Please don't despair! I've been hunting for more Sid Caesar stuff for dozens of years, and only just found your fabulous channel. You can be sure I'll be watching anything you might have. I remember watching these shows when they were broadcast live in the 50s, and it's been a giant source of frustration that so few people nowadays even know they existed. I understand Sid himself was partially to blame, for not allowing them to be rerun. My dream is that one day the whole collection of kinescopes will be restored and made available -- what a treasure trove that would be! Meanwhile, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
Thanks for your comment, Richard. This channel continues to not be growing at a pace anywhere near I expected (based on several years' experience posting vintage material to YT), but I'm glad if it reaches even a handful of Sid Caesar fans, since really none of it is commercially available in any way at this point. The good news, which I found out only this year, is that virtually all of the kinescopes of YSOS and Caesar's Hour do survive today-- they're almost all held by the Paley Center. The bad news is, the chances of their releasing any of this material to the public is basically zero. You have to go to one of their locations in person, in NYC or LA, to view the material. But at least it hasn't been destroyed. I have a ton more to post on this channel, but I've been wrapped up in real life stuff. Keep an eye out for more posts next year, a great deal of which are sketches never released on home video since the VHS era. Thanks for the support!
+Sid Caesar: Your Show of Shows / Caesar's Hour / Admiral Broadway Revue Wonderful!! I think some of the copyright laws may be in for some changes soon, now that they've basically realized there's hardly any profit to be made from them any more. One more thing: the number of views here on UA-cam doesn't include downloads. When I find something juicy, I download it, convert it to DivX and burn it, and there may be a lot of others doing the same, so there may be a lot more people catching your stuff than you imagine. Meantime, PLEASE post away whenever you get the chance!
I'm not sure whether that's true; those 3rd party downloaders have to grab the videos from UA-cam, so I'm pretty sure that a download *does* count as a view. In any event, the viewership has begun to pick up a bit at least, but these videos are still criminally unnoticed for the most part. As long as they reach some of the fans, at least, I'm glad!
+Sid Caesar: Your Show of Shows / Caesar's Hour / Admiral Broadway Revue It is unfortunately true. My UA-cam downloads were not counted as views. I checked. Meantime, I'm salivating at the thought that you plan to post some more!
I'm finally resuming posts, Richard! I can't thank you enough for your contribution of several hours of new sketches (and I'm sorry it's taken so long to make time to work on them, just crazy busy with other things.) I'll be sending the stuff you asked for very shortly-- thank you for being patient with me, and for helping so generously in the cause of exposing this material more!
For years I've been dreaming of seeing once again the "Mustard" sketch. Of all things, this rare Caesar's Hour episode is it! Thank's so much. Incidentally, I've been in the studio audience for only one TV show in my life: Your show of Shows (thanks to a friend's "connected" father). It was pretty awful -- the cameras were huge and the small monitors were the only way to see much of it. You also had to be seated about 45 minutes or so before the show began -- several hours subjectively for a twelve year old.
Glad you enjoyed it! And thanks for confirming something I always suspected: you saw far more of the action of YSOS on TV than you would have in the theater audience. I know you were only 12 (what a long time to wait for it to start!), but I wonder (if you remember) if Sid's monologue was easier to view. He always insisted that the cameras remain stationary for it; he felt, correctly, that if they moved, the audience would peripherally watch them, rather than him. (He was the most television-savvy of the medium's early comics.) ---kjh
All I remember about the monologue was i think I could see Sid full body, but who knows. For sure he had that little cough when he started talking. Lately I hear it was a definite issue at some point. Right now I'm reading Funny Man: Mel Brooks (Patrick McGilligan, just published). Apparently Mel, at least up to page 124, was nuts.@@sidcaesaryourshowofshowsca2250
@@harrylangdon491 I'm reading it as well. It certainly is a warts and all portrait. I find it interesting that while McGilligan stresses Mel's penchant for exaggeration, he repeats some of his most exaggerated stories. I'm writing about Sid and YSOS and always look for corroboration--either from Sid or one of the other writers! It's also frustrating that McGilligan doesn't provide (at least from my perspective) sufficient citations, except for direct quotes. --kjh (And there are some inaccuracies!)
Loved "The Commuters" sketches as time capsules into 1950s angst. There was incredible pressure back then to not only be highly successful, but also self-assured and "normal" in every sense of the term. The irony was that most adults back then probably had personal experiences from the Great Depression and WWII that would have naturally afflicted them with what most of us now would recognize as PTSD. But there were simply no acceptable outlets back then . . . other than booze. And this episode (however unintentionally) really speaks to that, IMHO. It's both fascinating and heartbreaking. Thanks so much for posting.
This is a tour de force performance by Sid, but also extremely sad. He was deep into psychoanalysis @ this point in his life -- and he & his writers were all too familiar w/ his struggles w/ barbiturates & alcohol. They were all brilliant and, likely, struggling w/ the fact that such a seemingly obvious problem couldn't be easily licked. But, tragically, that's how substance abuse works. Sid, mercifully, conquered his addictions in his late 50s -- but he lost a lot of time in his career & ruined his chances of being one of the great actors of the 20th century (which he had the God-given talent to be). I love the man -- but always regard his life as a cautionary tale. Thanks so much for posting!
giles422 :) I love sharing this stuff. I just wish I could figure out how to get more people to notice this channel. I'm very dismayed how slow the viewership has grown. Many of these sketches used to be posted on a channel I had called the Vintage Comedy Vault (I posted them in tribute to Sid shortly after he died), and they all had thousands of views. Now, the same videos, I'm lucky if 50 people watch them. I posted the 1967 reunion special which hasn't been seen publicly in 50 years, a classic from start to finish that won two Emmys, and after several months, it doesn't even have 2,000 views yet. If I'd posted it to my old channel, it would probably have over 10,000 by now. It's the UA-cam search engine's fault. Very frustrating, but it just makes me appreciate comments like your all the more. (I don't think there have been even a dozen comments left on this entire channel so far!)
it'll take time I guess for people to find it, but they will, just keep posting whenever you can and I and the others will keep sharing and shouting. Have no fear!
+giles422 A month after posting this, the only complete "Caesar's Hour" show on all of UA-cam, and this video still doesn't have even 100 views. I tend to think there are more than 100 people in the WORLD who would be interested in seeing this. Sigh. Thank you so very much , UA-cam search engine. Ridiculous!
OMG, the whole exchange between Mr. Sid & Peggy Lee starting at 33:00 just kills me. Sid was the original "Ted Baxter" -- w. a veneer of ridiculous pomposity masking deep-rooted insecurity, But he was *so* adorable -- especially when he says, "It would make me look like such a schnook -- oh, ya comin, Ms. Lee?! Ya *must* come!!" And then when he falls down on the ground -- just like a toddler throwing a tantrum(!) -- I just wanna hug him!! Thanks so much for posting!!!
At first I assumed that this was the first episode that featured "The Commuters" at all, since it set up the whole premise in such detail. But now I see that there was at least one ("The White Rug") that came before this. Of all the ones you've posted so far, I think this is the only one that actually shows any of them _commuting_, though! '_
i did not realize that in those days Sid Caesar was so young born in 1922 . Miss Coca on the other hand was born in 1908 . I always thought being on early TV meant you around the age of Red Skelton or Jackie Gleason .
The sad part of the opening on train sequence showing Sid hung over, turned out to be his problem in real life...because of the huge pressures of live tv, drink and pills, took an awful toll on Sid in real life
Doing 39 live ninety minute shows a year with primarily a four person ensemble might drive a person to drink. Compare the workload to Saturday Night Live where there is a much larger cast and they do only about 20 shows a year.
Hey thank you so so much. I have one question if you're around to answer it. When you say "most of the series does survive," where is that? Is it a private archive, and if so, could you tell me whose it is? I am just so curious, and somewhat relieved to know that not all of this material is lost.
I'm assuming that this format was very different from most of the other episodes, since the whole show was essentially one long sketch. Any idea what the usual format was?
From the few complete CHs I've seen at the Paley, there was no usual format. Some episodes *were* one long sketch. Others featured several sketches, which were usually longer than the sketches on YSOS, with acts/routines from guest stars. I saw one with a great take-off of "On the Town" that took up almost an entire hour. (I realize how unhelpful all of this is!) Some day, on to watching all of CH! --kjh
Sid didn't want to continue the "revue" format Max Liebman had created for "YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS": a comedy sketch here, a lavish production number there, followed by a ballet or operatic number, and then one of Sid's pantomimes or monologues (or a routine featuring Carl Reiner and "The Professor"). He wanted to stage a little of both on HIS terms, and take his time in presenting them. If he wanted to present an extended sketch or production number, he WOULD. If the sketch or production number demanded more time than the average variety show offered, he DID.
this was an unusual episode, and I (offhand) don't know of any other Caesar's Hour structured quite like this one, with the ONE single sketch dominating the entire show... Often there was one major sketch, and then minor ones...but that show was sooo varied. The Paley Center does have the lions share of the actual broadcasts- I have watched many of them, used to go and choose two each time. And the scale and strength and variety of comedy forms Caesar's Hour used, and the power and excitement of a full broadcast has to be seen to be believed. It was amazing then, and utterly incomprehensible today.
![Admiral Broadway Revue: Complete Show (Feb 4, 1949) [Sid Caesar's first TV series - RARE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZcJfktk-5yU/mqdefault.jpg)
![Admiral Broadway Revue: Complete Show (Feb 4, 1949) [Sid Caesar's first TV series - RARE]](/img/tr.png)
![SID CAESAR: Nan Hires a Maid [THE COMMUTERS] (CAESAR'S HOUR, Jan 17 1955)](/img/n.gif)
Never ceases to amaze me... This was a large production!!!
I said it before but I'll say it again -- THANKS for the Sid Caesar shows . They are terrific!
Glad you're enjoying them! We're always on the look-out for new ones that might pop up--you never know! --kjh
Peggy what a beautiful ❤️❤️ voice
Yes I agree
Please don't despair! I've been hunting for more Sid Caesar stuff for dozens of years, and only just found your fabulous channel. You can be sure I'll be watching anything you might have. I remember watching these shows when they were broadcast live in the 50s, and it's been a giant source of frustration that so few people nowadays even know they existed. I understand Sid himself was partially to blame, for not allowing them to be rerun. My dream is that one day the whole collection of kinescopes will be restored and made available -- what a treasure trove that would be! Meanwhile, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
Thanks for your comment, Richard. This channel continues to not be growing at a pace anywhere near I expected (based on several years' experience posting vintage material to YT), but I'm glad if it reaches even a handful of Sid Caesar fans, since really none of it is commercially available in any way at this point.
The good news, which I found out only this year, is that virtually all of the kinescopes of YSOS and Caesar's Hour do survive today-- they're almost all held by the Paley Center. The bad news is, the chances of their releasing any of this material to the public is basically zero. You have to go to one of their locations in person, in NYC or LA, to view the material. But at least it hasn't been destroyed.
I have a ton more to post on this channel, but I've been wrapped up in real life stuff. Keep an eye out for more posts next year, a great deal of which are sketches never released on home video since the VHS era. Thanks for the support!
+Sid Caesar: Your Show of Shows / Caesar's Hour / Admiral Broadway Revue Wonderful!! I think some of the copyright laws may be in for some changes soon, now that they've basically realized there's hardly any profit to be made from them any more.
One more thing: the number of views here on UA-cam doesn't include downloads. When I find something juicy, I download it, convert it to DivX and burn it, and there may be a lot of others doing the same, so there may be a lot more people catching your stuff than you imagine.
Meantime, PLEASE post away whenever you get the chance!
I'm not sure whether that's true; those 3rd party downloaders have to grab the videos from UA-cam, so I'm pretty sure that a download *does* count as a view. In any event, the viewership has begun to pick up a bit at least, but these videos are still criminally unnoticed for the most part. As long as they reach some of the fans, at least, I'm glad!
+Sid Caesar: Your Show of Shows / Caesar's Hour / Admiral Broadway Revue It is unfortunately true. My UA-cam downloads were not counted as views. I checked. Meantime, I'm salivating at the thought that you plan to post some more!
I'm finally resuming posts, Richard! I can't thank you enough for your contribution of several hours of new sketches (and I'm sorry it's taken so long to make time to work on them, just crazy busy with other things.)
I'll be sending the stuff you asked for very shortly-- thank you for being patient with me, and for helping so generously in the cause of exposing this material more!
For years I've been dreaming of seeing once again the "Mustard" sketch. Of all things, this rare Caesar's Hour episode is it! Thank's so much. Incidentally, I've been in the studio audience for only one TV show in my life: Your show of Shows (thanks to a friend's "connected" father). It was pretty awful -- the cameras were huge and the small monitors were the only way to see much of it. You also had to be seated about 45 minutes or so before the show began -- several hours subjectively for a twelve year old.
Glad you enjoyed it! And thanks for confirming something I always suspected: you saw far more of the action of YSOS on TV than you would have in the theater audience. I know you were only 12 (what a long time to wait for it to start!), but I wonder (if you remember) if Sid's monologue was easier to view. He always insisted that the cameras remain stationary for it; he felt, correctly, that if they moved, the audience would peripherally watch them, rather than him. (He was the most television-savvy of the medium's early comics.)
---kjh
All I remember about the monologue was i think I could see Sid full body, but who knows. For sure he had that little cough when he started talking. Lately I hear it was a definite issue at some point. Right now I'm reading Funny Man: Mel Brooks (Patrick McGilligan, just published). Apparently Mel, at least up to page 124, was nuts.@@sidcaesaryourshowofshowsca2250
@@harrylangdon491 I'm reading it as well. It certainly is a warts and all portrait. I find it interesting that while McGilligan stresses Mel's penchant for exaggeration, he repeats some of his most exaggerated stories. I'm writing about Sid and YSOS and always look for corroboration--either from Sid or one of the other writers! It's also frustrating that McGilligan doesn't provide (at least from my perspective) sufficient citations, except for direct quotes. --kjh (And there are some inaccuracies!)
Loved "The Commuters" sketches as time capsules into 1950s angst. There was incredible pressure back then to not only be highly successful, but also self-assured and "normal" in every sense of the term. The irony was that most adults back then probably had personal experiences from the Great Depression and WWII that would have naturally afflicted them with what most of us now would recognize as PTSD. But there were simply no acceptable outlets back then . . . other than booze. And this episode (however unintentionally) really speaks to that, IMHO. It's both fascinating and heartbreaking. Thanks so much for posting.
Well said
Thanks so much for posting. Brings back so many great memories! Sid and company were simply the BEST!
I just re-found the complete Carol Burnett show, and I was hoping to find the same for Sid. Unfortunately, that was not to be.
This is a tour de force performance by Sid, but also extremely sad. He was deep into psychoanalysis @ this point in his life -- and he & his writers were all too familiar w/ his struggles w/ barbiturates & alcohol. They were all brilliant and, likely, struggling w/ the fact that such a seemingly obvious problem couldn't be easily licked. But, tragically, that's how substance abuse works. Sid, mercifully, conquered his addictions in his late 50s -- but he lost a lot of time in his career & ruined his chances of being one of the great actors of the 20th century (which he had the God-given talent to be). I love the man -- but always regard his life as a cautionary tale. Thanks so much for posting!
Now that is singing. No fake crap just singing
dude, what you are doing by sharing what you do have... there aren't any words. THANKS
giles422 :) I love sharing this stuff. I just wish I could figure out how to get more people to notice this channel. I'm very dismayed how slow the viewership has grown. Many of these sketches used to be posted on a channel I had called the Vintage Comedy Vault (I posted them in tribute to Sid shortly after he died), and they all had thousands of views. Now, the same videos, I'm lucky if 50 people watch them. I posted the 1967 reunion special which hasn't been seen publicly in 50 years, a classic from start to finish that won two Emmys, and after several months, it doesn't even have 2,000 views yet. If I'd posted it to my old channel, it would probably have over 10,000 by now. It's the UA-cam search engine's fault. Very frustrating, but it just makes me appreciate comments like your all the more. (I don't think there have been even a dozen comments left on this entire channel so far!)
Sid Caesar: Your Show of Shows / Caesar's Hour / Admiral Broadway Revue
it'll take time I guess for people to find it, but they will, just keep posting whenever you can and I and the others will keep sharing and shouting. Have no fear!
+giles422 A month after posting this, the only complete "Caesar's Hour" show on all of UA-cam, and this video still doesn't have even 100 views. I tend to think there are more than 100 people in the WORLD who would be interested in seeing this. Sigh. Thank you so very much , UA-cam search engine. Ridiculous!
OUTSTANDING AMAZING REMARKABLE THANK YOU
giles422 Glad you enjoyed it-- I just wish I had more of the complete shows!
Even in those early days of TV, a title sequence like the stop-motion one in "Caesar's Hour" was ahead of its time.
This is absolutely hysterical! Thanks for sharing!
I'm glad you enjoyed it-- I need to get back to posting videos on this channel. There are many hours of material to post!
OMG, the whole exchange between Mr. Sid & Peggy Lee starting at 33:00 just kills me. Sid was the original "Ted Baxter" -- w. a veneer of ridiculous pomposity masking deep-rooted insecurity, But he was *so* adorable -- especially when he says, "It would make me look like such a schnook -- oh, ya comin, Ms. Lee?! Ya *must* come!!" And then when he falls down on the ground -- just like a toddler throwing a tantrum(!) -- I just wanna hug him!! Thanks so much for posting!!!
Oh my goodness Peggy Lee was in a class by herself.
I agree
This was the day I was born.
fantastic! Oh my! : )))))
I wish there were more full episodes available. For the most part, only certain sketches from episodes are available.
Brilliant!!
At first I assumed that this was the first episode that featured "The Commuters" at all, since it set up the whole premise in such detail. But now I see that there was at least one ("The White Rug") that came before this. Of all the ones you've posted so far, I think this is the only one that actually shows any of them _commuting_, though! '_
i did not realize that in those days Sid Caesar was so young born in 1922 . Miss Coca on the other hand was born in 1908 . I always thought being on early TV meant you around the age of Red Skelton or Jackie Gleason .
The sad part of the opening on train sequence showing Sid hung over, turned out to be his problem in real life...because of the huge pressures of live tv, drink and pills, took an awful toll on Sid in real life
Doing 39 live ninety minute shows a year with primarily a four person ensemble might drive a person to drink. Compare the workload to Saturday Night Live where there is a much larger cast and they do only about 20 shows a year.
True
How about Bob? Anyone???
The.best
Hey thank you so so much. I have one question if you're around to answer it. When you say "most of the series does survive," where is that? Is it a private archive, and if so, could you tell me whose it is? I am just so curious, and somewhat relieved to know that not all of this material is lost.
Ernest T. Bass!!
I'm assuming that this format was very different from most of the other episodes, since the whole show was essentially one long sketch. Any idea what the usual format was?
From the few complete CHs I've seen at the Paley, there was no usual format. Some episodes *were* one long sketch. Others featured several sketches, which were usually longer than the sketches on YSOS, with acts/routines from guest stars. I saw one with a great take-off of "On the Town" that took up almost an entire hour. (I realize how unhelpful all of this is!) Some day, on to watching all of CH! --kjh
Sid didn't want to continue the "revue" format Max Liebman had created for "YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS": a comedy sketch here, a lavish production number there, followed by a ballet or operatic number, and then one of Sid's pantomimes or monologues (or a routine featuring Carl Reiner and "The Professor"). He wanted to stage a little of both on HIS terms, and take his time in presenting them. If he wanted to present an extended sketch or production number, he WOULD. If the sketch or production number demanded more time than the average variety show offered, he DID.
this was an unusual episode, and I (offhand) don't know of any other Caesar's Hour structured quite like this one, with the ONE single sketch dominating the entire show... Often there was one major sketch, and then minor ones...but that show was sooo varied. The Paley Center does have the lions share of the actual broadcasts- I have watched many of them, used to go and choose two each time. And the scale and strength and variety of comedy forms Caesar's Hour used, and the power and excitement of a full broadcast has to be seen to be believed. It was amazing then, and utterly incomprehensible today.
This Is Your Story comes to mind, as (I think) the only sketch in that particular broadcast. I forget if there was a musical guest in that one...
Lmao 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Sorry, but this is laboured and tedious. Sid Caesar was very good, but the shorter and snappier sketches worked best.
I agree
not so funny today ...
Says who?
@@jazzis4u1 I do.
True