Sid Caesar 2

TV comedy started with Caesar's Your Show of Shows on Saturday nights in the 1950s. Mel Brooks learned to write comedy while writing for him. So did Woody Allen, Neil Simon, M*A*S*H creator Larry Gelbart and Carl Reiner, who says he based The Dick Van Dyke Show on his experience while writing for Caesar. Caesar was known for his furious temper and superhuman strength. He was known to punch through walls, and once punched a horse — a gag that Mel Brooks paid homage to in Blazing Saddles.