Buck Henry Net Worth

What is Buck Henry's Net Worth?

Buck Henry was an American actor, screenwriter, and director who had a net worth of $3 million. Buck Henry died on January 8, 2020, at the age of 89.

Among his numerous credits, Buck Henry co-created the television series "Get Smart"; co-wrote the screenplay to Mike Nichols's film "The Graduate" and wrote his films "Catch-22" and "The Day of the Dolphin"; and co-directed the film "Heaven Can Wait" with Warren Beatty. As an actor, Henry appeared in such films as "Taking Off," "The Man Who Fell to Earth," "Gloria," "Eating Raoul," and "Defending Your Life."

Early Life and Education

Buck Henry was born Henry Zuckerman on December 9, 1930 in New York City. His mother was film actress Ruth Taylor, and his father was Air Force brigadier general Paul Zuckerman. As a youth, Henry attended the Choate School, an all-boys school in Wallingford, Connecticut. For his higher education, he went to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, where he wrote for the Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern humor magazine. Henry graduated with his bachelor's degree in English literature.

Military Service and Career Beginnings

After graduating from Dartmouth, Henry enlisted in the Army and served in West Germany as a helicopter mechanic. He subsequently transferred to Special Services and toured with a play he wrote and directed. Returning to New York, Henry joined the improv comedy group the Premise and performed in Manhattan's West Village.

Film Career

Henry's first major film was the 1964 comedy "The Troublemaker," which he both co-wrote and acted in. He went on to have his film breakthrough in 1967 as co-writer of Mike Nichols's "The Graduate," which became the highest-grossing film of the year and netted Henry an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Henry also has a brief role in the film as a hotel desk clerk. In 1968, he had his first solo writing credit on the sex farce "Candy," directed by Christian Marquand. Also that year, Henry had a small role in the war comedy "The Secret War of Harry Frigg." He went on to reunite with Mike Nichols for the 1970 adaptation of Joseph Heller's novel "Catch-22," which Henry wrote and acted in. The same year saw the release of the romantic comedy "The Owl and the Pussycat," which Henry adapted from Bill Manhoff's play of the same name. Henry had his first leading role in a film in the 1971 comedy "Taking Off," directed by Miloš Forman. The same year, he starred in the mockumentary "Is There Sex After Death?" Henry next co-wrote Peter Bogdanovich's screwball comedy "What's Up, Doc?," which came out in 1972. The following year, he wrote his third film for Mike Nichols, the science-fiction thriller "The Day of the Dolphin." After a break from film, Henry returned in 1976 with a supporting role alongside David Bowie in Nicolas Roeg's "The Man Who Fell to Earth." He subsequently starred alongside Steve Martin in the 1977 comedy short film "The Absent-Minded Waiter."

Henry had one of his most acclaimed films in 1978: the sports fantasy film "Heaven Can Wait," a remake of the 1941 film "Here Comes Mr. Jordan." He co-directed the film with its star, Warren Beatty, and also appeared as an angel. With Beatty, Henry shared an Academy Award nomination for Best Director. Henry next appeared in "Old Boyfriends" and "Gloria," and wrote and directed the 1980 comedy "First Family." Over the remainder of the decade, he appeared in "Strong Medicine," "Eating Raoul," "Aria," and "Rude Awakening" and wrote the screenplay to Herbert Ross's "Protocol." In the first half of the 1990s, Henry appeared in the comedies "Tune in Tomorrow," "Defending Your Life," "The Linguini Incident," "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues," and "Grumpy Old Men." He was also in Robert Altman's films "The Player" and "Short Cuts." Henry then returned to screenwriting to pen the satirical black comedy "To Die For," directed by Gus Van Sant and released in 1995. In the years after that, he acted in such films as "The Real Blonde," "I'm Losing You," "Curtain Call," and "Breakfast of Champions." Henry became less prolific on the big screen in the 21st century, but did co-write and act in the 2001 romcom "Town & Country," a major commercial flop. He later acted in the 2004 action comedy "The Last Shot" and the 2011 romantic drama "A Bird of the Air." Henry had his final major film credit as a co-writer on Barry Levinson's 2014 dramedy "The Humbling."

(Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images For Telluride Film Festival)

Television Career

Henry began his television career as a regular on "The New Steve Allen Show" in the early 1960s. After that, he was a recurring cast member and a writer on the American version of the British satirical show "That Was the Week That Was." Henry's breakout came in 1965 when he co-created the secret agent comedy series "Get Smart" with Mel Brooks. He also wrote for the show, which ran for five seasons through 1970 and won him an Emmy Award. Meanwhile, in 1967, Henry created the NBC sitcom "Captain Nice," a less popular show that ended after a single season. Henry became more prominent on television in the latter half of the 1970s when he became a frequent host on NBC's "Saturday Night Live." He hosted the show a total of ten times between 1976 and 1980, and made various guest appearances in the years after that. Also in the late-'70s, Henry created the short-lived science-fiction sitcom "Quark" starring Richard Benjamin.

In the 1980s, Henry starred on Lorne Michaels's short-lived sketch comedy show "The New Show" and appeared in episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "Falcon Crest," and "Murphy Brown." Early the next decade, he appeared in the television films "Keep the Change" and "Mastergate" and had a guest role on the horror anthology series "Tales from the Crypt." Henry was later in the television film "Harrison Bergeron" and in an episode of the adult animated sitcom "Dilbert." Following a six-year break from television acting, he returned in 2005 with a guest role on the sitcom "Will & Grace." Henry appeared on some other sitcoms over the subsequent years, including "30 Rock" and "Hot in Cleveland." In 2012, he was in an episode of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," and in 2013 he had a two-episode role on the TNT legal dramedy "Franklin & Bash." Among his final credits on the small screen, Henry appeared on the PBS series "American Masters" in the documentary "Mel Brooks: Make a Noise," which premiered in 2013.

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Stage Career

Henry also acted on stage, having made his Broadway debut in the play "Life with Father" when he was just 15. He later returned to Broadway for the 2002 revival of "Morning's at Seven." Henry's other stage credits included a 2009 off-Broadway production of "Mother."

Personal Life and Death

Henry was married twice, to Sally Zuckerman and Irene Ramp.

On January 8, 2020, Henry died from a heart attack at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He was 89 years of age.

Who's Richer?

Buck
Henry

Compare!

Don
Adams