{"product_id":"when-caesar-was-king-how-sid-caesar-reinvented-american-comedy-9780805242553","title":"When Caesar Was King: How Sid Caesar Reinvented American Comedy","description":"\u003cb\u003eFINALIST FOR THE PEN\/JACQUELINE BOGRAD WELD AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHY - From longtime \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eVanity Fair\u003c\/i\u003e writer David Margolick comes the first definitive biography of Sid Caesar: founding father of television comedy and icon to generations of Americans. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Whip smart. . . . A nuanced appreciation of Caesar's comedy and the overall atmosphere of TV's early days.\" --\u003ci\u003eEsquire\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBy the spring of 1954, Sid Caesar was the most influential, highly paid, and enigmatic comedian in America. Every week, twenty million people tuned their TVs to his NBC extravaganza, \u003ci\u003eYour Show of Shows\u003c\/i\u003e, and witnessed his virtuosity in sketches and film spoofs, pantomime and soliloquy. Onstage, Caesar could play any character and make it funny: a befuddled game-show contestant, a pretentious German professor, a beleaguered husband (opposite his redoubtable co-star Imogene Coca)--even a gumball machine and a bottle of seltzer. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTo Caesar's mostly urban audience, his comedy was an era-defining leap forward from the days of vaudeville, launching a new style of humor that was multilayered and full of character, yet still uproarious. To his rivals, Caesar was the man to beat. To his fellow American Jews, his show's success meant something more: a post-Holocaust symbol of security and a source of great pride. But behind all that Caesar represented was the real Sid. Introverted and volatile, ill at ease in his own skin, he could terrorize his collaborators but reserved his harshest critiques for himself. After barely a decade, he was essentially off the air, beset by exhaustion, addiction, his own impossibly high standards, and changing viewership as television spread to the American heartland. TV's first true comic creation was also its first spectacular flameout. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut in his wake came the disciples he personally nurtured--including Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Neil Simon, and more. Caesar left an indelible impact on what still makes us laugh. In \u003ci\u003eWhen Caesar Was King\u003c\/i\u003e, veteran journalist David Margolick conjures this complexman as never before. Deeply researched, brimming with love for Caesar and the culture from which he sprang, and reanimating a New York City that has all but vanished, this rollicking and poignant book traces the rise and fall of a legend.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e David Margolick\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Schocken Books Inc\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/11\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 400\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.35lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.10w x 1.60d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780805242553\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/22\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/22\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDAVID MARGOLICK long reported on legal affairs for \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, where he wrote the weekly \"At the Bar\" column and covered, among other stories, the trial of O. J. Simpson. He was then a contributing editor at \u003ci\u003eVanity Fair\u003c\/i\u003e. His many books include \u003ci\u003eBeyond Glory\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eJoe Louis vs. Max Schmeling\u003c\/i\u003e, and a \u003ci\u003eWorld on the Brink\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eStrange Fruit\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Biography of a Song\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eDreadful\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Short Life and Gay Times of John Horne Burns\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eElizabeth and Hazel\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eTwo Women of Little Rock\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in New York City.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"David Margolick \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":47712326353053,"sku":"9780805242553","price":60.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_574c8e9c-b22c-4512-83da-783d2d1c6273.jpg?v=1773172689","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/when-caesar-was-king-how-sid-caesar-reinvented-american-comedy-9780805242553","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}