Friday, September 1, 2017

Shelley Berman

Comedian, actor, and writer -- via the New York Times. His 1959 album "Inside Shelley Berman" was the first comedy album to sell a million copies, and to win a Grammy. A massive influence on comedy in the late 1950s and early 1960s -- a modern master of the art of anxiety. (People under a certain age -- 100, say -- will know him as Larry David's dad on "Curb You Enthusiasm.") On a personal note, as a comedian I started my career by doing imaginary dialogues very much in the style of Berman and Bob Newhart.