Caesar's Hours: My Life In Comedy, With Love and Laughter

by Sid Caesar, Eddy W. Friedfield

It is no exaggeration to say that without Sid Caesar, comedy in America would have been a lot less funny. He was the star and guiding force behind Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour , two of the most innovative programs in the Golden Age of Television, and the writers and stars of those shows went on to create the plays, movies, and sitcoms that we now think of as classic American comedy. So many of our greatest comedy writers -- Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Larry Gelbart, Woody Allen -- were part of Sid Caesar's creative troupe. Sid was a master not only of comedic performance, but also of developing characters that the audience could relate to, finding the humor in ordinary situations rather than through vaudeville-type gags. His was a comedy truly drawn from the human condition.

Caesar's Hours is Sid Caesar 's artistic autobiography, his account of how these great routines were fashioned and performed, and the interactions that gave birth to them. He takes us inside the famed writers' room, the rehearsal studios, and onto the stage itself, where some of the funniest moments in television history came to life. To read his book is to learn why his intelligent and sensitive brand of humor resonates so much with us, even half a century later.

Genres: Biography, Humor, Nonfiction, Memoir, Autobiography

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Joy H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

RE: _Caesar's Hours: My Life In Comedy, With Love and Laughter_

This was an enjoyable read, especially because I enjoyed Sid Caesar's comedy shows so much years ago.

One quote from the book has always stayed with me:
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"What it boiled down to is the strength to be able to say, 'I don't want to think about it.' Thinking negatively is the result of guilt and insecurity... You are the person who makes yourself happy. You're the person who makes yourself sad. It's much easier to feel better when you keep remembering that." [-p.481, "Caesar's Hours, My Life in Comedy with Love and Laughter", by Sid Caesar with Eddy Friedfeld, 2003]
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Scarlett O'Hara, in _Gone with the Wind_ was always telling herself not to think about her problems. She always postponed her worrying. It was her way of surviving. Laughter is another way of surviving.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good memoir. Sid Caesar is probably best known for his television shows Your show of Shows and Caesar's hours. He was there at the start of Television.I was not born yet but have seen bits of his shows. He writes of his childhood in New York. His family were pretty well to do until the depression that destroyed his family's business. I did not realize he started out as a musician. Saxophone guess he was pretty good at it too. He writes of the famous writers he worked with such as Mel Brooks. and Carl Reiner, to name a couple. He touched on his years as an alcoholic and the trying to become sober and the toll it took on his family crediting his wife of over 60 years Florence who stuck by him during the hard times. Wish he wrote more about his movies. but still a nice memoir.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not of Caesar’s time…BUT I prefer and appreciate those years.

This was all about Sid’s shows. And I’m a big fan of his writer’s too…, as well as Howie Morris and Carl Reiner. So I enjoyed this. More than a few times I had to go to youtube to see a clip.
I got a kick out of his mentioning a town not too far from where I live. Ocean Grove, NJ – a dry town when he went thru (and is still dry today). When the fountain & pond was drained, thousands of empty liqueur bottles were found! Ha!

He described a very happy early home life. I still don’t understand his temper, anyway, I was wondering if he was going to mention the pill and alcohol issues. In Neil Simon’s Laughter on the 23rd floor, ( Which I liked…especially since Nathan Lane was in it) the movie didn’t explain his problems either. His book does not address this until the end. It was indeed the pressure…of ratings and staying on top for the almighty networks and suits.

There were many LOL moments as he described the skits, ad libs when things went wrong, descriptions of how the show was written.

Other items that impressed me –

I had no idea how he was musically trained.

How wonderful to have Einstein call and want to set up a meeting, Sid never got to speak to him, Einstein died before they could arrange a time. Sid found out years later after a lecture at Columbia from Robert Oppenheimer that Einstein admired his work and wanted to talk about the human equation.

2002 NBC’s 75th Anniversary – Jerry Seinfield opened the show with a great monologue – “our mood is festive, our tone is self-aggrandizing… Almost all of the shows were ultimately canceled by the network. 98% of the people we are honoring here were fired. So if you think people look older that you remember them, they are actually angry.” It cracked Sid up and me too… 

[Freder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was pleased as punch to set this edition at Thorndike Press -- because we got a copy of every book that we set! This is hardly a revelatory autobiography, but it is a pleasure to "sit down" and Caesar and reminisce about the golden days of television. . .

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A looking glass view of an era when television was new and everyone wanted a TV Set. I can only compare it to the boom of the Internet of the 90's and not everyone had a Computer. This is not unlike Patton Reading Rommel's book as to peek into this time.

[Paul Valenti · Rating 5 out of 5]

To me the comedian that invented true sketch comedy.
Sid as Great stories to tell. Great for any young comics who want to learn the ways of a master. Very inspiring

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice autobiography of one of America's best loved comedians.

[John G. · Rating 2 out of 5]

So boring I couldn't even finish, quite a rarity.

[Max Tachis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where his first autobiography (1982's "Where Have I Been?") delves deeper into his struggles with alcohol and sedatives, this memoir provides a more detailed account of the intricacies of his career and, in effect, comedy itself. Mr. Caesar spends a great deal of time discussing his style, it's origins, and it's impact down the the most minute detail which, for students of Caesar (and Brooks and Simon and Reiner and Coca, et al) is a FEAST! Less time is spent on his demons (again, found in further detail in "Where Have I Been?") because Caesar now has the perspective to look back with that prevents him from hanging onto those demons. There is some retreading of old paths from that first book but it deviates enough for fans to enjoy and offers, at the end, some lovely moments postulating the current state of TV, comedy, and what's important in a life well-lived. In particular, the chapter covering "the now, the was, and the gonna be" was a refreshing piece of wisdom that, in classic Caesar style, could easily be played opposite Howard Morris to raucous laughter.

[Annette · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting book. I was expecting something different - a more in-depth picture of Caesar's life. This is more of a quickly told, brief excerpts of the two shows Caesar helped create, write and starred in. He wrote very complimentary comments of so many deserving people, which was nice, but again, everything was just on the surface. He did not talk much about his family life, children, etc. until the very end. He had trouble with drugs and alcohol, which again, he only touched briefly on.

The best part are the stories of the writers, even some skits. Would love to read even more about those talented folks. You just have to get through some "preachy" aspects of the books - what is wrong with writers/comedians today, what to do to be a good writer, etc.

All in all, he was a ground-breaking personality - extremely talented and the force behind so many innovations. For this reason alone, it is worth the read.

[Clint · Rating 3 out of 5]

The bulk of work of Sid Caesar's career was before my time, but I recognize him for the television and comedy genius that he was. For people who remember him for "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour," he spends most of this book on those shows -- the process of production, the writers, the stars, even some of the jokes. At the end of the book, he has a short chapter on beating his demons (alcohol, pills) and another short chapter on all the other things he did. As a reader, I would have preferred if he had more thoroughly woven in how he and his family and friends handled those demons during his great successes and more thoroughly discussed his other work and those with whom he worked. But this is his story, and I guess it's only fitting someone spend more time on their greatest triumph.

[Rick Bavera · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book came on the heels, sort of, of my reading of George Burns's book.

I enjoyed both, but maybe Burns's a bit more because I was a little more familiar with his story, his work.

Anyway, what I found most interesting is that there didn't seem to be a lot of overlap in the people mentioned in their books. Some, yes, but not as much as I expected.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eddy is an exceptional author and has an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of comedy (and so much more).
Eddy has the ability to understand a person very quickly, as he listens, observes, and cares.
I can't wait for his next book!

[Norma Dulac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love biographies and this one was definitely interesting and fun to read

[Joy H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I've loved Sid Caesar ever since watching his early TV shows, the 1950s series, "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour".

A sample from the book:
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"What it boiled down to is the strength to be able to say, 'I don't want to think about it.' Thinking negatively is the result of guilt and insecurity... You are the person who makes yourself happy. You're the person who makes yourself sad. It's much easier to feel better when you keep remembering that."
-p. 481, _Caesar's Hours, My Life in Comedy with Love and Laughter_, by Sid Caesar with Eddy Friedfeld, 2003
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Good advice!

[Burt Schoeppe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read.

Seems like a very nice and grateful man.

Not familiar enough with that era to appreciate the stories about many of the celebrities he worked with.