Flutterby™! : RIP Sid Caesar

Mark Evanier remembers Sid Caesar.

Another thing Howie said. He took me once to a lunch group — a bunch of out-of-work actors gathering every Thursday afternoon at Cafe Roma in Beverly Hills. The "cast" was mainly folks who'd worked on Hogan's Heroes, which Howie had directed. As we got there, Robert Clary said, "Sid will be joining us today."

Howie said, "Really? Who are we going to talk to?" Because — and this was one of the big reasons Sid wasn't on TV more — there was no Sid Caesar when he wasn't in character. Give him a role to don, especially a role with a dialect, and no one was funnier. But Sid playing Sid? Nothing.

From the Metafilter thread.