It’s no secret that I love old school Borscht Belt/Vegas comedians. One of the best, Shecky Greene, has died at the age of 97.
Life was not all laughs for Shecky:
“Mr. Greene, who had a family history of mental illness, went public with his condition in the 1990s and, with the help of a new therapist and new medication, gradually resumed his career. He even incorporated his illness into his shtick.
“I’m bipolar,” he told a Las Vegas television interviewer in 2010. “I’m more than bipolar. I’m South Polar, North Polar. I’m every kind of polar there is. I even lived with a polar bear for about a year.”
But did he drink Polar seltzer?
Anyone surprised to hear that Shecky Greene wasn’t his birth name? I thought not. He found life as Fred Sheldon Greenfield dull, so he legally changed his name. Shecky liked shaking things up.
I only saw Shecky Greene live once. It was in Las Vegas as a tadpole with my parents. I laughed so hard that my father was embarrassed by my loud cackling. My other Shecksperiences were on teevee variety and chat shows. Since Shecky was one of Johnny’s favorite comics, I hope the Carson estate will post more of his appearances on The Tonight Show on the YouTube.
I’m not quite sure who gave me the nickname Shecky, but it stuck, especially after it became my Twitter handle. I’m proud to be a Shecky. Why? I’ll never know.
Shecky Greene was a one-line machine with a rat-a-tat-tat delivery. He was a rim shot on legs. Thanks for all the laughs, Sheckster.
The last word goes to the man himself:
