Next on our stage, comedian Morty Gunty!

Morty Gunty (full name: Morton Gunty) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and nightclub performer best known for his work in New York City’s comedy scene during the 1960s and 1970s. Born on February 1, 1929, in the Parkville neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, he attended Midwood High School in Brooklyn alongside future filmmaker Woody Allen, though their paths didn’t cross significantly until later in their careers. Gunty passed away on July 15, 1984, at age 55 from cancer at Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn. He was married to Marilyn Gunty, with whom he had two daughters, Sheryl and Lori, and was survived by a brother, Elliott, and his parents, Belle and Abraham Gunty.

Gunty’s style was classic Borscht Belt humor—energetic, self-deprecating, and often borrowing from influences like Jerry Lewis—delivered in a rapid-fire, nightclub format. He wasn’t a household name like contemporaries such as Don Rickles or Rodney Dangerfield, but he built a solid reputation in the New York comedy underground and on early TV variety shows.

Gunty made his national TV splash in the early ’60s on variety programs, including The Ed Sullivan Show (appearing in 1964, right after The Beatles’ third performance) and The Jack Paar Show. These spots helped him transition from regional gigs to broader exposure. He also appeared on The Comedy Spot (1960), an early anthology series showcasing comedians.

In 1963–1964, he hosted The Funny Company, a weekday afternoon kids’ show on New York’s WOR-TV (Channel 9), featuring cartoons, jokes, and a “clubhouse” segment with child guests. The show was reformatted as The Morty Gunty Show later that year but ended in 1964 amid low ratings. Anecdotes from viewers recall Gunty’s warm, improvisational rapport with kids, though it wasn’t a long-term hit.

He debuted on Broadway in 1967’s Love in E Flat, a short-lived musical comedy. Earlier, in 1960, he played Buddy Sorrell (the role later immortalized by Morey Amsterdam) in the original pilot for The Dick Van Dyke Show, titled Head of the Family, which starred Carl Reiner as the lead with a different cast. The pilot didn’t sell, but it showcased Gunty’s timing as a wisecracking writer character.

By the mid-1960s, Gunty was a staple in NYC clubs and the Catskills, where he refined his act. He released comedy records like “Blind Date” (backed by a jazz ensemble) and performed satirical bits such as “There’s A War.”

Gunty recurred as Ann Marie’s (Marlo Thomas) wisecracking agent—a washed-up comedian—in several episodes of That Girl (1966–1971).
His most notable screen credit came late in life: playing himself as a neurotic, unlucky comic in Woody Allen’s 1984 film Broadway Danny Rose. Shot shortly before his death, it captured Gunty’s authentic everyman charm and was one of his few film appearances (another minor role was in 1968’s What’s So Bad About Feeling Good?).