Sid Caesar - "Big Business" with Carl Reiner and Howard Morris

[From "Kovacs Corner" on KZbin.com] - He is perhaps not considered as "avant garde" as Ernie Kovacs, nonetheless Sid Caesar (along with co-stars Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, and Nanette Fabray) created two of the most popular and funny comedy shows during the 1950's, "Your Show of Shows" and later "Caesar's Hour". It is ironic that Sid was chosen by director Stanley Kramer to replace Ernie as the character "Melville Crump" in the movie "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World".

[@josephsharp1456]

I can't tell you all how many times I've watched this over the years. Au revoir mighty Sid. We are a lonely planet tonight.

[@devans00]

RIP Mr. Sid Caesar. Thanks for the decades of entertainment.

[@bigdbc]

Legendary. I fall on the floor laughing every time, every single time.

[@gordonowens7794]

Oh man that pickle scene had me laughing so hard, I replayed it and laughed even harder!!!

[@PR46797]

Billy Crystal once called Sid Caesar "the Chaplin of television." He was at that level, and then some.

[@billf4186]

I saw this when I was a kid (now in my mid-60s) and thought I was going to die laughing! I never knew the name of the skit but thanks to KZbin I was able to find it and now I can die laughing once more! 😂😂😂

[@joncoupal1457]

This was a great, great bit. R.I.P., Sid.

[@ssweeps]

Thank you so much for posting this. Scored major points with my father.

[@TechieTexan]

RIP Carl Reiner!!! You will be missed.

[@daveerhardt1879]

Very funny skit, laugh out loud funny.

[@Lampshade51]

This is absolutely hilarious! Brilliantly written and Sid, Carl and Howie play their parts wonderfully. What terrific television. By the way, $5 in 1952 money is roughly $42 in today's money. So Sid collected $252 for lunch that cost $52.80 --- $6.20 in 1952 money!

[@Singultary]

Little known actor, singer, was my father-in-law, Jack Russell Kelly... he is the actor on the right who started his delivery while talking with his mouth full... 5:58... He's gone now, but his last known audition was for the movie "Cocoon" by Ron Howard. He's obviously missed.

[@rickos1915]

Sid and that pickle -- first rate stuff

[@GregasaurausRex]

Earnest T Bass waving his pickle in front of the Boss' face.

[@petertroyan1241]

Pure Genius

[@Bambambicbic]

So good to know this is available for everyone (who knows enough to look for it!)

[@sheilabloom6735]

R.I.P. Carl Reiner

[@luisreyes1963]

The funniest "Businessmen's Lunch" in history. 🥪

[@walterfutterweit6476]

One of Sid Caeser's Funniest shows. The Boss in Conference did not have his lunch brought up in time. A riot of laffs/ We all miss him now.

[@sumofann1713]

great...thanks for posting....love the work of Sid Ceasar.

[@lostinmindseye46]

One of the best show around.

[@wkat950]

This is hysterical! Consider how Howard Morris does his face when he speaks. I wonder why Carl Reiner isn't seen as much on TV anymore (other than being advanced in age)? He could teach the others much about comedy.

[@childewaters]

Somebody said this was "good, clean fun"?! That pickle sequence is possibly the naughtiest thing I have ever seen on TV!!

[@gordonowens7794]

Sometimes a pickle is just a pickle 😀.

[@GwenHill]

Still ROTFLOL hilarious!

[@rowbyrowby]

Oh my god how funny. I had the pleasure of working with Sid Cesar (see my rowbyvideos website). I was writing an ABC variety show where Sid was a regular guest star. Sid would sit in with us writers and collaborate on his sketches. He treated us young writers as if we were his writing team on his Show of Shows. We wrote some funny stuff together. What an experience. The Howie Morris bit with the pickle here was hysterical. Fall down laughing. ...Rowby

[@bobbyfrancis8957]

I counted them, when the busboy brought the box to Sid, I saw and counted eight cups in there - I guess, being a live show, maybe Sid didn't want the drinks to spill on their papers, he put down the box with the cups still inside. Only eight, the boss was still overlooked.

[@webbj61]

TRUE COMEDY

[@chasbo25]

The pickle: pure genius

[@KennyPLanders]

Sid Caesar will be missed along with genre: of comedy.

[@GwenHill]

R.I.P. Well done!

[@stevenleslie8557]

Don't forget Howard Morrison! A great funny man.

[@vincentconti3633]

Hilarious!

[@rolko52]

@allforjoy - This comedy will never grow old.

[@keithleeuwen877]

Great !

[@OriginalRocketJock]

Where in the wide world is my bacon and raisin sandwich???

[@luisreyes1963]

🤢

[@poetcomic1]

This is around when the movie Excecutive Suite was a hit.

[@rolko52]

@rolko52 - Perhaps in Yonkers during Sid's period of working in his father's take-out diner, a "Quadtrillion Sandwich" was what we would now call a "Club Sandwich?"

[@hillelschenker2504]

Note that although Sid Caeser, Carl Reiner and Howard Morris were all Jewish, one of the prime sandwiches in the lunch is a ham and cheese sandwich which is not kosher, though a very tasty combination.

[@rolko52]

@Snapepet Sid paid $6.20 for the entire order, but he then turned around and charges "$5.00 a head." That $5.00 would equal $40.08 in 2010 dollars.

[@Quietus6]

$125 in 2024 dollars.

[@savethetpc6406]

+Karen Harvey I found the alternate "plauch" sketch! ;)

[@jeanpoiraud7071]

comedy legends

[@R4t10n4L]

Well, the censors sure fell down on the job over this one - guess they were laughing too hard at the dialogue to notice Sid Caesar trying to wrap his lips around Howard Morris' pickle

[@gailjarvis2592]

Wasn't that something?

[@gerberbernstein7360]

Ernest T Bass in the boardroom.

[@gailjarvis2592]

Very handsome man. Great gymnast. Serious intellectual too.

[@777jxd]

What a "cast!" They sure don't make them like this anymore.

[@joeybuddy96]

Anyone know what a quadrillion sandwich is? I'm guessing four types of meat, four types a cheese, and tastes better than a trillion bucks.

[@marvinmartian7281]

6:12 Hilarious

[@rolko52]

BTW, $6.20 in 1956 dollars would be equal to $49.70 in 2010. Each executive paid $40.08 in 2010 dollars for their sandwiches!

[@billf4186]

Yes but they’re all rich Wall Street businessmen making $80,000 a year! 😂😂😂

[@rolko52]

@TheBlueyedblond He strikes me as a very down to earth celebrity. I hear that his age is catching up to him. I wish him very well.

[@JoyfulMK]

Back in the day when working through lunch was a laughable concept.

[@goognamgoognw6637]

While this is a funny sketch, It's utterly abysmal the way americans have no respect for one of life's most important hygiene aspect: taking a real break for lunch. I've sat through those forced sandwich lunch meetings and there is nothing worse than to eat under stress, in am meeting room while seeing other colleagues gaping their mouth and holding and gnawing at those conservative filled unhealthy things like rodents. As a european nothing could disgust me more about american than their poor life hygiene. Hygiene starts by how you eat and what food you eat, not by showering. That's superficial.

[@thwindzmn]

goognam goognws Europes, always saying bad stuff about america, but when do you hear americans insulting Spains 2 hour lunches? You don't hear us insulting them because we don't care what the heck they do in Spain.

[@JoyfulMK]

goognam goognws We had just been talking at the office about how some staff have been slipping into the bad habit of talking shop at lunchtime - or worse, booking a meeting over lunch. I'm lucky to be working in an office that values a real lunch break. In the past, I have worked in offices where you were considered a slacker if you didn't eat at your desk.

[@goognamgoognw6637]

thwindzmn Americans oligarchical government never hesitate to meddle in other countries' affairs (mostly undercover) when it's none of their business. And it goes as far as killing people sometimes in the millions (vietnam, cambodians civilian bombing, nicaragua, etc...). Or american bankers that behave above the law, condoning corruption and making money on countries exploiting its people and then hypocritically pointing fingers on the public forum. So when it comes to much lighter topics like dietetic hygien (the practice of selecting, preparing and eating a balanced array of foods in a decent way). Yes american's food lifestyle is unhealthy, you should thank other countries for pointing it out so you can work on that.

[@goognamgoognw6637]

MK R Yes i can relate to that. I've been with companies where they started doing that openly their hypocritical zeal turned into an expected behavior which was very unhealthy and stressful. The whole brown bag lunch meetings concept is a liberty infringement. This sketch is almost exactly what I have seen. A room fool of ass kissers, some zealous over authoritarian boss, a very inefficient way to work and direct impact on people's health and well being.

[@rolko52]

Consciously or not, Sid's writers are tipping their hats to director Howard Hawks' "His Girl Friday" with the overlapping dialogue. In think that the dialogue, if spoken separately, would not lend itself to the level of comedy that it is presented in this clip.

[@rolko52]

I couldn't agree with you any more!

[@rolko52]

@yogafan6500 - Even after search on Google, I have no idea what a "Quadrillion Sandwich" is!

[@Snapepet]

@rolko52 I am pretty sure that's $6.20 for ALL of the sandwiches. When you compare it to today's prices, that's probably about right. BTW, that was really clever of you to figure out 1956 dollars compared to today's. When I watch old shows and movies, I often wonder what their prices for things come out to in today's dollars!

[@luisreyes1963]

Who in their right mind has a hamhock sandwich? 🤢

[@TheBlueyedblond]

Sid Caesar doing his pre-Thurston Howell III voice!

[@luisreyes1963]

Wasn't that a character played by Jim Backus?

[@OreadNYC]

@@luisreyes1963 You're right...Jim Backus, not Sid Caesar, played Thurston Howell.

[@bobbyfrancis8957]

I meant I paid $6.00 for my turkey and Swiss sandwich, all by itself!

[@daniellack3559]

While Sid could never be considered fat, he surely was a big man, and was reputedly very very strong, especially when angry....

[@gailjarvis2592]

Yes. Howie Morris said Sid worked out all the time.

[@bobbyfrancis8957]

Sid had two older brothers who TOWERED above him.

[@mac2phin]

Does anyone know? Is that Bud Collier on the right side of the screen next to last?

[@bobbyfrancis8957]

And I recently bought a sandwich from Arby's, he doesn't like paying $6.20 for eight sandwiches (including drinks); for my um

[@prchristman]

What the hell is a quadrillion sandwich?

[@joegio1915]

EeI

[@jimc6154]

R.I.P. Sid Caesar..