He was the greatest standup comic of all time, bar none.
If you were an Albert Brooks fan in the early '70s, you cherished every appearance he made on talk and variety shows. I had a circle of friends who would call one another with the news "Brooks is on Carson tonight!" as if it were a major cultural event.
His routines were more one-man sketches than the typical standup gags and pithy observations. Each one was classic, each one memorable, and he rarely performed the same routine twice.
When speaking with comedy fans from my generation, it's amazing how we can recite lines and entire passages from Albert Brooks routines we saw only once some 35 years ago. If you were there at the time, then you surely remember:
-The world's worst ventriloquist who made no attempt to keep his mouth still as his dummy talked (and gradually fell to pieces in his hands). Included the memorable moment when Brooks sang a song while the dummy drank a glass of water.
-The songwriting contest for a new National Anthem. Brooks played all the no-talent contestants ranging from kiddie-tune writers to Vegas lounge lizards.
-The world's smallest (and most annoying) stockbroker who receives a phone call from Howard Hughes.
-The whiteface mime who talked and who did routines such as "Walking the Dog," which consisted of walking around the stage as if he had a leash in one hand and saying, in the most bogus French accent, "Come on Fifi! Nice-a Fifi!"
Thankfully, his album "Comedy Minus One" is again available. Includes the National Anthem routine.
John L
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