Comic's 1950s shows gave breaks to today's top writers

American TV comedy pioneer Sid Caesar has died in his Los Angeles home at the age of 91.

His friend and former collaborator Carl Reiner broke the news, telling news agency Reuters: ’He was the ultimate, he was the very best sketch artist and comedian that ever existed.'

Family spokesman Eddy Friedfeld confirmed he died after a short illness.

Caesar is best remembered for the the ground breaking sketch show Your Show of Shows, which aired on NBC from 1950 to 1954.

The programme, and its follow-up, Caesar’s Hour, gave a break to some of the most accomplished comedy writers of the era, including Neil Simon, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks and Reiner himself. Reiner also said his time on Your Show of Shows was the inspiration for The Dick Van Dyke Show, which he created.

Among those paying tribute were Whoopi Goldberg who tweeted: 'Life...doing her thing, another great has passed Sid Caesar. Funny man We honored him at the very first Comic Relief. RIP turn turn turn.'

Joan Rivers posted: 'A childhood highlight was going to the taping of “Your Show of Shows.” I’m just sorry I never had the opportunity to work with Sid Caesar.'

US broadcaster Larry King said: 'Sorry to learn about the passing of Sid Caesar-a dear friend, a comic genius & an American classic- there will never be another one like him.'

And British broadcaster Danny Baker said: 'Sid Caesar locked in that shop basement with the fireworks in Its A Mad World just about the 1st time in my life I thought I'd die laughing.'

Caesar was born in 1922 to Jewish immigrants living in New York, where he first learned one of the comic tricks that became his trademark: ‘double-talk’ approximations to foreign languages, which he invented while serving multinational diners at his parents’ restaurant.

He started his showbusiness career properly at 14, as a saxophonist in the ‘Borscht Belt’ resorts of the Catskill Mountains, where he returned after graduating High School. There he learned omedy, doing three shows a week.

During the war he served in the US Coast Guard, and played in military revues, and after the war moved to Hollywood, where he had a brief film career before returning to New York, where he became an opening at the Copacabana nightclub, leading to a Broadway revue.

Caesar’s TV career began with an appearance on Milton Berle's Texaco Star Theater, and got his first series, The Admiral Broadway Revue with Imogene Coca in 1949.

Your Show of Shows was a mix of scripted and improvised comedy, movie and television satires, Caesar's monologues, musical guests, and large production numbers with a guest host each week. It earned Caesar won his first Emmy in 1952, and he was twice voted America’s best cComedian

The show ended after 160 episodes in 1954, but just a few months later, Caesar returned with Caesar's Hour, a one-hour sketch/variety show with Morris, Reiner and future Golden Girls star Bea Arthur. Everything was performed live, including the commercials.

He was a regular on TV until the mid 1960s, after which he made occasional television and club appearances.

On film, Caesar and Edie Adams played a husband and wife in the 1963 comedy It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, while his other big screen appearances include Brooks’s Silent Movie, History of the World, Part I, and playing Coach Calhoun in Grease.

He revealed in his autobiography that he struggled with alcoholism and barbiturates, and in 1977, quit cold turkey after blanking out during a stage performance of Neil Simon's The Last of the Red Hot Lovers.

Here Caesar shows off his 'double-talk' talents in a 1954 sketch with Howie Morris:

Published: 12 Feb 2014