Last night Larry Gelbart kissed me.
"Who is he?" you ask. Who, indeed. He wrote The Sid Caesar show, Mash, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Tootsie (which was nominated for an Oscar. Gelbart said the two big contenders that year were a man in a diaper and a man in a dress. The diaper* won. Gelbart told us he once said, I don't like working with anyone smaller than the Oscar. When he ran into Dustin Hoffman later, Dustin told him, I'm glad the only thing you found fault with was my height.) *Ben Kingsley as Mahatma Gandhi.
He told the audience these stories after the Sunday night preview performance of this play he wrote with Craig Wright called "Better Late". It features two of my favorite theater actors, Mike Nussbaum and John Mahoney. I considered us lucky to get two seats at the last moment until I saw where they were. Picture a horseshoe shaped auditorium, seats wrapped around the stage. We were at the tip of the horseshoe lined up with the absolute back of the stage which projected way forward. We saw the backs of the actors, sometimes a profile, or nothing, as the character was blocked by the fellow at his side.
I couldn't hear a word. Oh, an occasional fragment, but since it was out of context I didn't laugh along with the audience. As a pantomime the play did not hold up. I can hardly wait to read the reviews. If it's great, I will go again and sit front and center.
In the lobby before the performance, Art recognized Dick Christiansen, Chicago's finest critic, now critic-at-large in his retirement. We went up to say Hello and were introduced to the large smiley man next to him. Larry Gelbart. Wow. We all chatted, so exciting.
It had been advertised that Larry Gelbart was to come on stage and engage with the audience after the show, which was why we got tix for that performance. When the play ended, we watched avidly as some people put on their coats to leave, and rushed to two vacated seats in the first row, slightly off center, and settled in to watch Christiansen lead the discussion.
Dick Christiansen was a great interviewer. Instead of reviewing the play, he asked questions of Gelbart's personal history and his work. This prompted charming, often riotously funny anecdotes. Gelbart grew up in Chicago. His father was a barber. They moved to LA where his father was a celebrity barber to the stars. He mentioned this irony - his dad was the barber for Jack Ruby and JFK.
He started writing comedy when he was in High School. He said it's been like High School ever since, without the homework.
Gelbart wrote the "Oh God" movie. (Was that the name?) He wanted Mel Brooks to play God, but Mel turned it down, saying he didn't want the demotion. They got George Burns instead. It was easy for George, because George is God.
Sid Caesar was a lovely man, easy to work with. He often didn't get the satire, or whom he was satirizing, but he trusted the writers and didn't question the work. He could do whatever was required. Sid told Gelbart this story. Sid was shaving, his little girl watching. "Daddy, what's your last name?" "Caesar, just like yours." "What's your first name?" "Mom calls me Sidney. My friends call me Sid." She stares at him. " "You're Sid Caesar?"
I laughed, and howled, and screeched for the half hour they chatted on the stage. As they left the stage, they had to pass us, so they both said Goodbye, and as I shook Larry's hand, I said, "I loved it." .
He hugged me, and gave me a big kiss. Sigh.
---Florence
What a wonderful story about a man who obviously loves what he did, loves what he is doing, and loves what he still plans to do.
And he even has good judgment in knowing who to kiss!
Go Florence!
Shelly
Posted by: Shelly Reuben | April 01, 2008 at 05:24 PM
Gelbert, Reiner, M Brooks, W Allen--every so often durongt PBS "begging for $ week, they run a documentary about the writers of "Show of Shows". Usually followed by a similar special about Jack Benny of Waukegan. Both terific shows.
Posted by: jonny c, ex of HP | April 03, 2008 at 11:49 AM