CAESAR'S WRITERS (TV)
Summary
This special, presented in the form of a panel discussion, reunites comedian Sid Caesar with nine of his writers who created material for his classic series from television's golden age: "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour." Host Billy Crystal opens the program by showing clips of Caesar in classic skits, including scenes with Imogene Coca, Nanette Fabray, Carl Reiner, and Howie Morris. Moderator Bob Claster leads guests Mel Tolkin, Carl Reiner, Aaron Ruben, Larry Gelbart, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Danny Simon, Sheldon Keller, and Gary Belkin in a discussion of the following topics, among others: Impresario Max Liebman's organization of "The Admiral Broadway Revue" and his habit of throwing lit cigars at Brooks (a clip of an Admiral television commercial is shown here), the cost of producing each episode of "Your Show of Shows," why their collaborative efforts were a mixture of electricity and hate, why Ruben was elected to type up their ideas, Caesar's compulsive meticulousness, the story behind Caesar's "gold throne," and Neil Simon and his brother Danny's "office" located on the landing of a staircase.
Next, Reiner and Caesar reenact a sketch written by the Simons about the world's most famous magician puzzled by a very simple trick, and a clip is shown of Caesar ad-libbing during his spoof of Pagliacci. Following this, the writers remember the humor of Caesar's brother Dave, and they reconstruct a bit of one of Brooks's songs that never made it on the air, "The Anti-Semitic Polka." They reminisce about their famous spy sketches, particularly "The Cumbersome Diamond," and why walking down the street with Brooks was bound to lead to something terrible. The writers recount Caesar's talent for double talk in foreign languages, after which Caesar and Reiner perform a satire of "The Bicycle Thief," and a clip of Caesar as a German general is shown. The writers then examine the Emmy Awards, the process of becoming comedy writers rather than comedians, the inspiration from movies for the ideas behind some of their comic sketches, and the change in television comedy toward situation comedies beginning in the 1960s. Tolkin closes the program by telling a story that clearly identifies the symbiotic relationship between a comedian and his writers.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 1998.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS WNET New York, NY
- DATE: August 19, 1996 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:03:06
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:52707
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; Interviews; Writing
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV, 1996
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Marker Karahadian … Producer
- Michael Hirsh … Producer, Director, Writer
- Melora Haeli Pineda … Associate Producer
- Saryl T. Radwin … Researcher
- Mel Tolkin … Writer, "Stars Over Broadway" theme from "Your Show of Shows" written by
- Dan Trollinger … Music (Misc.) , Original music and arrangements by
- Billy Crystal … Host
- Bob Claster … Moderator
- Gary Belkin … Panelist
- Mel Brooks … Panelist
- Sid Caesar … Panelist
- Larry Gelbart … Panelist
- Sheldon Keller … Panelist
- Carl Reiner … Panelist
- Aaron Ruben … Panelist
- Danny Simon … Panelist
- Simon, Neil (See also: Simon, Doc) … Panelist
- Mel Tolkin … Panelist
- Yul Brynner
- Dave Caesar
- Imogene Coca
- Nanette Fabray
- Max Liebman
- Howard Morris
- Michael Stewart
- Pat Weaver
- Lawrence Welk