Buck Henry

Buck Henry (born December 9, 1930) is an American actor, writer and director, known for his work in television, film, comedy, and satire.

Henry was born Buck Henry Zuckerman in New York City, the son of silent film actress Ruth Taylor and Paul S. Zuckerman, a former air force general and stockbroker.[1][2] He went to boarding school at Choate Rosemary Hall and graduated from Dartmouth College, where he worked on the Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern humor magazine. He soon cultivated a flair for deadpan humor, saying the most nonsensical things with utter conviction. From 1959 to 1962, as part of an elaborate hoax by comedian Alan Abel, he pretended to be G. Clifford Prout, president of the Society for Indecency to Naked Animals. Henry, as the quietly outraged Mr. Prout, presented his point of view on talk shows.

Henry's dry humor attracted attention in the entertainment community. He became a cast member on TV programs such as The New Steve Allen Show (1961) and That Was The Week That Was (1964-65). He was a co-creator and writer for Get Smart (1965-70), with Mel Brooks. Two of his TV projects had short runs but are fondly remembered by fans: Captain Nice (1967) with William Daniels as a reluctant superhero, and Quark (1978), with Richard Benjamin in command of a garbage scow in outer space.

He recently appeared on the television show Will and Grace (2005). As of August 8th 2007, he is a Daily Show contributor. He also appeared on the December 13th, 2007 30 Rock episode "Ludachristmas."

From 1976 to 1980, he hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live 10 times (it became a tradition that he hosted the last show of the year, as he was considered one of the easiest hosts to work with). Henry also hosted the only live remote attempted by SNL, broadcast live from Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

On 10/30/1976, Buck Henry was injured in the forehead by John Belushi's katana in the Saturday Night Live Samurai sketch. Henry's head began to bleed and was forced to wear a large bandage on his forehead for the rest of the show. As a gag, the SNL cast each wore a bandage on their forehead.