Comedy Is Hard

Okay: It's probably my fault that Carl Reiner is dead.
Just yesterday I was lamenting about how my blog has become more moribund and stuck in the weeds of all the tragedy currently facing our world. And I may have made some comment about how I was no longer doing those celebrity obituaries that had become such a staple of my routine here. Then along comes this one.
Carl was ninety-eight years old. Recently he had been tweeting "As I arose at 7:30 this morning, I was saddened to relive the day that led up to the election of a bankrupted and corrupt businessman who had no qualifications to be the leader of any country in the civilized world...At the same time, Hillary Clinton, who had all the needed qualifications to lead our beloved nation, had received 3 million more popular votes than our Russian-installed puppet president." I will miss that voice.
I will also miss the man who provided my older brother and I with an opportunity to do laps in a cineplex. We walked out of a preview screening of Pee Wee's Big Adventure and straight into the theater next door showing Summer School, directed by Carl Reiner. Afterward we congratulated ourselves on being two for two when it came to giddy comedies.
To be clear: Summer School was not Mister Reiner's magnum opus. That honor may have to be spread across his delivery of Steve Martin to the big screen: The Jerk. Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid. The Man With Two Brains.Or his long and winding collaborations with best friend Mel Brooks. All 2000 years of it.
But upon further reflection, I believe I will settle on his creation of The Dick Van Dyke Show. It was sitting in front of these reruns that I gained knowledge of the dangers of hassocks and how to pratfall over them. Originally, Carl had written a show that he thought he might star in, but instead became the seed for one of the most perfect sit-coms ever produced. Rob, Laura, Buddy, Sally, and even Mel shared their lives of suburban desperation and showbiz. And Carl found a place for himself as uber-star Alan Brady, master of toupee comedy. Mary Tyler Moore. Dick Van Dyke. Stars who shone bright on their own after their ever-relatable coupling way back then. The Petrie's next-door neighbor Jerry became not only a director of that series but went on to direct almost every episode of a little show called Happy Days.
Maybe we could just celebrate the gift of his son, Rob. It is no overstatement to suggest that American comedy would have been very different if not for the loving presence of Carl Reiner. For nearly a hundred years, he stomped on the Terra and made certain that we were all rolling around on it with laughter. To say that he will be missed is definitely an understatement. His was a voice to be reckoned with. And laughed along with.
Aloha, Carl. The world needs to make room in their hearts and minds for all the joy you brought to keep it safe forever.