His career peaked long before I was born so Sid was more well known to my generation through his numerous cameos in Mel Brooks’ Seventies movies (Silent Movie, History of the World Part I), a starring role in It’s Mad Mad…World (a staple of HBO for a while), Las Vegas Vacation, Grease and usually playing grandfathers.
Sid’s career on live TV gave rise indirectly to one of my favorite comedies and an early VCR rental at my house, My Favorite Year. The show’s star, King Kaiser, played by Joseph Bologna, was an obvious stand-in for Sid much like Peter O’Toole’s Swan character as Erol Flynn. I can’t praise that flick enough, check it out!
Farewell Sid. Thanks for all the early television work. Your real show gave other great comedy writers a start: Neil Simon, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner. Your performances laid down the ground work for live and recorded sketch shows.