Vale, Caesar

I had a little root around the interwebs to learn something about Sid Caesar, who died yesterday, aged 91. He was a little before my time, and I might have got my greatest idea about him from the TV comedian portrayed by Joseph Bologna in My Favorite Year.

So I delved into some of his routines, and was quite taken by this one—of a Bavarian town hall clock gone, well, cuckoo:

A couple of thoughts on this: it’s astonishing to me that he spent so long (more than seven minutes) on a single schtick, building up to a completely non-verbal punchline. You wouldn’t be able to go that long without a couple of commercial breaks these days.

And I don’t think I’ll be able to look a civic clock in the eye with a straight face ever again.