Born
Pincus Leff in
Saint Paul, Minnesota, Lee began his career as Pincus Leff with showman
Gus Edwards in
vaudeville. In January 1925, he was hired by Betty Felsen to be a dancer in the acclaimed Boderick & Felsen vaudeville dancing act. Pincus Leff soon became a featured tap dancer in the act and was often mentioned in advertisements, notices, and reviews. He was part of the act throughout 1925 during its headline tour on the B.F. Keith vaudeville circuit throughout the Mid-West and East. In early 1926, he left the act to pursue his career on stage and in film and television. He worked as a comic of the "baggy pants" variety on stage, becoming an expert at
slapstick and comic dancing. In 1929 he was getting excellent notices for his participation in "Speed Show," an 18-minute stage prologue preceding the first-run film
The Singing Fool: "Pinkie Leff, the only member allowed an encore though his wonderful acrobatic and eccentric steps." When
vaudeville died out, Pinkie Leff adopted the stage name of Pinky Lee and became a
burlesque comedian, adding rapid-fire jokes to his repertoire. This new addition made him a radio star; he adopted a "sailor" character in a succession of
NBC Radio programs. In 1937 he made his motion picture debut for
Educational Pictures, starring in a 10-minute comedy short,
Dental Follies, filmed in New York. During the 1940s, he was heard on
Drene Time and other radio programs. Easily recognized by his trademark lisp and high-energy antics, his signature costume was a loud
plaid suit with baggy
checkered pants and an undersized hat. During his routines, whenever anybody irritated him (which happened frequently) he would unleash his
catchphrase: "Oooooh! You make me so
mad!" Television Pinky Lee was one of the pioneers of commercial television, beginning in 1947. In 1950, he had his own 30-minute primetime variety television series on NBC,
The Pinky Lee Show, featuring vaudevillians and burlesque comics. In 1951–52 he starred with
Vivian Blaine in a 15-minute sitcom,
Those Two. He returned on January 4, 1954, with
The Pinky Lee Show, a children's show sponsored by
Tootsie Roll. An Emmy-nominated afternoon children's program that spawned later imitators such as ''
Pee-Wee's Playhouse, it was followed each day by the popular Howdy Doody Show''. Lee opened each show with his trademark theme song, "Yoo Hoo, It's Me!": Others in the cast: Betty Jane Howarth, Jimmy Brown,
Molly Bee, Jack McCoy, Mel Koontz, Cindy Sue, Susabelle, Ken Mayer, Isabel Dwan,
Sidney Fields, Margie Lizst, Milton Newberger and Jymme Shore. Adding to the show's bounce and style was its musical director and master organist
Gaylord Carter, who underscored every moment with appropriate accompaniment. On September 20, 1955, Lee collapsed on camera during a live show due to illness. His normal antics were so energetic that apparently the cameraman and the show's director assumed the fall an
ad lib part of his performance. The "Peanut Gallery", an audience usually composed almost entirely of pre-adolescent children who were coached by a staff member, continued their enthusiastic cheering and applause from the on-stage bleachers. After as much as ten seconds of writhing by the stricken Lee, the camera abruptly panned to the still-cheering audience. The following afternoons Pinky Lee was not present. This effectively ended his leading role on the show, which continued without him until June 9, 1956. The incident also spawned rumors that Lee had been
institutionalized after going
insane on
live television. In 1957, Lee hosted
The Gumby Show, the original appearance of that
clay animation character. In 1963, Lee attempted a return to kids' TV, hosting a local children's comedy program on
KABC-TV in Los Angeles. This series was nationally syndicated for the 1964–65 TV seasons, but the program fell prey to creative interference from the show's producers and station management. Lee fought the interference, but his efforts were for naught.
The Pinky Lee Kids TV Show went off the air after one season. One episode was released on DVD/VHS by Shokus Video, and a DVD with two episodes was released by
Alpha Video. Lee returned to television in 1983, appearing on NBC's
Yummy Awards, a mock awards show hosted by
Ricky Schroder that honored the best children's TV programming of the year.
Movies and theatre Lee can be seen in films, including
Lady of Burlesque,
Earl Carroll Vanities,
Pals of the Golden West,
South of Caliente, and
Blonde Ransom; and Lee appeared on television shows, including
Ed Sullivan's
Toast of the Town. Lee also appeared in regional theatres throughout the U.S. in
Sugar Babies and other shows in the late 1980s. ==Personal life==