Buck Henry is a writer, actor and director who was born on December 9, 1930 in New York City. His original birth name was Buck Henry Zuckerman, and he is the son of air force general turned stockbroker Paul S. Zuckerman and silent film actress Ruth Taylor. Henry attended boarding school at Choate Rosemary Hall and eventually went on to higher learning at Dartmouth College. During his undergraduate days, he contributed to the Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern, a humor magazine. He became known for his mastery of deadpan humor, wherein he would say utterly ridiculous things without he slightest hint of doubt.
From the year 1959 to 1962, he became part of an elaborate trick played by comedian Alan Abel. Henry took on the role of G. Clifford Prout, a president of the Society for Indecency to Naked Animals. A quiet yet upset character, Prout made his opinions known on various talk shows. Later on his life, Henry became involved with a number of other television programs, among them The New Steve Allen Show, That Was The Week That Was, and
Will and Grace . He has also served as the host for the seminal comedy skit show
Saturday Night Live . Henry has acted in the film version of Catch-22.
(Photo courtesy of The Daily Show)