Remembering Actor Sid Caesar

The comedic pioneer of the Golden Age of Television passed away yesterday following several years of respiratory and other health problems, according to family friend and actor Rudy De Luca.

Caesar became famous for “Your Show of Shows,” which began its television run from 1950 to 1954, followed by “Caesar’s Hour,” which combined sketches, musical revues and situation comedy.  Both shows featured writers who became famous in their own right, including Neil Simon, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks and Woody Allen, who contributed to Caesar’s comedy as a writer for one of his specials. Caesar also appeared in a number of films, including “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” (1963), “Airport 1975” (1974) and “Grease” (1978). He received a Tony nomination for his performance in the 1962 show “Little Me,” which was written by Simon.

Mel Brooks visited Caesar in his final hours to say goodbye and tweeted the following message on Wednesday:

“Sid Caesar was a giant-maybe the best comedian who ever practiced the trade and I was privileged to be one of his writers and one of his friends.”