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Pinky Lee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pinky Lee (May 2, 1907 – April 3, 1993, born Pincus Leff), was a male American Burlesque comic and host of a children's television show, The Pinky Lee Show in the early 1950s.
Lee worked as comic of the "baggy pants" variety on stage, becoming an expert at the slapstick, comic dancing and rapid-fire jokes of the burlesque wheels, into the 1940s. His signature costume was a loud plaid suit with baggy checkered pants and an undersized hat; he was also easily recognized by his trademark lisp and his high-energy antics.
In 1950, he had his own primetime variety television show, the Pinky Lee Show, featuring vaudevillians and burlesque comics.
In 1951 and 1952 he starred with Vivian Blaine in a 15-minute sitcom called "Those Two" (the short format was not uncommon in early television).
The second Pinky Lee Show, an afternoon children's program that spawned later imitators such as Pee-Wee's Playhouse, preceded the popular Howdy Doody Show. He opened each show with his trademark theme song and laugh, part of which went, "Yoo Hoo, It's me, my name is Pinky Lee, with my checkered hat and my checkered coat, and my silly laugh like a billy goat...!" It ran from 1954 to 1956, when it was cancelled (Lee collapsed on camera in 1955 due to an infection, and the show, which continued without him, did not return for the Fall 1956 season).
In 1957, Lee hosted The Gumby Show, the original appearance of that "claymation" character.
In 1964, Pinky attempted a return to kids TV by hosting a local children's comedy program on KABC-TV Ch 7 in Los Angeles, California. The series was also seen in national syndication for the 1964 & 1965 TV seasons. But the program fell prey to creative interference from the show's producers and from station management. Lee tried to fight off the creative interference, but his efforts were for naught. The 1960's version of "The Pinky Lee Kids TV Show" went off the air after one season.
Lee's work can also be seen in a number of films, including Lady of Burlesque, Earl Carroll's Vanities, and Blonde Ransom among several others, and he appeared on a number of other television shows, including Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town."