Sid Caesar, Master Of Meaningful Gibberish, Dead At 91

Sid Caesar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Caesar

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The obituaries for the great comic Sid Caesar invariably mention his proficiency in "double-talk," mimicking the sounds (but not the sense) of foreign languages. It turns out that this was a talent Caesar had cultivated ever since he was a boy clearing tables at his father's restaurant in multi-ethnic Yonkers.

The New York Times:

He could seem eloquent even when his words were total gibberish: Among his gifts was the ability to mimic the sounds and cadences of foreign languages he didn’t actually speak.

Reuters:

Some of Caesar's most popular bits were built around pompous or outlandish characters—such as Professor von Votsisnehm—in which he spoke in a thick accent or mimicked foreign languages in comic but convincing gibberish.

"He was the ultimate, he was the very best sketch artist and comedian that ever existed," [Carl] Reiner said of his friend. "His ability to double talk every language known to man was impeccable."

One of his virtuosic double-talk performances is captured on YouTube—in the space of five minutes he moves from fake French to fake German to fake Italian to fake Japanese:

Video: http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2014/02/14/sid_caesar_how_the_late_comedian_learned_double_talk_mimicking_the_sound.html?wpisrc=burger_bar

So how did Caesar get to be so good at double-talk? He goes into great detail in his memoir, Caesar's Hours: My Life in Comedy, with Love and Laughter:

While I greatly admired Caesar's chops in double-talk, I always felt he was at his funniest when he said hardly anything at all.

Video: http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2014/02/14/sid_caesar_how_the_late_comedian_learned_double_talk_mimicking_the_sound.html?wpisrc=burger_bar