In the summer of 1959, a talent scout from Warner Bros. saw the heavyset Victor Buono play Falstaff and took him to Hollywood for a screen test. Soon he appeared in a number of prime time episodes.
A major break came in 1962 when he was cast by director Robert Aldrich in the “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” starred Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Buono played a hapless musical accompanist and he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
This was followed with role in “Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte” where he played Bette Davis’ father.
Perhaps Buono’s most memorable roles was King Tut, an amnesiac villain on Adams West’s 1960s Batman series. He played Tut in 10 episodes. In 1970, he played one of the mutants in “Beneath the Planet of the Apes”. It was the only Apes film where Roddy McDowall did not appear.
Buono never married. He was closeted, like most gay actors of that era. When asked by reporters about his personal relationships, Buono was quoted as saying:
"I've heard or read about actors being asked the immortal question, 'Why have you never married?' They answer with the immortal excuse, 'I just haven't found the right girl.' Because I'm on the hefty side, no one's asked me yet. If they do, that's the answer I'll give. After all, if it was good enough for Monty Clift or Sal Mineo..."
Buono died from a heart attack in 1982.