One of the biggest hits in the earliest days of TV was Your Show of Shows. It starred Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca and aired on NBC from 1950-1954. This program was a 90 minute live show with no cue cards and no teleprompter. No improvising was allowed, they stuck to the script. The show had an impressive group of writers including Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks and Neil Simon. Reiner established an impressive career in entertainment, working as a writer/creator/director. He created the Dick Van Dyke show, and he directed many films, including The Jerk with Steve Martin and Oh God with George Burns. In his later shows, Sid Caesar hired more writing all-stars such as Woody Allen and Larry Gelbart (creator of MASH). From 1954-1957, Sid Caesar hosted a TV show called Caesar's Hour. In subsequent years he appeared with many TV legends including Jackie Gleason, Carol Burnett, Steve Allen, Lucille Ball and many others. He died in 2014 at the age of 91. He was truly one of the pioneers of television, and he influenced legions of comics for decades to come.
*Information from imdb.com.
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