Lord Buckley

Lord Buckley
Lord Buckley
PseudonymLord Richard Buckley
Birth nameRichard Myrle Buckley
Born(1906-04-05)April 5, 1906
Tuolumne, California
DiedNovember 12, 1960(1960-11-12) (aged 54)
Columbus Hospital, New York City
MediumStage performance, recording and monologue
NationalityAmerican
GenresCharacter comedy
Parent(s)William Buckley and Annie Bone

Lord Richard Buckley (born Richard Myrle Buckley; April 5, 1906 – November 12, 1960) was an American stand-up comedian and recording artist,[1] who in the 1940s and 1950s created a character that was, according to The New York Times, "an unlikely persona ... part English royalty, part Dizzy Gillespie."[2]

Michael Packenham, writing in The Baltimore Sun, described him as "a magnificent stand-up comedian... Buckley's work, his very presence, projected the sense that life's most immortal truths lie in the inextricable weaving together of love and irony—affection for all humanity married to laughter."[3]

Buckley's unique stage persona anticipated aspects of the Beat Generation sensibility, and influenced contemporary figures as varied as Dizzy Gillespie, Lenny Bruce, Wavy Gravy, Del Close, and, even after Buckley's death, Ken Kesey, George Harrison, Tom Waits, Frank Zappa, Robin Williams, and Jimmy Buffett.[4] Bob Dylan, in his book Chronicles, said "Buckley was the hipster bebop preacher who defied all labels."[5]

  1. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 197/8. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
  2. ^ Zinoman, Jason. "And Jonah Said, Can You Dig Me Here in This Fish?" The New York Times. December 10, 2005
  3. ^ Pakenham, Michael. "A Biography of Lord Buckley". The Baltimore Sun. April 28, 2002.
  4. ^ Trager, Oliver. Dig Infinity! The Life and Art of Lord Buckley Welcome Rain Publishers. 2001
  5. ^ Dylan, Bob. Chronicles Simon & Schuster. 2005 Chapter 5. ISBN 0743244583