Hail Caesar! Margolick’s New Bio Profiles Variety Show King Sid Caesar

Television has likely never had a more hilarious writers’ room: Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Neil Simon, Woody Allen all did their time. Even so, when author David Margolick interviewed Brooks for his new biography of Sid Caesar, Brooks told him, “People are going to say, ‘Gee, this is really good and really interesting. Just one question, David: ‘Who’s Sid Caesar?’ ”

Well, Margolick, a longtime New York Times and Vanity Fair writer, has hopefully put the question to rest, detailing the man who, by 1954, was considered the most influential and highly paid comedian in America. When Caesar Was King: How Sid Caesar Reinvented American Comedy is a lively and thoroughly engrossing account of who Caesar was, why he was so important, and how he transformed American comedy with his influential TV program, “Your Show of Shows,” with co-star Imogene Coca and followed by his own “Caesar’s Hour,” which ran until 1957. Among Caesar’s contributions: the first to use long-running comedic skits such as the “The Hickenloopers,” about the tribulations of a married couple played by Caesar and Coca. He could seemingly imitate anyone from a pretentious German professor to a gumball machine and a bottle of seltzer.

The book, which hit shelves in November, has been long-listed for a Pen/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography. I went directly to the author for the why, how, and when it came together.

So how did this one come about?

I decided I wanted to write about a Jew who made me laugh rather than weep. I knew he was famous for being a pioneer, though I had not watched him growing up. Everybody seemed to worship him, and I was just curious. He had been an important figure who’d been forgotten. So, this was a double-edged story: what made him so important and why he was ultimately forgotten.

How important was his Jewishness? For him and you?

I am interested in Jewish-American history, and I felt I had a lot to experience by doing a book of this kind. This would give me a chance to explore my own Jewish soul. I grew up in a town [Yonkers, NY] where my brothers and I had the only bar mitzvahs in 40 years.

How many people do you think you interviewed?

Surely in the hundreds. I interviewed Sid [who passed in 2014 at the age of 92]], Woody Allen, Mel Brooks—anyone who was still around. And others who were influenced by him, like Conan O’Brien, Billy Crystal, and Al Franken. I reached out in innumerable directions. I missed many who were now gone, like Larry Gilbert and Imogene Coca, Sid’s great leading lady on the show. Woody Allen never wrote for “Show of Shows” but he wrote for a few of the specials [and] he wanted to talk about him. All these people were generous. They realized he had made their careers. They wanted to restore him to the position he deserved. I did interview Rob Reiner in the beginning. He grew up with these guys when the show was on. We reached out to him to send him a book. He said he’d already read it and thanked me. It turned out to be two weeks before he died.

Was Caesar himself open to the idea of your book?

In his own mind, he was still very much a star. So, he thought a serious author coming around was a positive. He wasn’t conceited about it, but he was somewhat nonchalant.

Do you worry about this book being only for older people?

Because it was part of a series [on Jewish history] I don’t think the publisher was thinking commercially. It is hard to write a story about someone of that era and make it appealing to younger readers. Rob Reiner and I talked about this. In fact, It’s one of the challenges of a book like this. So, I have quotes from Jon Stewart and Larry David discussing Caesar’s influence on them. Conan told me the first time he watched an old episode of Caesar, he knew “I am going to be a comedian.” But it is a challenge. We are in an a-historic culture when many people don’t remember.

How’s the book doing since its release in November?

All I know is, it has received important reviews: a four-page story in The New Yorker, and the Wall Street Journal, among others. Seems lots of people are talking about it and reacting to it very emotionally. More than any other I’ve written, this is striking a nerve in a way. I know those who read it are really affected by it.

I assume the big challenge was also actually seeing the old shows?

Correct. It wasn’t syndicated like “I Love Lucy” or “The Honeymooners.” Most of the episodes were at the Paley Center in NY, and some at UCLA, where Caesar donated his collection. I probably saw 80 percent of the originals. In the end [Caesar did three years on his own with Caesar’s Hour after Show of Shows ended], he was beaten by Lawrence Welk as tastes were changing—and lowering. So, of course, Caesar did wonderful spoofs of Lawrence Welk.

Wow, a real challenge?

Television was new, so no one thought to preserve that history. I had to dig very deep, and I went all over the place to reassemble this story. We become very grateful to the archivists. There are always people who do you favors and others who should be strung up.

Johnny Carson plays a role here, yes?

When Caesar hit the skids, Johnny had him on his show several times. Sid was drinking and popping pills. Carson, [Dick] Cavett, Jackie Gleason all acknowledged Sid had inspired them. Johnny Carson’s people sent me all the shows he was on. Which was beyond nice and helpful.

Seems Mel Brooks, more than any others, has a lot to love with this book.

He said, “No Sid Caesar, no Mel Brooks.” Sid plucked him from obscurity. He has the first words of the book and I believe the last lines.

What’s next for you?

I am doing one on Jonas Salk. Turned out he and Caesar were great admirers of each other.