41YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS - TIE

Aired: NBC, 1950-1954

If you journeyed from Vaudeville to Saturday Night Live, you'd want to stop awhile at Your Show of Shows. Comedy partners Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca anchored 90 minutes of live comedy every week, while behind the scenes the war room of gag writers included Neil Simon, who based his hit Broadway play Laughter on the 23rd Floor on his experiences in the Your Show of Shows room. Also on hand were Simon's brother Danny, Carl Reiner, the two Mels (Brooks and Tolkien) and the lone female, Lucille Kallen. "She was the only one who could write and talk at the same time," Caesar was quoted saying of Kallen in her 1999 New York Times obituary. "The rest of us were all crazy. It was all being made up at that moment: Put it in!' 'Take it out!' You've got to put it back!' So it was a very, very frustrating job."

*Non-WGA determined credit