Sid Caesar Passes Away At 91

Sid Caesar Passes Away At 91

Legendary live television performer Sid Caesar passed away at the age of 91 on Wednesday. Friend and biographer Eddy Friedfeld said the two-time Emmy-Award-winning died at his Beverly Hills home following a short illness.

Caesar was praised as among the most inventive performers on television and among the great TV clowns. His classic comedy series “Caesar’s Hour” and “Your Show of Shows” made him the king of live television sketch comedy during the 1950s. He became a star following the “Admiral Broadway Revue” that was aired on the DuMont network and NBC in 1949.

The popularity of the “Admiral Broadway Revue” resulted to an increase in the orders of television sets. This compelled Admiral Corp to withdraw its sponsorship since it needed funds for a new factory that would meet the demand. This caused the cancellation of the show after four months. However, the hour-long live show aired from New York City was replaced with “Your Show of Shows.”

Max Liebman, producer of the “Admiral Broadway Revue,” also produced the ninety-minute live show. It showcased the the performances of of Sid Caesar, Howard Morris, Imogene Coca and Carl Reiner. The show was aired from 1950 up to 1954 and produced two Emmy awards for best variety show.

The actor considered the ninety-minute show in front of a theater audience similar to performing on a new Broadway show every week. The show had thirty-nine weeks for each season. Numerous classic comedy situations came out of the pressure from performing on the show.

Among these comedic situations was one where Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca acted as a married couple trying to come to a decision on tipping in a fancy restaurant. Another situation shows Caesar as a husband who cannot sleep since he was restless about a big meeting in the morning. Instead of taking sleeping pills, he takes pep pills.

Caesar credited the success of the show to the writing. Among the writers of the show starring Sid Caesar were Lucille Kallen, Mel Tolkin, Joe Stein, Reiner, as well as Danny and Neil Simon.

Posted by Kade Quinn on Saturday February 15 2014, 7:08 AM EDT. Ref: LA Times. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Entertainment, Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0