SID CAESAR: The Good Investment [THE HICKENLOOPERS] (YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS - VERY rare sketch)

Doris takes a flyer in the stock market to Charlie's dismay, joy, and dismay as market fluctuations, to put it mildly, follow.
NOTE: No date is available for this sketch, which has only been released on very rare out of print VHS/Betamax tapes. My undying gratitude to KJH, the uber-fan of Sid Caesar in Pennsylvania who found these tapes, had them transferred digitally, and shared them with me so that I could make them available on KZbin
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[@VincentConti-m5j]

There are several extras in the final scene that became famous!!

[@VincentConti-m5j]

Gleason learned from this guy!!! Caesar was the great one!!!!

[@mattwade2629]

"I like rotten money !"😆🤣. Couldn't agree more!

[@georgelustrea2912]

Two of the all time greats ...

[@Gypsyqueen-lt7tq]

Sorry to be a repeat commenter, but I am quite taken w/ this sketch -- especially after reading that Sid himself never played the stock market. Apparently, his father had lost his "shoyt" to the market during the Great Depression, and the family was quite impoverished as a result. Over-sensitive Sid took that as a lesson never to "gamble" going forward -- he probably lost millions b/c of his fusty ways, but I do respect them . . . and they certainly lend added poignancy to this sketch. Thanks again for posting!

[@chessdad182]

So funny but so painful.

[@luisreyes1963]

A hilarious sketch. And yet, the Sid Caesar character reminds me of my late uncle who goes on a rapid-fire rant on the slightest hint of something wrong.

[@bandicoot5412]

Pro laughter. Can't beat this, talent, wow, gut laugh, WOW!!!!! Much deserved thanks!

[@sidcaesaryourshowofshowsca2250]

Glad you're enjoying the videos-- and thanks for the comments! [wgw]

[@bandicoot5412]

Back in the day, I was plopped in front of the round TV, and it sub conned a sense of comedy, between the realities, and it needed to be refreshed, keep up the great work, friend!

[@VincentConti-m5j]

Ditto on that if you are still with us...i hope!!!

[@savethetpc6406]

This one gave me a stomach ache-- too much angst for me! ;p

[@alwilder1]

Anyway to get the writing credits on this sketch? I'm assuming it was a collaboration, just wondering which of their writers were responsible for this masterpiece. Reminds me of the sketch on whether or not Imogene paid the insurance policy before their car was totaled.

[@sidcaesaryourshowofshowsca2250]

You'd have to look at the original sketch in Sid's papers in the Library of Congress (and not all of the sketches are credited). However, Mel Tolkin and Lucille Kallen seem to have had most input on Hickenlooper sketches (incidentally, Sid seems to have come up with the idea for the auto smash-up one). Nonetheless, your assumption is correct in that the writing was very much a group effort. Neil Simon once said that, at dress rehearsal, it was difficult to remember whose line was whose! ---kjh

[@Gypsyqueen-lt7tq]

While I'm glad Sid was "obsessive-compulsive" enough to save all his work papers & kinescopes, it's rather a shame he had to do that. The studios' ruthless "conservation" in taping over everything in those days did a real disservice to the legacy of television in post-war America.

[@alskndlaskndal]

Funny!

[@Gypsyqueen-lt7tq]

I like to think the performers & writers weren't *quite* as mired in 50s-era misogyny as Sid's character was here. (At least, his Charles didn't threaten to send poor Doris to the moon -- ala Ralph Kramden, LOL). Interestingly, I've read YSOS was one of the earliest programs to have a coed writing staff -- and, in fairness, most of the sketches I've seen are a lot less sexist than other televised fare from the era. Plus, I think I read that YSOS head writer Mel Tolkin's wife attended law school with Ruth Bader Ginsburg. If so, then Ms. Tolkin must have been really sharp & probably influenced her husband (at least subliminally) not to marginalize the female characters *too* much.

[@VincentConti-m5j]

Seriously???? Sexist? Satire!!!