A couple of folks have sent me this photo which is making the rounds. They're asking me (a) if I can identify all the comedians in it, (b) how many of them are still alive, (c) how many of them I knew or worked with and (d) what it's from. Easy…
- The guy at the top is the recently-deceased Jack Carter. The two guys in the front are, left to right, Dan Rowan and Bill Dana. The middle row is — again, left to right — Milton Berle, Wally Cox, Soupy Sales, Dick Martin, Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante and Dick Shawn.
- The only one there who is still with us is Bill "My name, Jose Jiminez" Dana.
- I only really worked with Hope (briefly) and Berle (even more briefly) but I did get to talk with both of them at some length and also with Dick Martin and Soupy Sales. I once got to throw a pie at Mr. Sales.
- This was shot on the set of a Bob Hope Special from 1966. Oddly enough, the special also featured Johnny Carson, Bill Cosby, Jonathan Winters, Don Adams, Shecky Greene, Red Buttons and Don Rickles. So the picture could have been even more impressive.