Today, the blog shall binge-watch Sid Caesar, starting with his TV debut.
Do we LOVE Admiral Broadway Revue, Your Show Of Shows, Caesar's Hour and all the super-talented cast members from those series? YES! YES! YES!
The comedy-crazed gang at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog has watched Ten From Your Show Of Shows, an amazing document of early 1950's sketch comedy, numerous times.
The THIS IS YOUR STORY sketch from 10 From Your Show Of Shows, spoofing This Is Your Life, featuring Howard Morris as the affectionate Uncle Goopy, destroys me every time I see it.
Nobody, not even Victor Borge and P.D.Q. Bach, has taken on classical music quite like the ridiculously talented casts of Your Show Of Shows and Caesar's Hour.
The Caesar's Hour episode with guest star Benny Goodman (which aired on 11-1-1954) is particularly memorable.
After powering through an unrelenting decade-long torrent of comedy, Sid Caesar would be less visible in showbiz for a few years. Post Caesar's Hour, he appeared in this BBC Broadcast which aired on September 9, 1958.
Sid co-starred with 1000 other comedians in Stanley Kramer's It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World and appeared a slew of commercials, then dropped out of sight through the latter 1960's and the 1970's. He re-emerged in the early 1980's and was interviewed by David Letterman.
Sid Caesar also hosted a very good episode of the Dick Ebersol era Saturday Night Live in February 1983.
While Sid dropped out of sight, his writers, especially Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks would bring the world The Dick Van Dyke Show, Alan Brady and the 2000 year old man.
When it became apparent to comedy geeks just how truly exceptional and extraordinary such performer/writers as Sid Caesar and Ernie Kovacs were, numerous events and interviews followed.
In particular, a 2014 tribute to Sid by Carl and Mel is very enjoyable.
The Writers Guild Foundation interview with Carl Reiner is a must-listen.
Larry Gelbart recalls his stretch working with Sid.
The crew's favorite episode of the very entertaining Serious Jibber-Jabber with Conan O'Brien series featured Mel Brooks.
While individuals in my age group generally went ga-ga for Star Trek and Star Wars, as much as I enjoy both sci-fi series, obsession was reserved for the silent era comedy greats (all of them), Your Show Of Shows, the Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, Hal Roach Studios, Mel Brooks movies, SCTV (Second City Television) and visionary animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett.
For more classic comedy featuring Sid Caesar (plus the brilliant Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris and Nanette Fabray), check out the following outstanding playlist (which largely consists of complete episodes of Admiral Broadway Revue), as well as a hilarious sketch-filled playlist from Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour.
4 comments:
AWESOME POST!
There's a new biography of Sid Ceasar that's just come out, called "When Ceasar Was King," by David Margolick.
Paul, a late thanks for this. It won't be for at least another year (I have posts banked until fall of next year), but I spotted the same ad you posted above for Admiral Broadway Revue. Mary McCarty dropped out sight, didn't she?
It's tough to say when the show aired as it was one of a number that NBC put on kinescope and flew to its affiliates not on the cable or connected to a network relay station.
Admiral must have had a ton of money for newspaper ads in 1949 because they're all over the place, generally half or three-quarters page, in cities where NBC affiliates were about to sign on.
In 1949, if I were forced to pick between Uncle M. and Sid, I know who I'd be watching.
Sid would be my 1949 pick, every time. Mary McCarty co-stars with Jane Russell in one of the most jaw-dropping of jaw-dropping films, heading the "what were they thinking" category The French Line. Wonder if that was a Howard Hughes special.
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