Let's take a moment to remember Prof. Irwin Corey on the anniversary of his birth July 29, 1914. When he passed away on February 6, 2017, he was 102 years old, and according to those in the know, his last meal consisted of vanilla ice cream swirl and egg drop soup. A comedy icon and counter-culture mainstay, Corey’s career spanned decade after decade after decade, and remains one of the truly important threads of American 20th century humor. He ran for president years before Pat Paulsen did, with the slogan "I will run for any party with bottle in hand".
He was a frequent guest on the Tonight Show hosted by Johnny Carson in the late 60s and early 70s.
I had an opportunity to work with him once, years ago in Boston. After watching him so many times on the Tonight Show it was a huge thrill. We shared the same birthday albeit he a few years earlier than me. He was well into his 70s by then but still performed regularly. One of my favorite quotes of his was, "Without this great land of ours, we would all drown"
A combination of Charlie Chaplin, Groucho Marx and Yogi Berra with his wild hair, black frock and string tie, he was "The Worlds Foremost Authority".
The New York Times asked him about the meaning of life in a 2008 interview, and he answered as only he could: "One of the things that you've got to understand is that we've got to develop a continuity in order to relate, to exacerbate those whose curiosity has not been defended," he said, "yet the information given can no longer be used as allegoric because the defendant does not use the evidence which can be substantiated by." Then he asked, "What was the question?”
Happy Birthday Professor