WESTPORT, Conn. — Imogene Coca, the diminutive actress who co-starred with actor Sid Caesar in classic television comedy sketches in the 1950s, died Saturday. She was 92.
Coca died of natural causes at her Westport, Conn., residence, longtime friend Mark Basile said.
"She was in good spirits, a loving, giving person," Basile said. "She went peacefully. Her wit was there to the end."
Basile said that he was at Coca's bedside when she died and that the comedienne had been in and out of consciousness for the past week.
Coca was best remembered for co-starring with Caesar on the live comedy program, "Your Show of Shows," where she satirized everyday life, particularly marital strife.
Born in Philadelphia on Nov. 8, 1908, Coca began her acting career when she was 11.
She was a singer-dancer when Leonard Stillman produced "New Faces" and needed someone to do comedy routines while scenery changes were made. Coca did the comedy bits, and her career as a comedienne was born.
Coca appeared in Stillman Revues at nightclubs and hotels until Max Leibman asked her to do a television show for him, "The Admiral Broadway Revue."
That one-hour live show became the award-winning, 90-minute revue, "Your Show of Shows," in which Leibman cast her and Caesar.
The program was launched on NBC-TV in 1950 and made stars out of the two performers.
The writing staff included young talents such as Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon and Larry Gelbart. Carl Reiner, a regular on the show, would use his experience with Caesar as material for "The Dick Van Dyke Show."
Coca's acting credits include "Plaza Suite," "The Rivals," "Fourposter," "Cabaret," "Gin Gamae," "Bewitched," "The Brady Bunch," "Fantasy Island" and "Mama's Family." No memorial service was planned, Basile said.
"It was her express wish that there be no memorial service and I made that promise to her. She will be cremated and her ashes scattered at a beautiful place. This is what she wanted," he said.