A 1950s variety program, Your Show of Shows (1950-1954) distinguished itself with its artful satire and parody performed by an ensemble led by Sid Caesar. Caesar was blessed with a stable of young writers that included, at one time or another, Neil Simon, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, and Larry Gelbart.

The program took advantage of television's ability to be topical. It was live television at its best, and Caesar and his partner, Imogene Coca, could parody recent films—including foreign films—at will; because of the dangers of McCarthyism, however, they could not parody politics. Because there were no retakes in live television, the ability of its performers to ad lib was essential to its success, and soon became a secret to the show's popularity.

Caesar was born in Yonkers, New York, in 1922. He entered show business as...