Sid Caesar - Later Years

Later Years

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Caesar continued to make occasional television and night club appearances and starred in several movies including Silent Movie, History of the World, Part I, Airport 1975 and as Coach Calhoun in Grease and its sequel, Grease 2, in 1982. In 1971 he starred opposite Carol Channing and a young Tommy Lee Jones in the Broadway show Four on a Garden. In 1973, Sid and Max Liebman mined their own personal kinescopes from Your Show of Shows (NBC had 'lost' the studio copies) and they produced a feature film Ten From Your Show of Shows, a compilation of some of their best sketches. In 1974, Caesar said, "I'd like to be back every week" on TV and appeared in the NBC skit-based comedy television pilot called, Hamburgers. In 1977, after blanking out during a stage performance of Neil Simon's The Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Sid gave up alcohol 'cold turkey'. His autobiography, Where Have I Been, published in 1983 and his second book, Caesar's Hours, both chronicle his struggle to overcome alcoholism and barbiturates. In 1983, Sid hosted Season 8, episode 12 of Saturday Night Live where he received a standing ovation to start the show and was awarded with a plaque that declared him as an honorary member to conclude the show (He is the only host to receive this honor). In 1986, Caesar appeared as Frosh the Jailer in Die Fledermaus at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Although advancing in age, Caesar has remained active by appearing in movies, television shows, at award shows and autograph signings. In 1995 he appeared in the movie The Great Mom Swap. In 1996 the Writers Guild of America, West reunited Caesar with nine of his writers from Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour for a special, two-hour panel discussion featuring head writer Mel Tolkin, Caesar, Carl Reiner, Aaron Ruben, Larry Gelbart, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Danny Simon, Sheldon Keller, and Gary Belkin. The event was taped, and later broadcast on PBS in the United States and the BBC in the UK. It has since been made available on DVD. In 1997, he made a guest appearance in Vegas Vacation and The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit in 1998 based on a Ray Bradbury novel. Also that year, Caesar joined fellow television icons Bob Hope and Milton Berle at the 50th anniversary of the Primetime Emmy Awards, where the three were greeted with a long standing ovation. He performed his famous double-talk in a foreign dub skit (a skit format inspired by, and paying homage to double-talk) on the November 21, 2001 episode of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, to which he was received with an extended standing ovation by the crowd, as well as a surprise birthday cake from the cast and crew. In 2003, he joined Edie Adams and Marvin Kaplan at a 40th anniversary celebration for It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World. In 2004, Caesar's second autobiography, Caesar's Hours, was published, and in March 2006, Caesar was presented with the 'Pioneer Award' at the 2006 TV Land Awards. Caesar performed his famous double-talk for over five minutes.