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Carl Reiner | Television Academy Interviews

Carl Reiner

Writer/Producer/Director

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The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About

About this interview

In his four-hour interview, Carl Reiner (1922-2020) discusses his career from his stage work during his years in the service, to his television roles on classics like Your Show of Shows, Caesar's Hour, and The Dick Van Dyke Show. He recalls his film work and his days on the Universal lot, describes the origins of The 2000 Year Old Man, and talks at length about his sketch comedy work with Sid Casear. He chronicles the creation of his first sitcom, Head of the Family, starring himself as the lead: a program that was later recast with Dick Van Dyke in the principal role in the reincarnated version known as The Dick Van Dyke Show. He comments on the Hollywood Blacklist, his admiration for fellow writers and for family members, and on whether or not he really wishes he had worn his hair for his first Emmy win. Morrie Gelman conducted the interview on March 25, 1998 in Los Angeles, CA.

All views expressed by interviewees are theirs alone and not necessarily those of the Television Academy.

"I knew we were doing something very good. When writers would come to work for me, I'd read their scripts, they would be full of slang and I'd tell them, 'Fellas, don't use slang of the day. In reruns, five years down the line, we don't want to hear somebody say, 'He took out his gat.'"

People Talking About ...

Highlights

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on the seed of the idea for the "2,000 Year Old Man" from something seen on TV interview series We, the People, and how it was first "performed" by he and Mel Brooks when the two worked together on Your Show of Shows

01:17

Carl Reiner on appearing as Alan Brady on Mad About You

01:10

Carl Reiner on Sheldon Leonard and the path to The Dick Van Dyke Show

03:04

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on working with Sid Caesar

02:55

Carl Reiner on keeping The Dick Van Dyke Show in black and white

00:35

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on the early days of Your Show of Shows

14:25

Full Interview

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Chapter 1

On his early years and influences

On WPA free acting classes, summer theater and touring revues

On meeting his wife and getting drafted into World War II

Chapter 2

On his early stage work during his World War II service

On his first jobs after World War II

On his early work in television

Chapter 3

On The Fashion Story; on his early stage work

On his path to and work on Your Show of Shows and on Caesar's Hour

Chapter 4

On Your Show of Shows

On Caesar's Hour

On life after working with Sid Caesar, and on writing his own show, Head of the Family, which would later be reincarnated as The Dick Van Dyke Show

Chapter 5

On "the 2000 Year Old Man"; on The movie The Thrill of it All with Doris Day and James Garner, and on The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

On The Dick Van Dyke Show

On relocating to the West Coast

Chapter 6

On The Dick Van Dyke Show and The New Dick Van Dyke Show

On his film work after The Dick Van Dyke Show

On The New Dick Van Dyke Show

Chapter 7

On producing The New Dick Van Dyke Show and legacy of The Dick Van Dyke Show

On his greatest accomplishment (The Dick Van Dyke Show) and on showrunners he admires - David E. Kelley, Susan Harris, Jerry Seinfeld; on what makes a great comedy

On his favorite programs today and his thoughts on several people he's worked with - Woody Allen, Sheldon Leonard and Larry Gelbart

Chapter 8

On some of the people he worked with over the years

On his family

Shows

Admiral Broadway Revue

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on his path to Your Show of Shows

03:46

Caesar's Hour

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on how Carol Burnett would watch the rehearsals of Caesar's Hour

00:49

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on working with Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows and on Caesar's Hour

02:55

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on the end of Your Show of Shows and the beginning of Caesar's Hour

08:27

Celebrity Game, The

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on hosting the game show Celebrity Game

00:59

Dick Van Dyke Show, The

Carl Reiner on creating and producing The Dick Van Dyke Show

22:50

Carl Reiner on producing The Dick Van Dyke Show

12:02

Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The

Carl Reiner on co-writing The Dinah Shore Chevy Show with Charlie Isaacs

01:44

Fashion Story, The

Performer Carl Reiner on his experience as a regular on The Fashion Story on ABC and how he managed to get to Inside U.S.A. with Chevrolet at CBS' studio even though it followed directly afterward on live TV

03:40

Good Heavens

Carl Reiner on working on the TV show Good Heavens

02:05

Head of the Family

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on the impetus to write his own show, Head of the Family, later reincarnated as The Dick Van Dyke Show

06:51

Hot in Cleveland

Carl Reiner on the cast of Hot in Cleveland; from the red carpet at the Television Academy

I Spy

Carl Reiner on how his son Rob is responsible for bringing Bill Cosby onto I Spy

00:43

Inside U.S.A. with Chevrolet

Performer Carl Reiner on his experience as a regular on The Fashion Story on ABC and how he managed to get to Inside U.S.A. with Chevrolet at CBS' studio even though it followed directly afterward on live TV

03:40

Kraft Television Theatre

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on Kraft Television Theater's "Forty Weeks of Uncle Tom," directed by George Roy Hill

01:55

Mad About You

Carl Reiner on appearing as Alan Brady on Mad About You

01:10

Mary Tyler Moore Show, The

Carl Reiner on how The Mary Tyler Moore Show may have been born out of The Dick Van Dyke Show

00:21

New Dick Van Dyke Show, The

Carl Reiner on The New Dick Van Dyke Show

08:51

Carl Reiner on how an argument with the network over The New Dick Van Dyke Show made him not want to write any more shows for CBS

03:42

Playhouse 90

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on his work on Playhouse 90

00:36

Carl Reiner on working with Ernie Kovacs on Playhouse 90

00:50

Sid Caesar Invites You

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on Sid Caesar Invites You

00:42

Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris Special, The

Carl Reiner on The Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris Show

00:38

We, The People

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on the seed of the idea for the "2,000 Year Old Man" from something seen on TV interview series We, the People, and how it was first "performed" by he and Mel Brooks when the two worked together on Your Show of Shows

01:17

Your Show of Shows

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on initially becoming involved with Your Show of Shows as the interviewer in "the Professor" sketches

00:32

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on the writing staff of Your Show of Shows— which started with Mel Tolkin, Lucille Kallen, and Mel Brooks

01:35

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on Your Show of Shows producer Max Liebman

00:38

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on getting into the writer's room on Your Show of Shows, when he suggested a foreign movie parody

01:59

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on the early days of Your Show of Shows

14:25

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows and on Caesar's Hour

02:55

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on Your Show of Shows co-star Imogene Coca (and her working relationship with Sid Caesar)

00:55

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on a favorite sketch from Your Show of Shows for which he did an elaborate "fall"

02:05

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on Your Show of Shows co-star Howard Morris

01:38

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on the seed of the idea for the "2,000 Year Old Man" from something seen on TV interview series We, the People, and how it was first "performed" by he and Mel Brooks when the two worked together on Your Show of Shows

01:17

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on knowing and working with writer Mel Brooks (on Your Show of Shows)

01:41

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on how writers Mel Tolkin and Lucille Kallen set the tone for Your Show of Shows

00:38

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on lone female Your Show of Shows writer Lucille Kallen

01:38

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on the Center Theater, where Your Show of Shows was broadcast until it was torn down

02:12

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on the end of Your Show of Shows and the beginning of Caesar's Hour

01:12

Topics

Censorship / Standards & Practices

Carl Reiner on censorship on Caesar's Hour

00:54

Carl Reiner on problems from Standards & Practices regarding an episode of The New Dick Van Dyke Show in which the daughter walks in on her parents making love

03:27

Carl Reiner on difficulty from Standards & Practices regarding an episode of The New Dick Van Dyke Show about a daughter who walks in on her parents making love

02:01

Comedy-Variety

Carl Reiner on Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour

16:37

Creative Influences and Inspiration

Carl Reiner on his love of radio and film comedies

03:12

Emmy Awards

Carl Reiner on winning his first Emmy on Casear's Hour

02:27

Carl Reiner on Emmy awards for The Dick Van Dyke Show

00:27

Carl Reiner on wishing he had worn his hair for his first Emmy win

01:31

Hollywood Blacklist

Carl Reiner on blacklisted writer, Frank Tarloff and his own experience with the Blacklist

03:39

Industry Crossroads

Carl Reiner on blacklisted writer, Frank Tarloff and his own experience with the Blacklist

03:39

TV's Golden Age (1940s & '50s)

Carl Reiner on Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour

16:37

Technological Innovation

Carl Reiner on how his decision to rerun episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show led to the show's rise in popularity

00:43

Carl Reiner on Desi Arnaz's revolutionary 3 camera system used on The Dick Van Dyke Show

01:22

Carl Reiner on keeping The Dick Van Dyke Show in black and white

00:35

Television Industry

Carl Reiner on censorship on Caesar's Hour

00:54

Carl Reiner on blacklisted writer, Frank Tarloff and his own experience with the Blacklist

03:39

Professions

Actor

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Carl Reiner on wanting to be an actor

01:43

Carl Reiner on playing Alan Brady on The Dick Van Dyke Show

00:26

Directors

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Carl Reiner on his work as a director

09:47

Producers

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Carl Reiner on being head writer and producer on The Dick Van Dyke Show

01:30

Carl Reiner on producing The Dick Van Dyke Show

12:02

Writers

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Carl Reiner on being head writer and producer on The Dick Van Dyke Show

01:30

Carl Reiner on being a writer

00:43

Genres

Comedy Series

Carl Reiner on The Dick Van Dyke Show

22:50

Music Shows & Variety Shows/Specials

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on Your Show of Shows

22:52

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour

16:37

People

Allen Ludden

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Carl Reiner on friend and television host Allen Ludden

00:51

Ann Morgan Guilbert

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Carl Reiner on working with Ann Morgan Guilbert

00:48

Bill Cosby

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Carl Reiner on how his son Rob is responsible for Sheldon Leonard bringing Bill Cosby onto I Spy

00:43

Bill Persky

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Carl Reiner on the great writers on The Dick Van Dyke Show

01:14

Bob Finkel

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Carl Reiner on Bob Finkel, producer of The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

01:06

Bob Fosse

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Carl Reiner on Bob Fosse's role in the stage play, "Call Me Mr. Wizard"

00:23

Buddy Hackett

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Carl Reiner on Buddy Hacket's role in the stage play, "Call Me Mr. Wizard"

00:12

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on Buddy Hackett's behavior

01:19

Carol Burnett

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Performer/writer Carl Reiner on how Carol Burnett would watch the rehearsals of Caesar's Hour

00:49

Cary Grant

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Carl Reiner on his bungalow on the Universal Lot next to Cary Grant

00:21

Danny Thomas

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Carl Reiner on how Danny Thomas wanted Mary Tyler Moore for The Dick Van Dyke Show

02:08

Carl Reiner on one of The Dick Van Dyke Show's producers, Danny Thomas

01:06

Dave Caesar

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Carl Reiner on working with Dave Caesar, brother of Sid

01:02

David E. Kelley

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Carl Reiner on his admiration for Devid E. Kelley, Susan Harris, and Jerry Seinfeld

01:31

Desi Arnaz

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Carl Reiner on Desi Arnaz's revolutionary 3 camera system used on The Dick Van Dyke Show

01:22

Dick Van Dyke

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Carl Reiner on how Dick Van Dyke was selected by Sheldon Leonard to replace Reiner as lead actor on what would become The Dick Van Dyke Show

01:08

Carl Reiner on Dick Van Dyke's film career taking off after The Dick Van Dyke Show

02:14

Dinah Shore

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Carl Reiner on working with Dinah Shore

00:38

Eddie Cantor

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Carl Reiner on his love of Eddie Cantor on radio

01:27

Edgar Bergen

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Carl Reiner on his love of Edgar Bergen on radio

01:27

Ernie Kovacs

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Carl Reiner on working with Ernie Kovacs

01:32

Estelle Reiner

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Carl Reiner on his wife, Estelle Reiner

00:47

Frank Tarloff

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Carl Reiner on blacklisted writer, Frank Tarloff

03:47

Fred Allen

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Carl Reiner on his Fred Allen impression - of a man great on radio who didn't make it in television, inspired by Frank Sinatra

01:47

Garry Marshall

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Carl Reiner on Garry Marshall as a writer on The Dick Van Dyke Show

00:51

George Roy Hill

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Performer/writer Carl Reiner on his role on Kraft Television Theater's "Forty Weeks of Uncle Tom," directed by George Roy Hill

01:55

Grant Tinker

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Carl Reiner on Grant Tinker's enjoyment of The Dick Van Dyke Show and Tinker's relationship with Mary Tyler Moore

03:17

Henry Winkler

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Carl Reiner on working with Henry Winkler

00:34

Hope Lange

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Carl Reiner on Hope Lange's role as the wife on The New Dick Van Dyke Show

05:16

Howard Morris

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Performer/writer Carl Reiner on Your Show of Shows co-star Howard Morris

01:38

Imogene Coca

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Performer/writer Carl Reiner on Your Show of Shows co-star Imogene Coca (and her working relationship with Sid Caesar)

00:55

Jack Gilford

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Carl Reiner on his admiration for Phil Leeds, Jack Gilford and Zero Mostel

01:19

James T. Aubrey

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Carl Reiner on CBS President James T. Aubrey

01:14

Jerry Belson

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Carl Reiner on Jerry Belson as a writer on The Dick Van Dyke Show

00:51

Jerry Paris

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Carl Reiner on working with actor/director Jerry Paris

01:19

Jerry Seinfeld

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Carl Reiner on his admiration for Devid E. Kelley, Susan Harris, and Jerry Seinfeld

01:31

John Rich

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Carl Reiner on television director John Rich

00:52

Jose Ferrer

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Carl Reiner on working with Jose Ferrer on the TV show Good Heavens

02:05

Kid Gavilan

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Carl Reiner on his earliest memories of television - watching Kid Gavilan box

00:37

Larry Gelbart

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Performer/writer Carl Reiner on Larry Gelbart and the other writers on Caesar's Hour

00:42

Carl Reiner on television writer Larry Gelbart

01:40

Larry Matthews

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Carl Reiner on working with Larry Matthews

00:25

Lee Rich

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Carl Reiner on Proctor & Gamble's Lee Rich and The Dick Van Dyke Show

00:58

Lily Tomlin

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Carl Reiner on working with Lily Tomlin

00:20

Lucille Kallen

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Performer/writer Carl Reiner on lone female Your Show of Shows writer Lucille Kallen

02:49

Mary Tyler Moore

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Carl Reiner on Mary Tyler Moore on The Dick Van Dyke Show

00:15

Carl Reiner on Mary Tyler Moore on The Dick Van Dyke Show

02:08

Carl Reiner on Mary Tyler Moore at the end of the first season of The Dick Van Dyke Show

00:56

Carl Reiner on Mary Tyler Moore's stage and film career taking off after The Dick Van Dyke Sho w

02:14

Max Liebman

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Performer/writer Carl Reiner on Your Show of Shows producer Max Liebman

01:29

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on Your Show of Shows producer Max Liebman

00:38

Mel Brooks

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Performer/writer Carl Reiner on knowing and working with writer Mel Brooks (on Your Show of Shows)

02:03

Mel Tolkin

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Performer/writer Carl Reiner on Mel Tolkin, head writer on Caesar's Hour

00:22

Morey Amsterdam

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Carl Reiner on how Rose Marie cast Morey Amsterdam for The Dick Van Dyke Show

00:34

Peter Lawford

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Performer/writer Carl Reiner on how Peter Lawford (and Joe Kennedy) funded Head of the Family

01:29

Phil Leeds

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Carl Reiner on his admiration for Phil Leeds, Jack Gilford and Zero Mostel

01:19

Red Buttons

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Carl Reiner on going to high school with Red Buttons

00:58

Richard Deacon

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Carl Reiner on Richard Deacon's casting on The Dick Van Dyke Show

00:18

Rob Reiner

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Carl Reiner on the birth of his son, Rob, and taking him on the road while Carl performed in the stage show, "Call Me Mr. Wizard"

01:09

Carl Reiner on his son, Rob Reiner

02:33

Rose Marie

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Carl Reiner on Rose Marie on The Dick Van Dyke Show

01:27

Sam Denoff

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Carl Reiner on the great writers on The Dick Van Dyke Show

01:14

Selma Diamond

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Carl Reiner on working with writer Selma Diamond

00:34

Sheldon Leonard

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Carl Reiner on Sheldon Leonard and the path to The Dick Van Dyke Show

03:04

Carl Reiner on the legacy of Sheldon Leonard

02:42

Carl Reiner on how his son Rob is responsible for Sheldon Leonard bringing Bill Cosby onto I Spy

00:43

Sid Caesar

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Performer/writer Carl Reiner on working with Sid Caesar

02:55

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on his impressions of Sid Caesar

00:56

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on Your Show of Shows co-star Imogene Coca (and her working relationship with Sid Caesar)

00:55

Performer/writer Carl Reiner on Sid Caesar on Caesar's Hour

00:29

Stanley Kramer

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Carl Reiner on his work on It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World

00:41

Steve Martin

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Carl Reiner on working with Steve Martin

00:32

Susan Harris

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Carl Reiner on his admiration for Devid E. Kelley, Susan Harris, and Jerry Seinfeld

01:31

Woody Allen

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Carl Reiner on his admiration of Woody Allen

01:35

Zero Mostel

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Carl Reiner on his admiration for Phil Leeds, Jack Gilford and Zero Mostel

01:19