In Memoriam 2020: Carl Reiner (1922–2020) Tribute List

Carl Reiner was one of the most accomplished and beloved comedic talents of all time. He wrote, directed, and/or starred in dozens of classic television and film comedies, from Sid Caesar'sYour Show of Shows in 1950 to Toy Story 4 in 2019. Over the course of his career he won 11 Emmys, a Grammy, and the Mark Twain Prize for American humor, and wrote a number of books for children and adults. Celebrate the life of a comic genius with this list of vocabulary from his speeches, books, and skits.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. acknowledge
    declare to be true or admit the existence or reality of
    “Id like to acknowledge three people who early on knew Mel Brooks was one of the funniest people in the world: Sid Caesar, me, and Mel Brooks.”
  2. denigrate
    attack the good name and reputation of someone
    “When you denigrate people, they have two ways to fight back - with their fists and guns, or their mouths. And mouths are seemingly the easiest way to not get hit back. If people are laughing, they're not going to hit you.”
    – 2003 interview
  3. differentiate
    mark as distinct
    "I would consider that in the realm of tragedy rather than comedy. How do you differentiate between the two?"
    – The 2000 Year Old Man
  4. equate
    consider or describe as similar or analogous
    You equate this with man's discovery of space?"
    – The 2000 Year Old Man
  5. innovative
    introducing new ideas or creative methods
    A cult classic, as you may know, is a film that was seen by a small minority of the world's film goers, who insist it is one of the greatest, most daring, and innovative moving pictures ever made.
    – My Anecdotal Life: A Memoir (2003)
  6. longevity
    the property of having lived for a considerable time
    For longevity's sake, I told myself, "No slang of the day. No politics. Just ethics." The only thing that remains for a long time is the ethics. (And) this show did have a life that should go on after I'm gone.
    – 2003 interview
  7. monologue
    a dramatic speech by a single actor
    There was a young comic called Mel Brooks. I didn't know who he was, but he was standing up and delivering a monologue about a Jewish pirate.
    – PBS News Hour, 2016
  8. obituary
    a notice of someone's death
    Every morning, I would actually look at the obituaries before I had breakfast. And as a joke I said if I was not in it, I would have the breakfast.
  9. onomatopoeia
    using words that imitate the sound they denote
    "It's very onomatopoetic."
    – The 2000 Year Old Man
  10. repute
    look on as or consider
    It was reputed — I guess you're agreeing — that he was the greatest writer of all time."
    – The 2000 Year Old Man
  11. soliloquy
    speech you make to yourself
    I met Mrs. Whittington, an old English woman, who said: "We're going to all learn something from Shakespeare. We're going to do a soliloquy from Shakespeare.
    – PBS News Hour, 2016
  12. vulnerable
    capable of being wounded or hurt
    “Going through a war and living is a very important process. You realize how vulnerable you are and how lucky you are to be in the right place at the right time. As a matter of fact, I have a history of luck.”
    – 2019 Interview
Created on Sun Jul 19 14:20:33 EDT 2020 (updated Mon Jul 20 10:49:45 EDT 2020)

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