San Diego Junior Theatre Alumni

Victor Buono

Victor Buono was born February 3, 1938 in San Diego, California, to Victor F. and Myrtle (Keller) Buono. As a child, he studied drama and participated in productions at San Diego Junior Theatre. He began working professionally as an actor in 1956, when he played in Volpone at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. After attending Villanova, he began work in television, where he had guest roles in several detective shows. Buono made a big screen splash in 1962 with his role in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? His performance as the underemployed and drunk musician Edwin Flagg won him an Oscar nomination. He acted in a wide variety of films, plays and television shows, including drama, mysteries, comedy, science fiction, horror, and westerns (spaghetti and otherwise). Buono could steal a scene with just a mischievous smirk, a wave of his hand, or a well-timed sigh. He was sought after for his wonderful voice and diction. He was also known for being large, six-foot four-inches tall and over 300 pounds. Buono wrote a book of poetry on the subject of being fat, and read his poetry on the comedy album Heavy! in 1972. One of his poems, Fat Man's Prayer, was a hit and is still often played on alternative radio. Many people remember him for his appearances on talk shows and the lecture circuit, but he was best known for the roles of "King Tut" in the Batman TV series. His career was short, as health problems stemming from his weight finally caught up with him. Victor Buono died January 1, 1982 at his home in Apple Valley, California.

Theatre
Aladdin (An evil magician, San Diego Junior Theatre, 1953)
Volpone (Old Globe Theater, San Diego, 1956)
Knight of the Burning Pestle (Old Globe Theater, San Diego, 1957)
Witness for the Prosecution (Defense attorney, Old Globe Theater, San Diego, 1957)
King Henry IV, Part 1 (Falstaff, 1958)
The Man Who Came to Dinner (Sheridan Whiteside, Old Globe Theater, San Diego, 1959)
As You Like It (Duke Senior, Old Globe Theater, San Diego, 1960)
Hamlet (King Claudius, Old Globe Theater, San Diego, 1960)
The Gazebo (Old Globe Theater, San Diego, 1962)
Peter Pan (Captain Hook, Salt Lake City)
Just We Three (One-man show)
Remembrance of Things Past (One-man show)
This Would I Keep (One-man show)
Many Happy Return$ (Malcolm Pingree, Desert Inn, Las Vegas)
Camino Real (With Al Pacino and Jessica Tandy)
King Henry IV, Parts 1, 2 (Falstaff, San Diego National Shakespeare Festival, San Diego, 1974)
The Last of the Marx Brothers' Writers (Jimmy Bryce)
Camelot (King Pellinore, 1975)
The Guardsman (Los Angeles, 1976/77)

Films
The Story of Ruth (Uncredited, 1960)
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (Edwin Flagg, 1962)
Four for Texas (Harvey Burden, 1963)
My Six Loves (Bit part, 1963)
Robin and the Seven Hoods (Sheriff Potts, 1964)
The Strangler (Leo Kroll, "The Strangler," 1964)
Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (Samuel Eugene Hollis, 1964)
The Greatest Story Ever Told (Sorak, 1965)
Young Dillinger (Prof. Hofman, 1965)
The Silencers (Tung-Tze, 1966)
Sleep With the Devil (1966)
Who's Minding The Mint? (The Captain, 1967)
Target: Harry / How to Make it (Mosul Rashi, 1969)
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (A mutant, 1969)
Big Daddy / Paradise Road (A. Lincoln Beauregard, 1969)
Boot Hill (Frank Fisher, 1969)
Savage Season (Jason Fatt, 1970)
The Seoul Affair (Never released, 1970)
Mother / Up Your Teddy Bear (Skippy, 1970)
L' Uomo dagli occhi di ghiaccio / The Man with the Icy Eyes (1971)
The Mad Butcher [...of Vienna] / Meat is Meat (Otto Lehmann, "The Butcher," 1971)
The Wrath of God (Jennings, 1972)
Northeast of Seoul (Isaac Portman, 1972)
Arnold (Minister, 1973)
Moon Child (The Maitre'd, 1974)
The Evil (The Devil, 1978)
Target ... Earth? (Homer the Archivist, 1978)
Chinese Cape / China Heat (Everett Maddox, 1980)
The Man with Bogart's Face (Commodore Anastas, 1980)
The Flight of Dragons (animation voice-over, 1982)

Television
On the Go (1959)
The Rebel ("Blind Marriage," 1960)
Checkmate ("Moment of Truth," 1960)
SurfSide 6 ("Deadly Male," 1960)
Thriller (Carolik, "Girl With a Secret," 1960)
Thriller (Dr. Van de Velde, "God Grante That She Lye Stille," 1961)
Sea Hunt ("The Saint Story," 1961)
Harrigan and Son ("The Testimonial," 1961)
The Detectives ("A Piece of Tomorrow," 1961)
Hawaiian Eye ("Point Zero," 1961)
77 Sunset Strip ("The Legend of Leckonby," 1961)
77 Sunset Strip ("Bullet for Santa," 1961)
77 Sunset Strip ("The Disappearance," 1962)
77 Sunset Strip ("5," 1963)
Michael Shayne ("The Trouble With Ernie," 1961)
The Untouchables ("Mister Moon," 1961)
The Untouchables ("The Gang War," 1961)
The New Breed ("Cross the Little Line," 1962)
GE Theater ("Firebug," 1963)
The New Loretta Young Show ("Hey Rube," 1963)
Perry Mason (Alexander Glovatski, "The Absent Artist," 1962)
Perry Mason (John Sylvester Fossette, "The Simple Simon," 1964)
Perry Mason (Nathon Fallon, "The Grinning Gorilla," 1965)
Perry Mason (Ben Huggins, "The Twice Told Twist," 1966)
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater ("Memorandum for a Spy," 1964)
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater ("Russian Roulette," 1965)
I Spy (Karafatma, "The Turkish Delight," 1966)
T.H.E. Cat (General Burek, "Lisa," 1966)
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (Colonel Hubris, "The Deadly Goddess Affair")
The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. (Sir Cecil Seabrook, "The Phi Beta Killer Affair," 1967)
The Wild Wild West (First episode, Wing Fat, "The Night of the Inferno," 1965)
The Wild Wild West (Count Carlos Manzeppi, "The Night of the Eccentrics," 1966)
The Wild Wild West (Count Carlos Manzeppi, "The Night of the Feathered Fury," 1967)
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (Dr. Tabor Ulrich, "The Cyborg," 1965)
Batman (King Tut, "The Curse of Tut," 1966)
Batman (King Tut, "The Pharoah's in a Rut," 1966)
Batman (King Tut, "The Spell of Tut," 1966)
Batman (King Tut, "Tut's Case is Shut," 1966)
Batman (King Tut, "King Tut's Coup," 1967)
Batman (King Tut, "Batman's Waterloo," 1967)
Batman (King Tut, "The Unkindest Tut of All," 1967)
Batman (King Tut, "I'll be a Mummy's Uncle," 1968)
Dick Tracy (Mr. Memory, "The Plot to Kill NATO," 1966-7? Unsold)
Daniel Boone (Milo Quaife, "The Ballad of Sidewinder and Cherokee," 1967)
The Danny Thomas Hour ("The Scene," 1967)
The Legend of Robin Hood (1968)
The Dinah Shore Special (1969)
It Takes a Thief ("The Three Virgins of Rome," 1969)
Here's Lucy (Arthur Vermilion, "Lucy Gets Her Man," 1969)
The Flying Nun (Marko the Magnificent, "Sisters Socko in San Tanco," 1969)
The Tonight Show (Guest appearance, 1969?)
Get Smart! (Hannibal Day, "Moonlighting Becomes You," 1970)
O'Hara, U.S. Treasury ("Operation: Bribery," 1971)
The Virginia Graham Show (Guest appearance, 1971?)
Night Gallery ("A Midnight Visit to the Neighborhood Blood Bank," 1971)
Night Gallery ("Satisfaction Guaranteed," 1972)
Assignment: Vienna ("Annalisa," 1972)
Goodnight, My Love (Julius Limeway, 1972)
The Mod Squad ("Sanctuary," 1972)
CBS Playhouse ("The Lie," 1973)
The Brian Keith Show (Palmer, "The Big Build Up," 1973)
Mannix ("Search in the Dark," 1973)
Crime Club (Judge Roger Knight, 1973)
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries ("Money to Burn," 1973)
Hawaii Five-O (Eric Damien, "The $100,000 Nickel," 1973)
Benjamin Franklin: The Ambassador (1974)
The Odd Couple (Dr. Clove, "The Exorcist")
The Odd Couple (Lovelace, "The Rent Strike," 1975)
Ellery Queen ("The Adventure of the Two-Faced Woman," 1975?)
The Tony Randall Show (1976)
The Practice ("Jules and the Bum," 1976)
High Risk (Sebastian, 1976)
Alice (Mr. James, "The Last Review," 1976)
Sirota's Court (Pilot episode, 1976)
Brenda Starr (Lance O'Toole, 1976)
Liar's Club (A panelist, 1976-1978)
Nancy Drew (Seth, "A Haunting We Will Go," 1977)
The Man From Atlantis (Mr. Schubert, "Melt Down," 1977)
The Man From Atlantis (Mr. Schubert, "The Mudworm," 1977)
The Man From Atlantis (Mr. Schubert, "Hawk of Mu," 1977)
The Man From Atlantis (Mr. Schubert, "Man O'War," 1977)
The Man From Atlantis (Mr. Schubert, "Crystal Water, Sudden Death," 1977)
The Rita Moreno Show (TV pilot, 1978)
Flying High ("North by Northwest," 1979)
Return of the Mod Squad (Keith Starr, 1979)
Better Late Than Never (Dr. Zoltan Polos, 1979)
Backstairs at the White House (William Howard Taft, "The Tafts, Wilsons and Hardings," 1979)
Supertrain (Mistro, "Hail to the Chief," 1979)
Taxi (Jim's Father,"Going Home")
Murder Can Hurt You! (Ironbottom, 1980)
Katmandu (Unsold TV pilot, 1980)
More Wild Wild West (Dr. Messenger, 1980)
Fantasy Island (Dr. Albert Z. Fell, "With Affection, Jack the Ripper," 1980)
Vega$ (Jim, the Gambler, "Black Cat Killer," 1980)
Vega$ (Jim, the Gambler, "A Deadly Victim," 1980)
Vega$ (Jim, the Gambler, "The Killing," 1981)
Vega$ (Jim, the Gambler, "Seek and Destroy," 1981)
Judgement Day (TV pilot, Mr. Heavener, 1981)

Information compiled from the Internet Movie Database, David Culp's "Victor Buono Fan Page", and "Victor Buono: these were giant steps for young acting giant who leaped from San Diego stage to Hollywood," San Diego Union, 7 Jan 1962, E2.

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