Sid Caesar dead at 91
- Thread starter trapdoor
- Start date
as seen on tv
Senator
i watch a LOT of tv, but barely recall seeing him. They evidently don't rebroadcast "your show of shows". (was that his only show? was he in any movies?)
Bugsy McGurk
President
He basically went off the air in 1959 and then stayed drunk/high for 20 years. He was famous for "Your Show of Shows" and "The Sid Caesar Show."
Off stage, his shows were the incubator that produced Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Neil Simon, Danny Simon, and Larry Gelbart as writers/directors. In front of the camera he brought us Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Nanette Fabray, Howard Morris and a host of others.
Arkady
President
I've only seen a few of the sketches, but they were brilliant. You could tell what a great writing staff they had. He was also a very talented performer in them. It's too bad his career pretty much disappeared... presumably as a result of struggles with addiction. Amazing he made it to 91 when you look how he treated his body.
NightSwimmer
Senator
Back in those days, the networks didn't retain the film from old shows. Only a few clips remain of Your Show of Shows.
Too true -- and tragic. Caesar's "double talk" version of Pagliacci is a double classic. It would be funny if flawless, but the script called for Caesar to use a grease pencil to put the clown's tear on his face, as is done in the opera. The pencil broke. Without breaking character, (or even changing the expression on his face) Caesar used the broken pencil to play a game of tic-tac-toe on his cheek -- completely ad lib.
You can see "Gallipacci" here.
The pertinent scene begins at 8:15
