A tremendous loss to the world of Comedy, especially in how much Buck influenced what followed, namely the great sketch shows I grew to love: The Kids in the Hall, Strangers with Candy and SCTV. Sadly, most obits will go on about he did the screenplay to The Graduate an amusing movie with dark humor but it’s still Boomer navel gazing for a generation which had it pretty good.
When I was growing up though, I always remembered him as the co-creator of Get Smart with the legendary Mel Brooks. It was in syndication during my childhood so it wasn’t until I was older I learned how the SitCom was getting in on the Spy Fi craze in the Sixties initiated by the James Bond movies. I also recall him being SNL‘s last guest host of the first few seasons, a tradition the mediocre show didn’t keep when Lorne left the first time. Obviously, SNL prefers to have mostly celebrities/flavor-of-the-month douchenozzles who want to give being funny a try.
As for Buck, he was a pretty funny actor appearing in Heaven Can Wait, The New Show, Quark, Defending Your Life and Grumpy Old Men. He could also do Drama: The Man Who Fell to Earth, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues and Law & Order. Hell, he could split the difference by being the absurd: Catch-22 and Breakfast of Champions.
One thing he did to impress me personally was write an article in Playboy…I actually had a subscription for a year, and I shit you not…I DID read the articles/stories/investigative reporting as well viewing the obvious features. Buck wrote a heartfelt piece about Betty Page around 1992 and she was still alive then. Until his story, I thought she was a fictional creation designed by pin-up artists. Looking back, it’s also funny Playboy published this as Buck was recalling and pointing out a type of real beauty the magazine had ditched by the Eighties, preferring fake blondes with fake bodies.
Farewell Buck! Thank you for everything you wrote, performed and did. You helped make the world a better place through laughter and pointing out how the absurd was funny.