Goodbye to Professor Irwin Corey — one of my all-time favorite comedians.

"Comedian and actor Irwin Corey, for whom the word "however" was the perfect opening line, has died at age 102. With an impish grin and wild hair, Corey was a nightclub and talk-show fixture who worked with stars from Jackie Gleason to Woody Allen. His admirers ranged from Damon Runyon to Lenny Bruce."

I celebrated him here on July 29, 2011, his 100th birthday:

Happy birthday to Professor Irwin Corey. He's 100 years old today.

Here's video of him performing in 2011, when he was 97:



And the video below comes from way back in 2007, when the President of the United States was George Bush, and Professor Irwin Corey looked much more than 5 years younger. He criticizes the President in both videos, and perhaps the years weigh very heavily as you approach 100 — I'm saying "you," but do you really think you'll have the opportunity to feel the increasing weight of the years leading up to 100? — but perhaps for a true left-winger like Professor Irwin Corey, the experience of disappointment in Obama hurts far more than getting what you knew you were going to hate from George Bush.



From Wikipedia:

Professor Irwin Corey is about to turn 100.

I love Professor Irwin Corey, and I hope this birthday — on Tuesday — gets the attention it deserves. The Daily News had a story yesterday with some great recent pictures of this man who looked old when he was on TV in the 1960s.

Asked how it feels to be nearing 100, Corey deadpanned: “I’m going to write a book — ‘The first 100 years are the hardest.’”

Some video here. 

Professor Irwin Corey screwed up the Soupy Sales funeral!

"Professor Irwin Corey had to be removed from the podium after his eulogy turned into a diatribe about health-care reform, in which he insisted that Soupy — along with Odetta, Eartha Kitt and Miriam Makeba — died prematurely because of inadequate treatment."

Maybe you don't care about Professor Irwin Corey — or Soupy Sales — but I do.