"Kal W." read this item here and then wrote me to ask…
In writing about that New York trip you took, you said that you took Imogene Coca to see the play Crazy For You and you took Carol Lay to see Laughter on the 23rd Floor. Didn't you have that backwards? Imogene Coca was one of the stars of Your Show of Shows and Laughter on the 23rd Floor was based on Your Show of Shows. I assume you took Imogene Coca to see the show based on her show.
Also, you said that Nathan Lane was playing Jackie Gleason playing Sid Caesar. I didn't quite understand that.
In Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Nathan Lane played a character based on Sid Caesar…but Mr. Lane's manner — and I suppose, his appearance — made him come across more like Jackie Gleason than Sid Caesar. He was very good in the part, by the way. He was very good in everything I ever saw him in.
As for the match-ups of dates to plays: No, I had it right. As I explained way back here…
I had arranged while I was in Manhattan to take her to see the on-stage version of Laughter on the 23rd Floor, the Neil Simon play that referenced his days writing for Your Show of Shows. Since I was bringing her, it was arranged for us to sit in Mr. Simon's house seats.
A few days before, Imogene began to worry that her attendance would be exploited for publicity purposes. She was bothered, she told me, that all the articles and retrospectives about Your Show of Shows were giving less than proper credit to Lucille Kallen, who — in Imogene's opinion — wrote her best material. She said, "I'd feel bad if I were used to promote a play that didn't give Lucille her due." To prevent this, I called the theater's manager (or someone in his office) and was assured that Ms. Coca could attend, quietly and without fanfare.
That was insufficient promise for Imogene, who told me she was developing a "bad feeling" about it. She asked if we could go to some other show and I did some reshuffling. The night after, I was going to take another friend — cartoonist Carol Lay — to see Crazy For You, so I swapped dates. I took Carol to Laughter on the 23rd Floor, with Nathan Lane brilliantly playing Jackie Gleason and calling him Max Prince, who was supposed to be Sid Caesar. At the close of the performance, an obviously-professional photographer scurried down the aisle and began searching the front rows, looking in vain for Imogene Coca.
The next night, I took that very person to Crazy For You. We dined first at Sardi's, where the reception could not have been more regal, had I arrived with Princess Margaret on my arm. Mr. Sardi himself came over, kissed her and told me I was with the most talented woman in the business. Yeah, like I didn't already know that. Then at the show, an array of fans approached her, endorsing that view. One was a tall, skinny young gent who insisted on serenading her with the entire theme song of It's About Time, a short-lived situation comedy she did in the sixties. Another was an even younger man who asked if she was — quote: "the old lady in National Lampoon's Vacation." When she said she was, he asked with genuine curiosity, "Have you done anything else?"
After a few such folks, she turned to me with a genuine amazement and said, "You know, I think this is the first time I've been out in public and nobody's mentioned Sid Caesar."
Imogene was just charming…and very humble. Everyone around us that evening wanted to tell her how wonderful she was. So did everyone at the recording studio when we had her in to do a voice on Garfield and Friends. I have seen people who were very good at feigning modesty while at the same time encouraging everyone to repeat and ramp up the praise. Imogene just wanted to do what she did so well — funny acting — and if people applauded, fine. But she did not live for that.
When folks talk about the great comediennes, especially on television, I rarely see her name mentioned. I can't think of anyone who was better and I'm really glad I got to know her.
