By Michael Lyons
“Inviting people to laugh with you while you laugh at yourself is a good thing to do. You may be the fool, but you’re the fool in charge.” - Carl Reiner
Well, Carl Reiner was definitely no fool and when it came to comedy, he was always in charge.
Sadly, we lost Carl when he passed away last week on June 29, at the age of 98. However, we are fortunate that his career that spans over 70 years and includes some of TV and film’s greatest comedies, loved buy multiple generations, will now live on for generations to come.
To honor Carl, here are some highlights from his amazing career:
Left to right: Carl Reiner, Sid Caesar and Imogene Cocoa
In “Your Show of Shows
“Your Show of Shows” (1950-1954)
There would have been no SNL, heck there’d be no “sketch comedy” on TV, if it wasn’t for this show. From the Golden-Age of live TV, Sid Cesar, Imogene Cocoa and Carl all launched their careers here, providing not just laughter, but also creating a TV genre that is still around to his day.
Left to Right: Dick Van Dyke, Rose Marie and Carl Reiner
In “The Dick Van Dyke Show”
“The Dick Van Dyke Show” (1961-1966)
Carl originally envisioned this as show with himself starring in the lead (and even filmed a pilot), but producers had another vision. The end result was this classic sitcom about writers for a variety show (how meta, before we knew what that even was).
Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore became stars, Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam became iconic comic sidekicks and with Reiner himself in the recurring role of Alan Brady, TV History was born.
Left to Right: Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks performing
“The 2,000-Year-Old Man”
“The 2,000-Year-Old Man”
What started as an idea during “Your Show of Shows” developed into a sketch in which Reiner would play a reporter interviewing the world’s oldest, 2,000-year-old man, played by his “Show” co-writer and best friend, Mel Brooks. The two would record a series of “2,000-Year-Old-Man” record albums, starting in 1960.
The popularity of the albums led to Reiner and Brooks performing “The 2,000-Year-Old-Man” on popular variety shows throughout the ‘60’s and even producing an animated special that aired in 1975.
These simple, improvised moments created by Reiner and Brooks, have gone on to become the template for sketch comedy with sly commentary on society.
“Enter Laughing” (1967)
“Enter Laughing” (1967)
Reiner’s directorial debut was based on his autobiographical novel about a young man (Reno Santoni) attempting to break into acting in New York City.
A nice coming of age story with some sharp dialogue and great character moments hints at what was to come in Reiner’s film career.
“Where’s Poppa” (1972)
“Where’s Poppa?” (1972)
Dark comedies don’t get much darker than this story about an attorney (George Segal) attempting to deal with his ailing mother (Ruth Gordon), who is slipping into senility.
Somewhat controversial at its time, “Where’s Poppa?” showed how daring and irreverent Reiner could be.
“Oh God!” (1977)
“Oh God!” (1977)
Reiner directed this endearing comedy about an “Everyman” (John Denver), who is visited by God, played by George Burns.
Filled with such genuine laughter and heart, this hit film still has many who have seen it hoping that when they do get to Heaven, God does appear to them in the form of George Burns!
“The Jerk” (1979)
The Steve Martin Years
At the height of his “wild and crazy” popularity, Steve Martin partnered with Carl Reiner as director of films, such as “The Jerk’ (1979) and “All of Me’ (1984) that have become comic gold, as well as others such as “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid,” (1982) which is a forgotten, creative wonder and “The Man with Two Brains,” (1983) which is just plain bonkers.
“Summer Rental” (1985)
“Summer School” (1987)
“Summers” in the ‘80’s
Audiences have two, memorable summer comedies, thanks to Carl Reiner.
In 1985, Reiner directed John Candy, as a put upon husband and father trying to give his family a memorable beach vacation in “Summer Rental.” Two years later brought “Summer School,” with Mark Harmon as a casual, surfer-dude teacher, forced to teach summer school and help a class of less-than-stellar students succeed.
Each is a time capsule of the ‘80’s and remembered fondly by the generation who grew up with them.
More than anything else, through his TV shows and movies that now stand the test of time, Carl Reiner made the world a better place through laughter...something we sorely need right now.
Sources:
IMDb
Wikipedia
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