RIP: David Brenner (1936-2014)
David Brenner dies at 78; comedian was a favorite of Johnny Carson
http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-david-brenner-20140316,0,6742173.story#ixzz2w6EXOQS6
Comedian David Brenner, who vaulted to fame through his appearances on the "Tonight Show" in the 1970s, died at home in New York on Saturday. The cause was cancer, said his former publicist, Jeff Abraham, who issued a statement on behalf of Brenner's family. He was 78.
Brenner was working as recently as December, with club dates in Toronto and other spots, Abraham said.
The comedian was a favorite of "Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson at a time when appearances on the late-night program could ensure success for a comic. Brenner has said in interviews that he was on the show 158 times, starting in 1971. He guest-hosted the show on numerous occasions when Carson was away.
His first audition for the show, however, went terribly when his then-agent brought a "Tonight Show" talent coordinator to see Brenner's highly topical stand-up routine at a New York club. "The 'Tonight Show' was very safe with its topics then — Johnny never got political," Brenner told the weekly Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia last year. He was turned down for the TV show but then started to attend weekly auditions for the program, pretending he was a manager. He just wanted to observe what kind of material the show wanted.
"So then I wrote a monologue in keeping with what they were searching for," he said.
Brenner, known for his observational brand of comedy, said in a 2012 interview with the Courier Post of South New Jersey that on his first appearance on the "Tonight Show," he used his trademark "Did you ever notice..?" bit three times.
Richard Lewis was one of many comedians influenced by Brenner. He issued a statement saying, "David Brenner was a huge star when I met him and he took me under his wing. To me, historically, he was the godfather of hip, observational comedy."
David Brenner dies at 78; comedian was a favorite of Johnny Carson
http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-david-brenner-20140316,0,6742173.story#ixzz2w6EXOQS6
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Comedian David Brenner, who vaulted to fame through his appearances on the "Tonight Show" in the 1970s, died at home in New York on Saturday. The cause was cancer, said his former publicist, Jeff Abraham, who issued a statement on behalf of Brenner's family. He was 78.
Brenner was working as recently as December, with club dates in Toronto and other spots, Abraham said.
The comedian was a favorite of "Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson at a time when appearances on the late-night program could ensure success for a comic. Brenner has said in interviews that he was on the show 158 times, starting in 1971. He guest-hosted the show on numerous occasions when Carson was away.
His first audition for the show, however, went terribly when his then-agent brought a "Tonight Show" talent coordinator to see Brenner's highly topical stand-up routine at a New York club. "The 'Tonight Show' was very safe with its topics then — Johnny never got political," Brenner told the weekly Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia last year. He was turned down for the TV show but then started to attend weekly auditions for the program, pretending he was a manager. He just wanted to observe what kind of material the show wanted.
"So then I wrote a monologue in keeping with what they were searching for," he said.
Brenner, known for his observational brand of comedy, said in a 2012 interview with the Courier Post of South New Jersey that on his first appearance on the "Tonight Show," he used his trademark "Did you ever notice..?" bit three times.
Richard Lewis was one of many comedians influenced by Brenner. He issued a statement saying, "David Brenner was a huge star when I met him and he took me under his wing. To me, historically, he was the godfather of hip, observational comedy."
