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December 8, 2000/Kislev 11, 5761, Vol. 53, No.11
Sid Caesar legacy leaves imprint on television
EDDY FRIEDFELD
The Dunn Daily Record
In the late 1940s, waves of immigrants poured into the United States, adding to the melting pot. The new Americans searched for connections and ways of bridging gaps between their old countries and their new one.
One of those ways was television. Every Saturday night, America connected with a troupe of the most creative and versatile performers and writers in history, led by a 28-year-old Jewish kid from Yonkers, Sid Caesar.
A virtuoso actor, singer, clown and musician, Caesar was the everyman who could do everything.
"Sid was the vehicle for my comic passion," said Mel Brooks, one of Caesar's writers and protégés. "He could do things no one else did."
Now, after 50 years, digitally re-mastered kinescopes (film from live television) are being released on a three-video and DVD boxed set, which contain pieces from "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour," with Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner and Howie Morris.
The videos also contain interviews and reminiscences with Caesar and the performers, including writers Brooks, Larry Gelbart, Mel Tolkin, Neil and Danny Simon, and Woody Allen.
The videos can be ordered by calling 1-888-292-9400 or at www.sidvid.com.
Caesar's home in Beverly Hills is filled with pictures of other comedy legends, history books and videos and Emmy Awards.
Caesar himself is erudite, conversant in history, physics and art. At 78, he retains powerful eyes, a warm smile and trademark expressive face.
His comic timing remains razor-sharp, and he still enjoys doing his signature "doubletalk," the multilingual pseudo-patter of French, Italian, German and Spanish, all the more impressive when he admits that the only language he actually speaks is English.
He is proud of his connection with immigrants and ethnic groups. "They understood me," he said.
"Jewish humor is rooted in suffering. Historically, Jews have always been in situations where there was danger. You can either live with it or laugh with it," he said. "I have known more than my share of pain in my life, and I used that in my comedy. Being Jewish played a large part in our humor."
A very proud Jew ("most of the fights of my life were over anti-Semitic remarks"), he attends synagogue on the High Holidays "out of respect for my parents."
Over lentil soup prepared by Florence Caesar, his wife of almost 60 years, he reminisced fondly about the Catskills in the '40s and '50s, where he honed his craft.
"There were philosophical debates on the (hotel) lawns," he said. It was like a kibbutz with a lot of food."
The secret to Caesar's success as a performer was that he did not tell funny jokes, he told funny stories about real people.
"I played the everyman. ... I was the father, brother, cousin. Everyone knew me and identified with me... You couldn't touch religion or politics, and you couldn't zero in on one guy and tear him apart. I didn't allow any schmutzik (dirty) stuff or cheap laughs. And I never allowed anyone to break up on the air, even when Max changed the running order of the sketches, and (under the perils of live television) I wound up in a bus driver sketch wearing gold lame boots."
Caesar views his legacy simply: "I made people laugh."
His advice to aspiring artists is "believe in yourself. In the beginning, if you don't believe in yourself, no one will."
Eddy Friedfeld, a New York based writer, is the film and entertainment critic for the Daily Record in North Carolina.
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