Benson was also one of the last survivors of the vaudeville era.
Actor and comedian Irving Benson, best known as heckler Sidney Spritzer, has died at the age of 102.
Benson passed away on May 19, but it wasn’t until recently that the news gained widespread media attention following an announcement by his daughter, Vicki Dvorin.
The entertainer spent over a decade working beside Jack Mann on the comedy act Benson and Mann. He was also a regular guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
Ex-vaudevillian Milton Berle hired the late comedian to appear as heckler Spritzer on the show Texaco Star Theatre, The Milton Berle Show, and The Hollywood Palace. The character would typically provide comic relief while sitting in the front row.
“You’re interrupting me all the time. You keep cutting me off. How will anybody know what I’m going to say?” Berle asked during a 1966 show. “By watching Johnny Carson the night before,” Spritzer fired back. Then, after Berle stated that comedy is in the blood, the heckler replied, “You better get a transfusion.”
The two would later reunite for a tour in Florida during the early 2000s, when Berle was already in his 90s. Berle played a small role in the Kenan & Kel show in the year 2000, making it his final televised gig. He died in 2002 from colon cancer complications.
Benson, meanwhile, started his career as a singer and dancer, often entertaining troops during World War II. His wife had died on March 11, a little over two months prior.
The two are survived by two daughters, five grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
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