Portside

Sid Caesar at the height of his fame, was drawing audiences of up to 25 million. Broadway theatre owners complained, they always had empty seats on Saturday nights - the time that Your Show of Shows and later, Caesar's Hour, were broadcast live to the nation. Caesar's fans included Albert Einstein - who died before their planned meeting - and Alfred Hitchcock, who remarked that "the young Mr Caesar best approaches the great Chaplin of the early 1920s".

“Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long shot.” -- Charlie Chaplin:

Stephen Colbert takes exception to Vladimir Putin's Op-Ed. Revving Up Brain Skills. Dante de Blasio. A Million Years Before 'Lucy,' There Was 'Ardi.' Glee Fan Flash Mob.

A New Generation of Civil Rights Fighters. The Story of Gershwin, Harlem and the Blues. Deport the Statue of Liberty. Cracking the Codes: A Trip to the Grocery Store. When Comedy Went to School. Richie Havens at Woodstock (in memoriam).