Irving Benson (January 31, 1914 – May 19, 2016) was an American actor and comedian. He was one of the last survivors of the

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

era. Having enjoyed a long and successful run on the east coast

American Burlesque American burlesque is a genre of variety show derived from elements of Victorian burlesque, music hall, and minstrel shows. Burlesque became popular in the United States in the late 1860s and slowly evolved to feature ribald comedy and female nu ...

circuit, Benson travelled west to play Las Vegas for the first time in 1957, with the Minsky Follies show. Benson gained national exposure during the 1960s, when fellow vaudevillian

Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over eight decades, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and ...

hired him to play a faux heckler named Sidney Spritzer. The character would turn up in the balcony overlooking the stage of Berle's variety show (where the studio audience could see him) and banter with Berle about the host's alleged lack of talent and originality. The character was likely the inspiration for

The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, slapstick, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Musical theatre, musical Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Cre ...

Statler and Waldorf Statler and Waldorf are a pair of The Muppets, Muppet characters from the sketch comedy television series ''The Muppet Show'', best known for their overly negative opinions and their tendency to Heckler, heckle people. The two elderly men fi ...

. Benson became

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

's favorite comic and appeared frequently on the Carson-hosted ''

Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show A late-night talk show is a genre of talk show, originating in the American Media, United States. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest inte ...

''. He was honored for Best Documentary at the 2011 Backlot Film Festival for "The Last First Comic" uncovering the roots of American comedy also going inside the colorful world of the Burlesque show. Benson married his wife Lillian in November 1936; the 79-year marriage, which lasted until her death in March 2016, remains the longest entertainment industry marriage on record, surpassing Dolores and

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

's 69-year marriage in 2006. Irving and Lillian had two children, and at the time of their death, they were survived by them, five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. He

turned 100 A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

in January 2014, and died on May 19, 2016, at the age of 102.Irving Benson, comedy veteran of burlesque, dies at 102
''Washington Post'', May 31, 2016.

Filmography

* 1961: ''Scanty Panties'' (Gambler) * 1966: ''The Milton Berle Show'' (Sidney Sphritzer) * 1968: ''

The Hollywood Palace ''The Hollywood Palace'' was an hourlong American television variety show broadcast Saturday nights (except September 1967 to January 1968, when it aired on Tuesday nights) on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. Titled ''The Satur ...

'' (Sidney Sphritzer) * 1970: ''

Which Way to the Front? ''Which Way to the Front?'' is a 1970 American comedy film produced, directed by and starring Jerry Lewis, which was his first film for Warner Bros. Plot Brendan Byers III is a rich playboy who enlists to fight in the war against the Axis pow ...

'' (German Officer, uncredited) * 1979: ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...

'' (Irv Hanson)

References

External links

* * * 1914 births 2016 deaths American men centenarians American male comedians Jewish American male actors 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American Jews Jewish centenarians {{US-theat-actor-1910s-stub