Pat McCormick (actor)
Pat McCormick (June 30, 1927 - July 29, 2005) was an American actor and comedy writer.
Born in Lakewood, Ohio, McCormick (who was over six and a half feet tall) was a high school athlete and served in the Army from 1946-1948. After graduating Harvard University, a future in law seemed to be his chosen path, but he dropped out of Harvard Law School after a year and moved to New York City to work in advertising. That career also ended abruptly, as he began writing material for nightclub comics such as Henny Youngman and Phyllis Diller (he also wrote for Red Skelton, Danny Kaye and Merv Griffin). He soon began writing full-time for The Jack Paar Show and both wrote and performed on Candid Camera. He was both announcer and performer on Don Rickles 1968 variety show, and appeared on The New Bill Cosby Show in 1972. His most lasting television success came as writer and performer during the Johnny Carson years of The Tonight Show. In 1974 he even streaked oncamera. Throughout the next few decades he appeared on a variety of game shows, talk shows, and the occasional sitcom.
His film work included Robert Altman's ensemble drama A Wedding (where he shared an onscreen romance with Carol Burnett), and three Smokey and the Bandit movies.
McCormick drank but eventually gave up alcohol - he joked that he stopped when his liver began showing up on medal detectors. He continued to write and perform but in 1998 he suffered a stroke which slurred his speech and left him partially paralyzed. He remained in the Motion Picture & Television Hospital until his July 2005 death. He is survived by a son, Ben, and a grandson.