On Sept 20th, 2003 The Friars Club celebrated Sid Caesar's 80th birthday by throwing him a party at their Beverly Hills headquarters.
One of the many celebrities honoring Sid was Red Buttons, and the audience never stopped laughing. Sid doesn't actually appear in this video, but the love and affection for him are evident in Red Buttons' remarks and in the audience reaction.
Comedians appearing in Friars Club and other industry toasts let us see them in a different light, as themselves rather than the characters they play in front of audiences. Here's a look at the comedy of Red Buttons from a different angle.
Buttons tosses in a few Yiddishisms, Jewish references, and a few off-color jokes. But that's par for the course at these Friars Club roasts and toasts for comedians, where most of the roasters, their subjects, and the audience are members of the Tribe.
He is introduced by Norm Crosby, another Jewish comedian known as the master of malapropisms. Buttons tells Crosby "Your father was my idol when I was growing up," making a funny reference to Bing Crosby who of course was not related to Norm. Then he hums a few bars of what we would expect to be one of Bing Crosby's songs. But what he actually hums is the beginning of the Yiddish classic Mein Shtetele Belz.
Enjoy!
(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS: THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS. YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)
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To see Red Buttons perform so outstandingly.....what a treat!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Watching and listening to such a wonderful and heart warming performance was marvelous!
ReplyDeleteNow this is Funny.......Not one curse word......How refreshing this is.......Miss it a lot. Dan Nahum
ReplyDeleteFabulous! What a way to start the day! Thank you!!!!
ReplyDeleteMore Sid Carsar, please!
I SCREAMED! Such cleverness! My mom once dated Red Buttons, when she ws barely a teenager! He's the best!
ReplyDeleteSitting in front of my t v and literally roaring with laughter was so refreshing. After seeing, and listening, to most of today's young comics, Red Buttons was a reminder of humor as it used to be...funny without the foul words that are used for prurient interest. Vulgarity does not make anything funnier. Some of the older comedians, as well as some of the new, can make people laugh with humor and not obscenities. More of the old timers would be great.
ReplyDelete