Show Business: Art Who?

He has a hearing aid for a deaf left ear, a painful lump on his right kneecap diagnosed as Osgood-Schlatter's disease, a hiatal hernia and a limp—the result of a World War II shrapnel wound. He also has a history of alcoholism, and after his first marriage failed, he suffered a nervous breakdown.

Looking at Art Carney's mournful Popeye face is to encounter the resignation of an aging bullfighter contemplating his last fight. Only this time Art has won both ears and the tail. He was the surprise winner of an Oscar for his...