Page 68 - Sid Caesar News Today

In a year defined by a devastating pandemic, the world lost iconic defenders of civil rights, great athletes and entertainers who helped define their genres.

Most talented woman or performer ever. she could do everything. >> she started on "the gary moore show" and became a big star. people forget just how much she was a part of the culture at one point in time. >> i did not think that i would want to ever or could ever host a variety show. >> welcome to our first show were doing. im real excited and very happy youre all with us. looks like weve got a nice, full group. could you bump up the lights so i could see -- ohh! gorgeous. >> you had an image ...

>> you had an image of a fellow in a tuxedo coming out and doing a monologue, and will they take a woman doing this? and i said, i hope theyll take me at least for 13 weeks, you know? and it worked! it worked for 11 years. i never thought it would go that long. >> i knew i wanted to do musical comedy. i wanted guest stars. i wanted to do sketches. i wanted a rep company the way sid caesar had one. >> there were ten variety shows on at the same time that carol burnett was on, and they were approx...

I could see -- ohh! gorgeous. >> you had an image of a fellow in a tuxedo coming out and doing a monologue, and will they take a woman doing this? and i said, i hope theyll take me at least for 13 weeks, you know? and it worked! it worked for 11 years. i never thought it would go that long. >> i knew i wanted to do musical comedy. i wanted guest stars. i wanted to do sketches. i wanted a rep company the way sid caesar had one. >> there were ten variety shows on at the same time that carol burnet...

He was 91 years old. >> the playwright and screenwriter will long be remembered for his popular comedies including "the odd couple," "barefoot in the park" and "the sunshine boys." cnns sara sidner has more on simons memorable contributions to the stage. >> reporter: it didnt really matter who the stars were. if neil simon wrote it, people wanted to see it. "time" magazine wants once called him the patron saint of laughter. a native new yorker, simon learned his craft in the early days of televi...

Home movie. >> looks like mel brooks. >> in terms of parody and satire, there really is mel brooks and then theres everybody else. when i was a kid, vhs tapes were invented so we had "the godfather" and then we had every mel brooks movie and he was the funniest. >> i would like to get back to your television days because, i mean, you were in television for something like 20 years writing with sid caesar. >> it was very good to be part of the writing staff of the show of shows, "the sid cedar sho...

You know, people become dent sxifts they also become improv artists. ? with sketch comedy its the immediacy of it. its the daringness of it. going back to sid caesar on the beach with imogen coca and getting buckets of water thrown in his face. or you think "saturday night live" and julia child bleeding to death or the dead parrot sketch on monty python. >> paulie! >> it is very ephemeral, its over quickly, but if its great and it really worked you get this nice little memory, maybe a piece of v...

Were writers that would hang out in the corridors of nbc and they would shout out jokes. if sid caesar heard them and used them, he paid them. we heard that story and we were looking for a name of that group, we should call ourselves the kids in the hall. on the outside breaking in. >> the kids already have some great credentials. two have written for saturday night live in new york. the others have worked for second city. but now, theyre trying to create their own brand of comedy. >> one of my ...

Ever lived. all they did was look at society and skew it a little bit. you laughed at yourself being ridiculous. >> i want to sing a song for you. its on the other side of our hit record. this side is selling more than the other side. >> the show of shows had comedy geniuses gathered together almost like a manhattan project for comedy. you had carl reiner moving back and forth between acting and writing at this time, and sid caesar who would do all the roles and all the accents. the audience fel...

Broadway, what they called a revue, r-e-v-u-e. it would have a cast of comedians, a cast of dancing girls, maybe a singer or two in there. a lot of the comedians that started in radio in the 30s and 40s started on the broadway stage in revues. >> when i was a kid, my parents loved comedy. it was always on the radio. >> you dedicated your entire life to the accumulation of money. >> yes, yes, my boy. >> its my fond hope when i die ill go to ft. knox. >> all sketch comedy on radio in the 40s was p...