Stubby Kaye

Bernard Shalom Kotzin (November 11, 1918 – December 14, 1997), known professionally as Stubby Kaye, was an American actor, comedian, vaudevillian, and singer, known for his appearances on Broadway and in film musicals.

Kaye originated the roles of Nicely-Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls and Marryin' Sam in Li'l Abner, introducing two show-stopping numbers of the era: "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" and "Jubilation T. Cornpone". He reprised these roles in the movie versions of the shows. His other well-known roles include Herman in Bob Fosse's Sweet Charity, Sam the Shade in Cat Ballou, and Marvin Acme in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Biography Kaye was first generation-born Bernard Sholom Kotzin in 1918, at West 114th Street in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan. He kept his original name secret throughout his career. His parents were Jewish Americans originally from Russia and Austria-Hungary. His father, David Kotzin, was a dress salesman, and the former Harriet "Hattie" Freundlish was his mother. He was raised in the Far Rockaway section of Queens and later in the Bronx, where he acted in student productions at DeWitt Clinton High School, and from where he graduated in 1937.

In 1939, he won the Major Bowes Amateur Hour contest on radio where the prize included touring in vaudeville,

As Nicely-Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls, first on Broadway (1950) and then in the film version (1955), Kaye introduced "Fugue for Tinhorns" ("I got the horse right here, his name is Paul Revere...") and "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat". He created the role of Marryin' Sam in Li'l Abner on Broadway (1956), introducing the song "Jubilation T. Cornpone". In his New York Times review, Brooks Atkinson said Kaye sang "it with that vaudeville rhythm and those vaudeville blandishments that turn song numbers into triumphant occasions." He also played the role in the film (1959).

In 1956, he co-starred with June Allyson and Jack Lemmon in the filmYou Can't Run Away from It, a musical remake of It Happened One Night.

Kaye and Nat King Cole portrayed banjo-playing minstrels who sang the title song in the Western/comedy Cat Ballou (1965), starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin. His final Broadway show was Grind, co-starring Ben Vereen, in 1985. He was survived by his wife, Angela Bracewell, whom he married in England in 1966.

Partial filmography Taxi (1953) - Morris (uncredited) Guys and Dolls (1955) - Nicely-Nicely Johnson The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956) - Howard Sloan (scenes deleted) You Can't Run Away from It (1956) - Fred Toten Li'l Abner (1959) - Marryin' Sam 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962) - Cranston The Cool Mikado (1963) - Judge Herbert Mikado / Charlie Hotfleisch The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1963) (Season 2 Episode 10: "Good-Bye, George") - George Cassidy Sex and the Single Girl (1964) - Helen's Cabbie Cat Ballou (1965) - Shouter / Sam the Shade The Way West (1967) - Sam Fairman Sweet Charity (1969) - Herman Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? (1969) - Fat Writer The Monitors (1969) - Man in Monitors Commercial The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County (1970) - Bartender Cool It Carol! (1970) - Rod Strangeways Six Pack Annie (1975) - Mr. Bates Timber Tramps (1975) Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood (1981, TV movie) - Babe Ellis Island (1984) (TV Miniseries) - Abe Shulman Doctor Who (Delta and the Bannermen, 1987) - Weismuller Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988, final film) - Marvin Acme