If you look back on this blog since its inception, you'll see frequent mentions of my pal, Bruce Reznick. I've known Bruce since high school (that was some time back in the previous century) and we had two things in common. One was that we were both younger than most of our classmates, having skipped a few grades. I'd skipped two and Bruce had, I think, skipped about eleven. He was the brightest guy I knew and has since gone on to a profession befitting someone who's a lot smarter than I am. Or you are, most likely.
The other thing we had in common was a fondness for good comedy writing as practiced by folks like…oh, like Bruce's father. I think I was the only kid at University High who was impressed that his dad was Sidney Reznick, one of the best in the business. (I also went to school for a time with Clyde Beatty, Junior. I was the only one of his peers who knew what Clyde Beatty, Senior was famous for.)
Sidney Reznick was one of the men who made others funny. Among those he made funny (or at least funnier) were Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, Steve Allen, Phil Silvers, Ed Wynn, Jackie Gleason, Henry Morgan…the list goes on and on. He even once put words into the mouth of Hubert Humphrey. I always enjoyed it when Bruce was in town and we could take his old man out to a deli and hear anecdotes. He was a delightful wit and he just left us a few days shy of what would have been his 93rd birthday. Here's a link to an obituary in Hollywood Reporter and here's my thank you to Bruce for sharing him with me.