeway, who was like Sidney Greenstreet.
Wow! You're getting wild doing 2 videos a day there, Steve, buddy. 😮 I saw Victor Buno in most of those things. Especially TV 📺 I loved him on Batman. So many people wanting to play villains on that show. May he be resting in peace. 🙏 💔
Yep, he was the villain in that one, too. I watched it on RU-vid, go see. One of the Brady girls is listed in the opening credits (as Dick & Tess's daughter, I guess) but is not shown -- she's away on vacation. The show theme is by The Ventures. The pilot was probably rejected as being too much, too late, with Batman and The Green Hornet already going.
His talent was as great as his size. His King Tut was amazing but honorable mention goes to his Count Manzeppi from The Wild, Wild West and his Mr. Schubert in Man from Atlantis. Check out his album Heavy which features poetry from his book which is hysterical and truly worth a listen. (The Evil (1978) was a terrible film only worth a look for Victor's appearance as the Devil.)
His bizarre personality would jump out at you as he personified dark charisma. I think they call that acting. As the Batman series was entertaining in a completely goofy, over the top style, it allowed for a boy king to be portrayed by an actor who always looked older than his age allowing the fans to enjoy a bizarre character no matter the historical inconsistency.
Damb that was really good and interesting never knew most of that.... and since a bunch of my youth had to watch black & white TV never knew how blue his eyes were.....😮😮😂😂😂
I think you should change the name of your channel. Even though it is a great channel and very informative most people would rather have a happy ending.
Off topic, but didn't you have a video about Gloria Graham today? I wanted to watch it again because I watched The Cobweb on TCM today and I wanted to see if you had mentioned this odd film. But now I can't find your video. Is it me, or did the video get pulled?
OK. I looked back through my history and it was Factinate that aired that video. Since starting to watch your excellent channel other sites show up. Yours by far is my favorite due to your calm demeanor and respectful presentation. And I'm also a child of the 50's so we have that in common.
Could be anything. People back then smoked a lot, drank a lot, undiscovered heart condition since birth? His doctors always told him he was in great shape despite his sized and he was, in waves, dieting all his life. I personally belive it came from dieting, the extreme weight losses and regains. It's much more damaging to the heart than just staying at a certain, even when you're big.
But he never came out during his life and kept his personal life very private. I don't think it would be fair to shine a light on it since he himself never made it public and I'm pretty sure he'd like it if people discussed his work instead of his romantic life. He didn't marry and let people draw their conclusions from that. I think that's enough info to give.
