- Born
- Died
- Birth namePincus Leff
- He began his career as Pincus Leff in vaudeville in the 1920s. In January 1925, he was hired by Betty Felsen to be a dancer in the acclaimed Boderick & Felsen vaudeville dancing act. Pincus Leff soon became a featured tap dancer in the act and was often mentioned in advertisements, notices, and reviews. He was part of the act throughout 1925 during its headline tour on the B.F. Keith vaudeville circuit throughout the Mid-West and East. In early 1926, he left the act to pursue his career as Pinky Lee on stage and in film and television.- IMDb Mini Biography By: David Tonkin
- SpouseBebe Dancis (2 children)
- Garish plaid suit, checkered baggy pants and hat, and a huge lisp
- Plagued by parental complaints that his frenetic kiddie show caused their children to misbehave, NBC toned down his show by limiting the destruction of property, bad grammar, squirting seltzer water, throwing things, name-calling and other antisocial behavior.
- Wild burlesque comic whose silly, childish routines worked perfectly as the manic host of a children's show. His program, The Pinky Lee Show (1950) proved a solid lead-in to the long-running Howdy Doody (1954) in the '50s.
- Pee Wee Herman (aka Paul Reubens) and his show, Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986) was lifted almost 100% from Pinky Lee--right down to the little slanted window on the set, the ill-fitting checked suit, the laugh, the hat, the behavior, even the eyebrows. The resemblance was eerie.
- Often the punchline of other comedians' jokes, he was called by one Broadway critic "the comedian that comedians hate" because of his brash, over-the-top persona.
- One of the hardest-working men in TV, he collapsed live on the air in 1955 from what appeared to be a heart attack but was later discovered as a severe sinus attack. When he regained his health and attempted to return, the networks were not receptive and his career went downhill fast. They were afraid he might once again collapse in front of thousands of children on THEIR station.
- If I've done nothing else, I've at least left some love with children who have grown up. I've reached a very great height to say I've touched people's hearts and I've stayed there.
- I was the cleanest comedian in burlesque. I don't sing any love songs. I'm never in love. No Jane Russell type jokes. No violence. There are no gestures alluring to the derrière or other parts of the anatomy. Words like 'lousy' or 'stinker' are absolutely verboten. It's a happy, wholesome show.
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