Comic also played Larry David's dad on Curb

 Shelley Berman, one of the biggest comedians in America in the 1950s and 1960s, has died at the age of 92.

The stand-up, who found a new generation of fans playing Larry David’s father on Curb Your Enthusiasm, passed away yesterday due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease at his home in California.

He was hailed as one of the first performers to consider comedy an art, performing ‘concerts’ ntot just club ‘gigs’ – and it brought him great success. His 1959 record, Inside Shelley Berman, was the first comedy album to sell more than 500,000 copies (its two follow-ups also went gold) and Berman was the first stand-up comic to perform at Carnegie Hall.

In his book Who’s Who In Comedy, author Ronald L Smith said: ‘Mostly critics praise Berman as a virtuoso satirist of modern angst and anxiety  – an intellectual performer.’ 

But he also had a reputation for being difficult, because he would demand venues end distractions such as noise from the bartenders which drew focus away from his routines, which he would perform perched on a stool. They would usually take the form of one-sided telephone conversations, such as a hungover man piecing together his actions of the previous night.

Berman trained as a serious actor, but came to comedy via the Compass Players improv group in his home town of Chicago.  And once he had established himself as a comedian, he went on to appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show more than 20 times.

He once said of his style: ‘I was essentially a monologuist. I was not, in the strict sense of the word, a comedian. I was unable at first to cope with the atmosphere in a nightclub.’

His reputation for being exacting was cemented by a 1963 documentary which captured him losing his temper after a telephone rang backstage. He said the NBC film had made him a ‘pariah’ in the industry – and later suggested producers had arranged for the phone to ring so as to wind him up. 

However, some commentators have suggested his career was waning anyway, being overtaken by the likes of Bob Newhart and Woody Allen. Berman ended up filing for bankruptcy.

By the end of the 1960s he had turned back to acting, His focus shifted back to acting, with touring stage productions and guest TV slots on TV shows including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Boston Legal and LA Law.

Berman appeared as Nat David on Curb from 2002 to 2009, and  retired from performing in 2014.

Among those paying tribute were Steve Martin, who tweeted: ‘Thank you, Shelley Berman. You changed modern stand-up.’

Marc Maron said: ‘Shelley Berman has hung up the phone. RIP. The guy who inspired me to sit. Great comic.’

He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Sarah, his daughter, Rachel, and two grandsons.His son Joshua died in the mid-1970s from brain cancer at the age of 12.

Berman’s friend Christopher Bay announced Berman’s death on Facebook yesterday, saying: ‘Shelley passed away this morning at 1:24am, at his home in Bell Canyon, California, due to complications from Alzheimer’s. He was 92 years old. He slipped away peacefully, in his sleep, with no pain, as far as his hospice care workers could tell.

‘Right now, I’m a bit of a wreck, having spent much of the last couple of hours crying, pacing, being unable to concentrate, and, frankly, being conflicted as to how I should feel about all of this. I will have more to say in this group in the days ahead, but Sarah (who I just spoke to) wanted me to let all of Shelley’s Facebook fans know about Shelley’s passing. Sarah loves the fact that Shelley has so many devoted followers on social media.

There will be a private service for family and close friends, followed by a public memorial. I will provide details as they are finalised.’

Published: 2 Sep 2017