The Comic
1969An account of the rise and fall of a silent film comic, Billy Bright. The movie begins with his funeral, as he speaks from beyond the grave in a bitter tone about his fate, and takes us through his fame, as he ruins it with womanizing and drink, and his fall, as a lonely, bitter old man unable to reconcile his life's disappointments. The movie is based loosely on the life of Buster Keaton.
Acted in
Dick Van Dyke
as Billy Bright
Michele Lee
as Mary Gibson
Mickey Rooney
as Cockeye
Cornel Wilde
as Frank Powers
Nina Wayne
as Sybil Atlas
Pert Kelton
as Mama Bell
Steve Allen
as Steve Allen
Barbara Heller
as Ginger
Ed Peck
as Edwin G. Englehardt
Jeannine Riley
as Lorraine Bell
Gavin MacLeod
as 1st Director
Jay Novello
as Miguel
Craig Huebing
as Doctor
Paulene Myers
as Phoebe
Fritz Feld
as Armand
Jerome Cowan
as Lawrence
Isabel Sanford
as Woman
Jeff Donnell
as Nurse
Carl Reiner
as Al Schilling
Howard Dayton
as Ketchup Man
Maurice Dallimore
as Lord Faversham
Mantan Moreland
as Passerby at Billy's Funeral (unbilled)