“Carl Reiner, with a maniac zeal, has pulled off one of the most outrageous and funniest comedies this year.” (Variety)
The immortal Where’s Poppa? is considered a masterpiece of comic bad taste, with Carl Reiner at his zaniest and most courageous. New York lawyer Gordon Hockeiser (George Segal in his best comic role) has no personal life. His time outside work is spent looking after his senile, demanding mother (Ruth Gordon at her battiest), who serenely turns his sex life into an everlasting coitus interruptus. Enter the beautiful and ballsy nurse Louise Callan (a delicious Trish Van Devere), who is not afraid of anyone and is determined to marry Gordon—under one condition: Mama must find a new place to live. After his spineless brother, Sidney (played with subtle genius by Ron Leibman), refuses to help, Gordon must take extreme measures.
Celebrating Carl Reiner
The beloved comedian, actor, director, and writer Carl Reiner (born on March 20, 1922) has enjoyed a career spanning seven decades and many mediums. Reiner wrote for and acted on Your Show of Shows and Caesar’s Hour in the 1950s. In the next decade, he was best known as The Dick Van Dyke Show’s creator, director, producer, writer, and comic straight man (Alan Brady). His extraordinary film successes began in the 1970s, especially in vehicles cowritten with and starring Steve Martin.
And who can forget his performances—with Mel Brooks in “2000 Year Old Man” and in films including The Russians Are Coming, the Russian are Coming (1966) and the Ocean’s series? Carl Reiner has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy.
These days, Reiner is busy with many things, including Twitter, where he maintains a lively presence, recently announcing that he “wants to live until 2020 to vote Trump out of office.” We’re thrilled that he’s taking time to join us via Skype during this celebration!
