# Buck Henry R.I.P

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buck-henry-r-i-p/846166>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** celebrity-death\
**Created:** [January 9, 2020, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buck-henry-r-i-p/846166 "2020-01-09T07:43:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buck-henry-r-i-p/846166/21 "2020-01-09T19:18:56Z")

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> [@Maserschmidt](#):
>
> They were! Though only one of them imitated Michael Douglas having needles plunged into his eyes. 😃

That was _Mike_ Douglas, the talk show host. Not Michael Douglas, actor and scion of Kirk Douglas.

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**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buck-henry-r-i-p/846166/22 "2020-01-09T19:26:25Z")

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Maybe that sequel to _The Graduate_ that was pitched in _The Player_ will finally get made now. Quick, someone call Netflix. They’ll make anything.

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**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buck-henry-r-i-p/846166/23 "2020-01-09T19:42:54Z")

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A great multi-talent. He had the unenviable task of writing the script for _Candy_ (1968), and makes a cameo in a straitjacket.

He would have been the ideal actor to play Hunter S. Thompson.

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**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buck-henry-r-i-p/846166/24 "2020-01-09T19:54:43Z")

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> [@cormac262](#):
>
> I think you’re mistaken: Buck Henry played Lord Douchebag in that SNL skit.

Buck Henry did not appear in the first show;he is not listed in [the episode guide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_Night_Live_(season_1)#Episodes) (which confirms O’Donoghue). He did host Episode 10 of the first season.  
Of course, Henry wrote one of the best known single-word movie quotes ever, one everyone can easily identify:

“Plastics.”

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**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buck-henry-r-i-p/846166/25 "2020-01-09T21:15:53Z")

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> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> I can see where Andy Kaufman stole his bit from.

Except that Andy was doing his bit in comedy clubs long before that.

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**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\
**Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buck-henry-r-i-p/846166/26 "2020-01-09T21:54:33Z")

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> [@NDP](#):
>
> That was _Mike_ Douglas, the talk show host. Not Michael Douglas, actor and scion of Kirk Douglas.

Yes it was. Not sure why I wrote Michael.

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**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buck-henry-r-i-p/846166/27 "2020-01-14T05:51:42Z")

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> [@Doug\_K](#):
>
> Did anyone notice the date on the linked article? How did Variety know 4 1/2 years ago that he would die on a Wednesday at age 89?

That’s probably when the obituary was written or last updated. When J.R.R. Tolkien died in 1982, his obituary in _The Times_ had been originally written by C. S. Lewis before his death in 1963.

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