One of the greatest American comedy actors of the 1950s, Sidney Caesar, died recently at his home in Beverly Hills, California. He passed away at the ripe old age of 91 years. He was born Isaac Sidney Caesar on September 8, 1922. Sid was at his peak in the 1950s as two of his TV shows ‘Your Show of Shows’ and ‘Caesar’s Hour’ became a runaway hit and ran successfully for a long time and set the standard for all the other comedians and comedy shows that came into the scene subsequently.
Over a period of 60 years, he was honored with numerous awards. Such was his talent that he was nominated for the prestigious Emmy awards a record 11 times. Sid had a huge fan following and some of his famous fans were Albert Einstein and Alfred Hitchcock. His live 90-minute comedy show ‘Your Show of Shows’ was such a huge hit that many other producers were demanding that the show be moved to a weekday as it was eating into the viewership of many other shows which aired on a Saturday. His pairing with Imogene Coca was loved by almost the entire American TV audience.
Sid was an alcoholic and a pill addict which made people realize that in the end, he was only human. Sid was also known for his explosive temper which surfaced once in a while and unfortunately, a poor horse became the victim of Sid’s rage when it was knocked out cold by a punch after having thrown Sid’s wife off its back.
Once his charm faded, he disappeared from the public memory, but his legend remained strong. Sid was also an expert Saxophonist and authored several books. He inspired many to become comedians thanks to his rare talent of improvising, which was the main reason why people loved him.