Mort Sahl, a legendary American comedian and political satire who mocked presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to Donald Trump, has died.
A friend informed AP News that he died on Tuesday in Mill Valley, California, at the age of 94.
Starting in the 1950s, Sahl’s scathing political criticism garnered him thousands of followers, and he is credited with inspiring modern stand-up comedy.
His work during the Cold War is acknowledged with establishing the standard for political humour.
Albert Brooks, Laraine Newman, and Richard Lewis are among the comedians and comedy show producers who have paid homage. Harry Shearer, star of This Is Spinal Tap and a Simpsons regular, claimed Sahl “created contemporary American political humour.”
Sahl was born in Montreal and went to Los Angeles with his family as a youngster, where he began his career as a comic at San Francisco’s beatnik hungry I club.
He went on to perform in comedy clubs all throughout the United States. In 1959, he co-hosted the Academy Awards and hosted the first-ever Grammy Awards.
He was a regular guest presenter on Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show on NBC and was featured on the cover of Time Magazine in 1960. He also acted in many films and was featured on the cover of Time Magazine in 1960. At a period when artists donned tuxedos, Sahl was known for his signature sweater and loafers, and for bringing a newspaper on stage with notes for his act scrawled on it.
Rather of lounge-style stand-up punchlines, he preferred to narrate stories. Sahl was a humorous blunderbuss who took satisfaction in poking fun at everyone, frequently asking at gigs, “Is there anyone here I haven’t offended?”
He once observed, “A conservative is someone who believes in reform.” “But not right now,” she says. “Liberals are people who do the right thing for the wrong reasons so they can feel good for 10 minutes,” he once joked. Even after having a stroke, he continued to perform stand-up into his 80s. He began teaching a critical thinking course at Claremont McKenna College in California when he was 80 years old.
