The comedian Sid Caesar died today at the age of ninety-one. In the March 3, 1973, issue of the magazine, Pauline Kael reviewed a compilation film of Caesar’s sketches, “Ten From Your Show of Shows.” The review traces the arc of Caesar’s career, which was then in its twilight. “In his great days, Sid Caesar was a special kind of comic actor, with a gift for expansion. He could swell himself and become living slapstick, but his style was blunt,” Kael writes. “His comedy appealed to highbrows, but it was never genteel; it had the frenzy of great sophomoric humor, of the Mad comics. That’s what we wanted of him. If you saw him when you were young enough, maybe he’ll always be the greatest clown for you.”
Read the full Kael review (available to subscribers only) and enjoy this classic clip of Caesar and his co-star, Imogene Coca:
Photograph: CBS/Getty