With a nod to Carl Reiner, 'My Favorite Year' recalls the infancy of TV sketch comedy

(JTA) - With the passing of Carl Reiner, who passed away of natural causes at his home in Beverly Hills on June 29, 2020, at the age of 98, we lost one of the comedy greats, Jewish or otherwise. His obituary recalled a show business career that dated to the infancy of television in the 1950s.

Reiner gained success starting in his late 20s as a writer and performer on "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour," sketch comedies that one might broadly consider precursors to "Saturday Night Live," sans the politics. Those early programs featured an unparalleled staff of writers, almost all Jewish, t...