Conan O'Brien's salute to TV legend Sid Caesar

Started by quiller, February 15, 2014, 10:12:47 PM

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quiller

One of early TV's great comedians was Sid Caesar, whose "Show of Shows" was inspiration for a wide number of imitators, and also the real start for the career of Carl Reiner (who later created "The Dick Van Dyke Show" using Caesar's own writers room as "Rob Petri's" workplace).

This same powerhouse of writers included Reiner, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, and Woody Allen---and they turned out comedy skits which still hold up 60 years later. Most amazingly, this was a live 90-minute show without TelePrompters or cue cards...and they did it 39 times a year to rave reviews.

Caesar, 91, died this week in Beverly Hills.

In the first of two clips at the link below, Conan O'Brien gives a brief commentary on the amazing effect Caesar had on others within the comedic universe...and just below that clip on the same page is Caesar's crew doing a lampoon of "This is Your Life," with zeal that "Saturday Night Live" will never duplicate.

It's from a Kinescope recording, so the video isn't as clear as today's TV.....but here is funny. We lost a great and influential man.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2014/02/13/Watch-Conans-Salute-to-Sid-Caesar