He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Public School 103 and then went on to New Utrecht High School. While still in high school, he began appearing in nightclubs, beginning with the Borscht Belt, the Catskills resorts. He served three years with an antiaircraft unit during World War II. His first job after the war was at the Pink Elephant, a Brooklyn club. He made appearances in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and the Catskills. He appeared on Broadway in Lunatics and Lovers, where Max Liebman saw him and put him in two television specials. A television series, Stanley, was developed for him, which helped start Carol Burnett's career. He became known to a wider audience when he appeared on television in the 1950s and 1960s as a frequent guest on such talk shows as Jack Paar and Arthur Godfrey, telling brash, often off-color jokes, and mugging widely at the camera. He appeared as Art Carney's replacement in the old Jackie Gleason show, and in the 1958 film God's Little Acre. His later career was mostly as a guest on established series. Died in Malibu, California.
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