# Stubby Kaye
**Stubby Kaye** (November 11, 1918 – December 14, 1997), born Bernard Kotzin, was an American comic actor and singer who created the gambler Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the original Broadway production of *Guys and Dolls* (1950) and Marryin' Sam in *Li'l Abner* (1956), repeating both roles in the film versions of 1955 and 1959.[1](https://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/stubby-kaye/) • [2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/stubby-kaye-47554) In an obituary for The Independent, Tom Vallance wrote that he "secured a place in theatrical history on the night of 24 November 1950 when the classic musical *Guys and Dolls* opened on Broadway," and that it is for his portrayal of [Damon Runyon](https://www.edgepedia.org/damon-runyon)'s jovial gambler that he is always remembered.[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-stubby-kaye-1289257.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | November 11, 1918, New York City; December 14, 1997, Rancho Mirage, California, of lung cancer at age 79[1](https://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/stubby-kaye/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0443401/bio/) • [5](https://playbill.com/article/guys-dolls-stubby-kaye-dead-at-79-com-72496) |
| Birth name | Bernard Kotzin (IBDB, Masterworks Broadway); IMDb gives Bernard Sholem Kotzin; he refused to reveal his real first name throughout his career[2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/stubby-kaye-47554) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0443401/bio/) |
| Signature role | Nicely-Nicely Johnson in *Guys and Dolls*, Broadway premiere November 24, 1950, 46th Street Theatre; also the 1953 London production and the 1955 film[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-stubby-kaye-1289257.html) • [6](https://broadwaymusicalhome.com/shows/guysdolls.htm) |
| Second signature role | Marryin' Sam in *Li'l Abner*, Broadway from November 15, 1956 (693 performances), and the 1959 film[2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/stubby-kaye-47554) • [7](https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/44646/lil-abner) |
| Show-stoppers | Introduced "Fugue for Tinhorns" and "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" (*Guys and Dolls*) and "Jubilation T. Cornpone" (*Li'l Abner*)[1](https://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/stubby-kaye/) |
| Recognition | Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical Performance, 1957, for *Li'l Abner*[8](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Stubby-Kaye/) |
| Last film | Marvin Acme in *Who Framed Roger Rabbit?* (1988)[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0443401/bio/) |
## Early career
Kaye was born on [Armistice Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/armistice-day), the last day of the First World War, in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan; he grew up in Far Rockaway and [The Bronx](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-bronx).[1](https://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/stubby-kaye/) In 1939 he won a contest on Major Bowes' Amateur Hour, a radio talent program, and the prize included a job touring in vaudeville, where he was sometimes billed as "Extra Padded Attraction."[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-stubby-kaye-1289257.html) During the Second World War he performed with the United Service Organisation, touring battle fronts and making his London debut with [Bob Hope](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-hope).[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-stubby-kaye-1289257.html) After the war he worked nightclubs as Master of Ceremonies for the swing orchestras of Freddy Martin and Charlie Barnet.[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-stubby-kaye-1289257.html)
*Guys and Dolls* was his Broadway debut.[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-stubby-kaye-1289257.html) The character's name carried a running gag: asked how he is, Nicely-Nicely always replies, "Nicely, nicely, thank you."[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-stubby-kaye-1289257.html) The show ran for three years and 1,200 performances, with Kaye leaving some months before it closed; he was replaced by Jack Prince, the same actor who would later replace him as Marryin' Sam.[1](https://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/stubby-kaye/) • [6](https://broadwaymusicalhome.com/shows/guysdolls.htm) The London production opened in 1953, five days before Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, and Kaye again stopped the show with "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat."[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-stubby-kaye-1289257.html)
## Li'l Abner
Producer Norman Panama and Melvin Frank bought the rights to [Al Capp](https://www.edgepedia.org/al-capp)'s comic strip in August 1955 with the plan of a Broadway musical followed by a film.[9](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52947-LIL-ABNER?cp=1&pos=0&sid=cfff3a81-d8d8-4917-8d70-7cb72366b63c&sr=0.12719199) The show opened at the [St. James Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/st-james-theatre) on November 15, 1956, ran 693 performances, and won two [Tony Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-awards).[7](https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/44646/lil-abner) Choreographer Michael Kidd, who had staged *Guys and Dolls*, proposed Kaye for Marryin' Sam and met with instant agreement.[10](https://www.newsfromme.com/articles-such/lil-abner-on-broadway/) When Kaye performed the role he was 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 250 pounds.[10](https://www.newsfromme.com/articles-such/lil-abner-on-broadway/)
Kaye received only featured billing but again had the major show-stopper, "Jubilation T. Cornpone," a rousing tribute to Dogpatch's cowardly founder, along with "The Country's in the Very Best of Hands" and the duet "I'm Past My Prime" with Daisy Mae.[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-stubby-kaye-1289257.html) Songwriters Johnny Mercer and Gene de Paul took writing Sam's song as a personal challenge to match Kaye's *Guys and Dolls* number, and Kaye won the 1957 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical Performance for the role.[10](https://www.newsfromme.com/articles-such/lil-abner-on-broadway/) • [8](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Stubby-Kaye/) When the show was filmed in 1959, Kaye was considered indispensable casting, repeating Marryin' Sam alongside Peter Palmer's Li'l Abner.[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-stubby-kaye-1289257.html) • [9](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52947-LIL-ABNER?cp=1&pos=0&sid=cfff3a81-d8d8-4917-8d70-7cb72366b63c&sr=0.12719199)
## Film and television
Kaye recreated Nicely-Nicely Johnson in [Joseph L. Mankiewicz](https://www.edgepedia.org/joseph-l-mankiewicz)'s 1955 film of *Guys and Dolls* with [Marlon Brando](https://www.edgepedia.org/marlon-brando), Jean Simmons, and [Frank Sinatra](https://www.edgepedia.org/frank-sinatra); producer Samuel Goldwyn referred to him as "Stubby Toe."[6](https://broadwaymusicalhome.com/shows/guysdolls.htm) • [11](https://www.tcm.com/articles/25766/the-big-idea-guys-and-dolls-1955) His other films included *40 Pounds of Trouble* (1963), *Sex and the Single Girl* (1964), *The Way West* (1967), *Sweet Charity* (1969), and *The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County* (1970).[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-stubby-kaye-1289257.html) • [12](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/stubby-kaye-mn0000919374)
**Comic Western and voice work.** In the 1965 satire *Cat Ballou*, Kaye and Nat "King" Cole served as a [Greek chorus](https://www.edgepedia.org/greek-chorus) of wandering minstrels whose songs link the scenes, and he sang duets with Cole.[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-stubby-kaye-1289257.html) • [1](https://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/stubby-kaye/) In *Sweet Charity* (1969), [Bob Fosse](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-fosse)'s film version, he led the company in "I Love to Cry at Weddings."[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-stubby-kaye-1289257.html) His last featured role was Marvin Acme, owner of Toontown, in the live action and animated *Who Framed Roger Rabbit?* (1988), a film the Los Angeles Times noted younger audiences knew him from.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0443401/bio/) • [13](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-dec-16-mn-64593-story.html)
On television, Kaye had regular roles in the short-lived series *Love and Marriage* (1959) and *My Sister Eileen* (1960–61), guest-starred on shows including *The Red Skelton Hour*, *Burke's Law*, and *The Monkees*, and hosted the Saturday morning children's game show *Shenanigans* (1964–65).[1](https://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/stubby-kaye/) • [3](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-stubby-kaye-1289257.html)
## Later stage work
After the *Li'l Abner* film, Kaye's television career burgeoned and he returned to Broadway only four times: in *Everybody Loves Opal* (1961), in a revival of *Good News* (1974) as football coach Pooch Kearney opposite [Alice Faye](https://www.edgepedia.org/alice-faye) and John Payne, as [Jack Weston](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-weston)'s replacement in *The Ritz* (1975), and in *Grind* (1985), in which he played a burlesque comedian.[1](https://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/stubby-kaye/) • [3](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-stubby-kaye-1289257.html) • [5](https://playbill.com/article/guys-dolls-stubby-kaye-dead-at-79-com-72496) BroadwayWorld records four West End appearances as well, beginning with the 1953 London *Guys and Dolls*.[8](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Stubby-Kaye/)
## Personal life and last years
Kaye lived for a time in England, where he met and married Angela Bracewell, a former dancer and chorus girl who hosted Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the [London Palladium](https://www.edgepedia.org/london-palladium); they married on July 15, 1967, and she survived him.[1](https://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/stubby-kaye/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0443401/bio/) He had earlier been married to Jean Anne Watson from 1961 until their 1962 divorce.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0443401/bio/) He spent the last ten years of his life in poor health and died of lung cancer on December 14, 1997.[1](https://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/stubby-kaye/)
## References
1. [Stubby Kaye, The Official Masterworks Broadway Site (biography by Lucy E. Cross)](https://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/stubby-kaye/)
2. [Stubby Kaye – Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/stubby-kaye-47554)
3. [Tom Vallance, "Obituary: Stubby Kaye," The Independent, December 17, 1997](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-stubby-kaye-1289257.html)
4. [Stubby Kaye – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0443401/bio/)
5. ["Guys & Dolls' Stubby Kaye Dead at 79," Playbill, December 15, 1997](https://playbill.com/article/guys-dolls-stubby-kaye-dead-at-79-com-72496)
6. [Guys and Dolls, Broadway Musical Home](https://broadwaymusicalhome.com/shows/guysdolls.htm)
7. [Li'l Abner, Concord Theatricals](https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/44646/lil-abner)
8. [Stubby Kaye – Theatre Credits and Awards, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Stubby-Kaye/)
9. [Li'l Abner (1959), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52947-LIL-ABNER?cp=1&pos=0&sid=cfff3a81-d8d8-4917-8d70-7cb72366b63c&sr=0.12719199)
10. [Mark Evanier, "Li'l Abner on Broadway," News From ME](https://www.newsfromme.com/articles-such/lil-abner-on-broadway/)
11. ["The Big Idea: Guys and Dolls (1955)," Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/25766/the-big-idea-guys-and-dolls-1955)
12. [Stubby Kaye – Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/stubby-kaye-mn0000919374)
13. ["Stubby Kaye; Singer on Stage and Film," Los Angeles Times, December 16, 1997](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-dec-16-mn-64593-story.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Stage practitioners and craft › Acting: theory, technique, and teachers › Acting coaches and training biographies › Overview of acting teaching and coaching*
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