The Postcard
A Regent Series postcard that was published by the Regent Publishing Co. Ltd. of London N.W. The card, which was printed in England, was posted in Wimbledon, London S.W. 19 on Friday the 8th. September 1922 to:
Miss B. Pitson,
15, Toot Baldon,
Nr. Oxford.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"G. Geesing,
48 Hamilton Road,
Wimbledon.
8 Sept.
Dear Beattie,
Just a card hoping that
you are having a good
time and decent weather
as it is not over-grand
here.
I wonder if Ethel has found
a young man in Switzerland
yet. Hope so!
With love from George".
The Greco-Turkish War
So what else happened on the day that George posted the card?
Well, on the 8th. September 1922, the Greeks began to evacuate Smyrna, and asked Turkey for an armistice in the Greco-Turkish War.
Sid Caesar
The day also marked the birth in Yonkers, New York of the comic actor and writer Sid Caesar.
Isaac Sidney Caesar had a career spanning 60 years. He was best known for two pioneering 1950's live television series:
-- Your Show of Shows (1950-1954), which was a 90 minute weekly show watched by 60 million people.
-- Its successor, Caesar's Hour (1954-1957).
Both series influenced later generations of comedians. Your Show of Shows and its cast received seven Emmy nominations between the years 1953 and 1954, and gained two wins.
Sid also acted in movies; he played Coach Calhoun in Grease (1978) and its sequel Grease 2 (1982). He appeared in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Silent Movie (1976), History of the World, Part I (1981), Cannonball Run II (1984), and Vegas Vacation (1997).
Caesar was considered a "sketch comic" and actor, as opposed to a stand-up comedian. He also relied more on body language, accents, and facial contortions than simply dialogue.
Unlike the slapstick comedy which was standard on TV, his style was considered "avant garde" in the 1950's. He conjured up ideas and scenes and used writers to flesh out the concept and create the dialogue. Among the writers who wrote for Caesar early in their careers were Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Mel Tolkin, Selma Diamond, and Woody Allen. Steve Allen said:
"Sid's was the show to which all comedy
writers aspired. It was the place to be."
Sid's TV shows' subjects included satires of real life events and people, as well as parodies of popular film genres, theatre, television shows, and opera.
But unlike other comedy shows at the time, the dialogue was considered sharper, funnier, and more adult-oriented. He was best known as one of the most intelligent and provocative innovators of television comedy.
Some critics called him "Television's Charlie Chaplin", and The New York Times referred to him as:
"The comedian of comedians
from TV's early days."
Honoured in numerous ways over 60 years, he was nominated for 11 Emmy Awards, winning twice. He was also a saxophonist and author of several books, including two autobiographies in which he described his career and later struggle to overcome years of alcoholism and addiction to barbiturates.
Sid died on the 12th. February 2014.