---
name: "Stubby Kaye"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/stubby-kaye"
fi1m_id: "stubby-kaye"
imdb_id: "nm0443401"
tmdb_id: 12827
wikidata_id: "Q454238"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "11 November 1918"
died: "14 December 1997"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 84
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-25T07:10:52.970015+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Stubby Kaye

## Identity

Stubby Kaye

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/stubby-kaye
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** stubby-kaye
- **IMDb ID:** nm0443401
- **TMDB ID:** 12827
- **Wikidata ID:** Q454238
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stubby_Kaye, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q454238, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0443401/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12827

Actor. Born 11 November 1918 in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York, USA. Died 14 December 1997.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 11 November 1918, Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York, USA
- **Died:** 14 December 1997
- **Active:** 1955–1988
- **Also known as:** Bernard Shalom Kotzin
- **Average Fi1m score:** 84, as actor, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1950s 80 (1), 1980s 89 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stubby_Kaye, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q454238, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0443401/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12827

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*Who Framed Roger Rabbit*](https://film.one/film/who-framed-roger-rabbit.md) (89)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Guys and Dolls*](https://film.one/film/guys-and-dolls.md) (80)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Stubby Kaye

> Stubby Kaye gave musical comedy a warm tenor, a comedian's timing and an unusually welcoming presence. His reputation rests on a few parts, but *Guys and Dolls* gives us ample reason to keep watching him.

Stubby Kaye gets hold of 'Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat' in *Guys and Dolls* (1955) and makes the singing sound like fun. His Nicely-Nicely Johnson has the assurance of a performer who can land a joke without breaking the rhythm. The warm tenor helps, but the comic timing gives the number its lift. We grinned at the good humour of his delivery, which makes a big musical number feel welcoming.

The part came from Broadway, where he first played Nicely-Nicely in 1950, after a decade touring as a singing comedian. Joseph L. Mankiewicz's film retains him from the original cast, and the performance still has the directness of a stage comedian. We like the film without mistaking its talkativeness for charm; some of the singing is uneven, and the pace needs indulgence. Kaye's contribution makes that indulgence easier to grant. He knows how much a supporting player can do within a number, and does not need the whole film arranged around him.

That knack carried into Marryin' Sam in *Li'l Abner*, another Broadway part he took to the screen in 1959. By *Cat Ballou* (1965), he and Nat King Cole were providing musical commentary as banjo-playing minstrels. Bob Fosse's *Sweet Charity* (1969) gave him Herman and 'I Love to Cry at Weddings'. There is a limit to the variety here, and his reputation still rests chiefly on the musical roles of the 1950s.

Robert Zemeckis's *Who Framed Roger Rabbit* (1988) gives him a different sort of ensemble as Marvin Acme, the owner of Toontown. It was his final featured film role, and a fitting place for a performer used to broad comedy. We recommend the film warmly for the conviction with which its human and cartoon cast occupy the same world, though the busy mystery can distract from the jokes. For Kaye himself, start with *Guys and Dolls* and allow a little patience for the stretches between songs.

## Biography

Stubby Kaye, born Bernard Shalom Kotzin, was an American actor, comedian, vaudevillian and singer. He was born on 11 November 1918 in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York, and died on 14 December 1997 in Rancho Mirage, California.

Kaye began performing after winning a radio talent contest in 1939 and toured in vaudeville, including USO shows during the Second World War. He originated the role of Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the 1950 Broadway musical *Guys and Dolls* and reprised it in the 1955 film, and played Marryin' Sam in the stage and screen versions of *Li'l Abner* (1956 and 1959).

His other film roles include Sam the Shade in *Cat Ballou* (1965), Herman in *Sweet Charity* (1969) and Marvin Acme in *Who Framed Roger Rabbit* (1988). He also appeared as Weismuller in the 1987 *Doctor Who* serial *Delta and the Bannermen*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Who Framed Roger Rabbit* (1988), Fi1m 89, as Marvin Acme — [page](https://film.one/film/who-framed-roger-rabbit.md)
- *Guys and Dolls* (1955), Fi1m 80, as Nicely-Nicely Johnson — [page](https://film.one/film/guys-and-dolls.md)

## Complete filmography (38)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Waking Sleeping Beauty* (2009), as Marvin Acme (archive footage)
- *Who Framed Roger Rabbit* (1988), as Marvin Acme — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/film/who-framed-roger-rabbit.md)
- *Doctor Who: Delta and the Bannermen* (1987), as Weismuller
- *Ellis Island* (1984), series, as Abe Shulman
- *American Playhouse* (1982), series, as Nat Danziger
- *Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood* (1981), as Babe
- *Flying High* (1978), series, Actor
- *Laverne & Shirley* (1976), series, Actor
- *Timber Tramps* (1975), as Parker
- *Sixpack Annie* (1975), as Mr. Bates
- *Cool It, Carol!* (1970), as Rod Strangeways
- *The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County* (1970), as Bartender
- *The Monitors* (1969), as Cameo
- *Love, American Style* (1969), series, as Harry
- *Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?* (1969), as Fat Writer
- *Sweet Charity* (1969), as Herman
- *Adam-12* (1968), series, as Bernie Goodman
- *The Way West* (1967), as Sam Fairman
- *The Monkees* (1966), series, as Wolfgang
- *Cat Ballou* (1965), as Shouter - Sam the Shade
- *Sex and the Single Girl* (1964), as Helen's Cabbie
- *Doctor Who* (1963), series, as Weismuller — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/tv/doctor-who.md)
- *Burke's Law* (1963), series, as Joey Carson
- *The Cool Mikado* (1963), as Judge Herbert Mikado / Charlie Hotfleisch
- *40 Pounds of Trouble* (1962), as Cranston
- *Ensign O'Toole* (1962), series, as Tubby Mason
- *The Alfred Hitchcock Hour* (1962), series, as George Cassidy
- *Li'l Abner* (1959), as Marryin' Sam
- *Startime* (1959), series, as Joe
- *Love and Marriage* (1959), series, as Stubby Wilson
- *Hansel and Gretel* (1958), as Town Crier
- *Pinocchio* (1957), as Town Crier
- *You Can't Run Away from It* (1956), as Fred Toten
- *Guys and Dolls* (1955), as Nicely-Nicely Johnson — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/guys-and-dolls.md)
- *The Julius Larosa Show* (1955), series, Actor
- *The Millionaire* (1955), series, as Uncle George
- *Summer Playhouse* (1954), series, Actor
- *Taxi* (1953), as Morris (uncredited)

## Gallery

- ![Stubby Kaye](https://film.one/media/person/119233/gallery-c5bdaca561b0.jpg) Stubby Kaye — ABC Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Stubby_Kaye_Shenanigans_1964.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Publicity photo from the television show My Sister Eileen. Pictured are Stubby Kaye and Shirley Bonne.](https://film.one/media/person/119233/gallery-d4b7bea34ebb.jpg) Publicity photo from the television show My Sister Eileen. Pictured are Stubby Kaye and Shirley Bonne. — CBS Television

Uploaded by We hope at en.wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/My_sister_eileen_1960.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Stubby Kaye](https://film.one/media/person/119233/gallery-6c5936643439.jpg) Stubby Kaye — President (1981-1989 : Reagan). White House Photographic Office. 1981-1989, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/President_Ronald_Reagan_and_Nancy_Reagan_Reagan_Dancing_with_%28Left_to_Right%29_Stubby_Kaye%2C_Shirley_Jones%2C_Marvin_Hamlisch_and_Lee_Roy_Reams_During_a_Rehearsal_for_%22In_Performance_at_-_DPLA_-_2fff65d92f226432c1b0ff0e6d7de759.jpg/1280px-thumbnail.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Photo of Shirley Bonne (front) and Stubby Kaye (back) from the television program My Sister Eileen. The standing woman is Elaine Stritch, who played the role of (1961)](https://film.one/media/person/119233/gallery-a84c1c03a35e.jpg) Photo of Shirley Bonne (front) and Stubby Kaye (back) from the television program My Sister Eileen. The standing woman is Elaine Stritch, who played the role of (1961) — CBS Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Shirley_Bonne_Elaine_Stritch_Stubby_Kaye_My_Sister_Eileen_1961.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Stubby Kaye](https://film.one/media/person/119233/gallery-efd98712398b.jpg) Stubby Kaye — Image via TMDB
- ![Stubby Kaye](https://film.one/media/person/119233/gallery-2c98a1be6c8c.jpg) Stubby Kaye — Image via TMDB
- ![Stubby Kaye](https://film.one/media/person/119233/gallery-cf1d821eb854.jpg) Stubby Kaye — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/stubby-kaye