When Caesar Was King - by David Margolick (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In the spring of 1954, Sid Caesar was America's number one mensch. Each Saturday night, the 31-year-old sketch comic from Yonkers performed for a crowd of twenty million, some crammed into Manhattan's cavernous Center Theater, but most plopped on their couches, where Caesar beamed back at them through some of the first TVs to light up living rooms. For many Americans, Caesar was television. And Your Show of Shows, the 90-minute variety program that catapulted him to stardom, was his magnum opus. Onstage, Caesar could be anyone: a befuddled suburban husband, a pretentious expert fibbing through an interview, a gumball machine, a bottle of seltzer. And he could make anything funny. But behind the entertainer was the man: introverted and tongue-tied, an actor whose hardest role was to simply be himself. Few could have known that, within just a few years, Caesar would be off the air. Television's first true star was also its first fall from grace. But in his wake would come the talents he personally nurtured, including Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, and Neil Simon, and the generations of comedians he inspired. In When Caesar Was King, veteran journalist David Margolick conjures Caesar like few writers can. Deeply researched and brimming with love for its subject, this rollicking and affecting book charts the meteoric rise and fall of a true legend, and his lasting impact on what makes us all laugh"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

FINALIST FOR THE PEN/JACQUELINE BOGRAD WELD AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHY - FINALIST FOR THE MARFIELD PRIZE - FEATURED ON CBS SUNDAY MORNING - From longtime New York Times and Vanity Fair writer David Margolick comes the first definitive biography of Sid Caesar: founding father of television comedy and icon to generations of Americans.

"Whip smart. . . . A nuanced appreciation of Caesar's comedy and the overall atmosphere of TV's early days." --Esquire

By 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, Your Show of Shows, 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.

To 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.

But 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 When Caesar Was King, 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.

Review Quotes

One of Alta Journal's Most Anticipated Autumn Book Releases

"Whip smart. . . Sid was one of the first TV comedians to not only conquer the new medium, but pioneer what TV comedy could be. . . . Margolick's book is a deep dive that moves quickly, giving the reader a nuanced appreciation of Caesar's comedy and the overall atmosphere of TV's early days." --Esquire

"Both a portrait of an unstable genius and a cultural history of a medium coming to life. Margolick writes in vibrant detail not only of the Caesar shows but of the early-TV world around them. . . . [Margolick] is an ideal cultural historian . . . . [and] makes the achievements of Caesar and his gang shine through." --David Denby, The New Yorker

"Margolick brilliantly summarizes Sid Caesar's fall. . . . At its best [Caesar's] comedy ranks among the very highest. . . . [And] the world without him is a less amusing place." --Joseph Epstein, Wall Street Journal

"Margolick is an industrious researcher and skillful writer. One of the first in-depth looks at the comedian. . . . Caesar dominated television in the 1950s, helping to birth and perfect the sketch format." --Karen Heller, The Washington Post

"Marvelous. . . . Margolick offers both the cognoscenti and the newbies a satisfying examination of [Sid Caesar's] life and career." --Bettina Berch, Jewish Book Council

"Lively and thoroughly engrossing. . . . In what is overall a tender and sympathetic portrait, Margolick doesn't shy away from showing Caesar's dark side, offering a complex portrait of an enigmatic genius who seemed to be just as much of a mystery to himself as he was to others. Beautifully written and brimming with life, this book establishes Margolick as one of the ultimate mavens of an era of American Jewish history in the mid-to-late 20th century that has all but ceased to exist." --Ann Levin, Forward

"Well, it's about time! We are finally treated to a nuanced, perceptive biography written with respect and admiration by veteran journalist Margolick. . . . [who] also takes us through the history of American comedy, focusing especially on the changes to the television landscape that made Caesar outmoded. A wonderful tribute to a man whose contributions to comedy cannot be overstated." --David Pitt, Booklist

"When Caesar Was King is more than the story of Sid Caesar and the writers' regiment he gathered and commanded that revolutionized American sketch comedy. It is a multilayered examination of how comedy and culture collided in the 1950s. . . . Margolick admires the King and his court, but sees the tragedy clearly: Caesar was the instigator of a cultural revolution he didn't quite understand and couldn't survive." --Thomas Connolly, The Arts Fuse

"A lively biography. . . . David Margolick chronicles the career highs and two-decade lows of Caesar, 'the most original and talented television comic there ever was.' Caesar's humor, Margolick notes, was zany yet sophisticated, blending slapstick, pantomime, his extraordinary gift for double-talk, and parodies of films. . . . Margolick covers all of this, as well as the influence of Caesar's Jewish heritage on his humor, in a lively narrative that explains Caesar's enduring appeal. Comedy fans will love it." --Michael Magras, Shelf Awareness

"[A] lively biography of the original king of TV comedy. . . . Both a life and a cautionary tale, of great interest to any fan of golden era television." --Kirkus Reviews

"Margolick poignantly assesses the influential comic's career, noting he was TV's 'first great victim and suffer[ed] its most precipitous fall.' Fans will be riveted." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

DAVID MARGOLICK long reported on legal affairs for The New York Times, 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 Vanity Fair. His many books include Beyond Glory Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink; Strange Fruit The Biography of a Song; Dreadful The Short Life and Gay Times of John Horne Burns; and Elizabeth and Hazel Two Women of Little Rock. He lives in New York City.