Buck Henry Zuckerman (born December 9, 1930), best known as Buck Henry, is an American actor, writer and director, known for his work in television, film, comedy, and satire.
Buck Henry was born in New York City, the son of silent film actress Ruth Taylor. 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).
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 the Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
Henry has appeared in more than 40 films including Catch-22 (1970), Taking Off (1971), The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), Gloria (1980), Eating Raoul (1982), Aria (1988), Tune In Tomorrow (1990), Defending Your Life (1991), The Player (1992), and Grumpy Old Men (1993).
He co-directed Heaven Can Wait (1978 film), the 1978 remake of Here Comes Mr. Jordan, and appeared in the film as an officious angel, reprising the character originally played by Edward Everett Horton.
His many writing credits include Candy (1968, adaptation), The Owl and the Pussycat (1970, adaptation), What's Up, Doc? (1972, adaptation), The Day of the Dolphin (1973) (with a role as the voice of the dolphin), Protocol (1984), and To Die For (1995). He shared an Oscar nomination for his screenplay, The Graduate (1967), a film in which he made a cameo appearance.
His Broadway credits include the 2002 revival of Morning's at Seven.
