Mr. Reiner was a gifted comic actor, but he spent most of his career
slightly out of the spotlight — writing, directing and letting others
get the laughs.
He won praise as an actor as well, with
memorable roles in films like “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are
Coming” and, more recently, “Ocean’s Eleven” and its sequels. But he
spent most of his career just slightly out of the spotlight, letting
others get the laughs.
His
contributions were recognized by his peers, by comedy aficionados and,
in 2000, by the Kennedy Center, which awarded him the Mark Twain Prize
for American Humor. He was the third recipient, after Richard Pryor and
Jonathan Winters.
He characterized his later career moves
with similar self-effacing humor in an NPR interview: “I acted like a
director. I acted like a producer. I sat in front of a typewriter and
acted like a novelist.”
Mr. Reiner’s
association with Mr. Caesar encompassed three different series: After
“Your Show of Shows” the two worked together on “Caesar’s Hour,” which
had a three-year run on NBC, and “Sid Caesar Invites You,” a failed
attempt to recapture the “Show of Shows” spirit that lasted less than
one season on ABC in 1958.