Jimmy Durante
Born: 1893-02-09 in New York City, New York, USA
Died: 1980-01-29
Known For: Acting
Biography
Comedian, composer, actor, singer and songwriter ("Inka Dinka Doo") Jimmy Durante was educated in New York public schools. He began his career as a Coney Island pianist, and organized a five-piece band in 1916. He opened the Club Durant with Eddie Jackson and Lou Clayton, with whom he later formed a comedy trio for vaudeville and on television. He appeared in the Broadway musicals "Show Girl", "The New Yorkers", "Strike Me Pink", "Jumbo", "Red Hot and Blue", and "Stars in Your Eyes". By 1936, he had appeared at the Palladium in London. Later he had his own radio and television shows, and was a featured headliner in night clubs. Biographer Gene Fowler wrote his biography, "Schnozzola". Joining ASCAP in 1941, he collaborated musically with Jackie Barnett and Ben Ryan, and his other popular song compositions include "I'm Jimmy That Well-Dressed Man", "I Know Darn Well I Can Do Without Broadway", "I Ups to Him and He Ups to Me", "Daddy Your Mamma Is Lonesome For You", "Umbriago", "Any State In the Forty-Eight", "Chidabee Chidabee Chidabee", and "I'm Jimmy's Girl".
Filmography
2019
- Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast as Self - Comedian (archive footage)
2017
- JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala as Self
2011
- Don Knotts: Tied Up with Laughter as Himself
2004
- Checking Out: Grand Hotel as (archive footage)
2002
- Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2001
- The Best of Bob Hope: 50 Years of Laughter — Volume 1 as Self (archive footage)
2000
- Hollywood Musicals of the 40's as Self (archive footage)
1997
- Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults as Self (Archival Footage)
1994
- That's Entertainment! III as (archive footage)
1988
- Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC as Self (archive footage)
- Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies
1984
- Going Hollywood: The '30s as (archive footage)
1982
- Showbiz Goes to War as (archive footage)
1976
- It's Showtime as Self (archive footage)
- That's Entertainment, Part II as (archive footage)
1975
- Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? as Self (archive footage)
1974
- That's Entertainment! as (archive footage)
1971
1970
- The Don Knotts Show as Self
1969
- Frosty the Snowman as Narrator (voice)
- Monte Carlo or Bust! ... (Theme Song Performance)
- Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters as Self
1968
- The Movie Orgy as Self (archive footage)
1967
- The Mothers-in-Law as Jimmy Durante
1966
- Murder at N.B.C.
- Alice Through the Looking Glass as Humpty Dumpty
1964
- The Hollywood Palace as Self
1963
- It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World as Smiler Grogan
- The Jerry Lewis Show as Self
1962
- The Lucy Show as Jimmy Durante
- Billy Rose's Jumbo as Anthony ('Pop') Wonder
- The New March of Dimes Presents: The Scene Stealers as Self - Host
1961
- The Last Judgment as The man with the large nose
1960
- Pepe as Jimmy Durante
1959
- The Frank Sinatra Timex Show as Self
1958
- The All-Star Christmas Show as Self
1957
- Beau James as Jimmy Durante
1956
- The Steve Allen Show as Self
- The Dinah Shore Chevy Show as Self
1954
- The Jimmy Durante Show as Self - Host
- Summer Playhouse
1953
- The Oscars as Self
1950
- What's My Line? as Self - Mystery Guest
- The Colgate Comedy Hour as Self
- The Bob Hope Show as Self
- The Milkman as Breezy Albright
- The Great Rupert as Mr. Louie Amendola
- Four Star Revue as Host
1948
- The Ed Sullivan Show as Self
- On an Island with You as Buckley
1947
- It Happened in Brooklyn as Nick Lombardi
- This Time for Keeps as Ferdi Farro
1946
- Two Sisters from Boston as 'Spike'
1944
- Two Girls and a Sailor as Billy Kipp / Julian Kipp
- Music for Millions as Andrews
1942
- Breakdowns of 1942 as Self
1941
- The Man Who Came to Dinner as Banjo
- You're in the Army Now as Homer "Jeeper" Smith
1940
- Melody Ranch as Cornelius J. Courtney
1938
- Little Miss Broadway as Jimmy Clayton
- Start Cheering as Willie Gumbatz
- Sally, Irene and Mary as Jefferson Twitchel
1936
- Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1) as Self
- Land Without Music as Jonah J. Whistler
1935
- Carnival as Fingers
1934
- Hollywood Party as Jimmy Durante
- Palooka as Knobby Walsh
- Strictly Dynamite as Moxie
- Student Tour as Hank Merman
- George White's Scandals as Happy McGillicuddy
- Hollywood on Parade No. B-9 as Self
1933
- Hell Below as Ptomaine' - Ships Cook
- Broadway to Hollywood as Jimmy
- Meet the Baron as Joe McGoo
- What! No Beer? as Jimmy Potts
- Give a Man a Job
- Prohibition Newsreel No. 7 as Self
1932
- Speak Easily as James
- Hollywood on Parade No. A-3 as Self
- The Phantom President as Curly
- Hollywood on Parade as Self
- The Passionate Plumber as Julius J. McCracken
- Blondie of the Follies as Jimmy
- The Wet Parade as Abe Shilling
1931
- The Christmas Party as Santa Claus (uncredited)
- New Adventures of Get Rich Quick Wallingford as Schnozzle
- The Cuban Love Song as O.O. Jones
1930
- Roadhouse Nights as Daffy (as Durante)
- The March of Time as Self