Shecky Greene

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Shecky Greene (born Fred Sheldon Greenfield; April 8, 1926) is an American comedian.

He is best known for his nightclub appearances in Las Vegas, where he made his name in the 1950s when he became a celebrity in Las Vegas.

He has appeared in many films, including Tony Rome, History of the World, Part I, and Splash, and has appeared on such television shows as Mad About You, Laverne & Shirley, Love, American Style, and Combat!

Early life, family and education

Greene was born to Jewish parents, Carl and Bessie Greenfield, and raised on Chicago's North Side.

He loved being a member of Sullivan High School as a performer and drama club. He imitated his older brother, who loved to talk in accents.

He served in the United States Navy during World War II for three years and was discharged in 1944. He was briefly — but not more than once — enrolled at Wright Junior College for a short time.

Personal life

Thoroughbred racing was Greene's favorite offstage. In the 1973 Kentucky Derby, a horse named Shecky Greene (1970–1984) was the front-runner for nearly seven furlongs before Secretariat pulled the event off. A Shecky Greene Handicap contest is still running in Arlington Heights, Illinois, just south of Chicago.

Greene has been married three times. He was married to Nalani Kele from 1972 to 1982. "Nalani Kele Polynesian Revue" was a hugely popular nightclub act from the 1960s to the early 1970s. Marie Musso, Vido Musso's daughter, was married to Benny Goodman, a Las Vegas musician who performed saxophone with Benny Goodman, has been married since 1985. He has lived in Beverly Hills, California; Palm Springs, California; Las Vegas, Nevada.

Greene's career was marred by depression and bipolar disorder, stage fright, gambling, panic attacks, and alcoholism.

In Boulder City, Nevada, Greene led "human efforts" to establish St. Judes Ranch, a refuge for homeless and abandoned children.

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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, Louisiana, where he worked for six years. From there, he went on to showrooms in Miami, Chicago, and Reno/Lake Tahoe before an agent persuaded him to move to Las Vegas and open in 1954 for Dorothy Shay, "the Park Avenue 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 and appeared on TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show, which he says 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, 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. Greene was widely respected by his peers, including Johnny Carson who was a longtime fan. Greene made 40 appearances on The Tonight Show on which he also served as a guest host. He appeared on The Merv Griffin Show and also served as a guest host. He notes that he gave Arnold Schwarzenegger and Luciano Pavarotti their first national television exposure. He also appeared on Match Game and Tattletales (with his first wife Nalani Kele) in the 1970s.

When the MGM Grand Hotel opened in 1975 with Dean Martin as headliner, the second headline act was Shecky Greene whose salary at one point climbed to $150,000 a week and quipped that $125,000 went to "my bookmaker".

Greene claims Jay Leno once told him that his all-time favorite joke is one Greene recounted about Frank Sinatra (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 attacks and stage fright 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.

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Awards

• Las Vegas Entertainment Award — Best Lounge Entertainer
• Jimmy Durante Award — Best Comedian
• Las Vegas Academy of Variety and Cabaret Artists — Male Comedy Star