[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 25397-25398]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        IN HONOR OF CARL REINER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Saturday, October 28, 2000

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the comedic 
legend, Carl Reiner, and in recognition of his remarkable achievement 
of being awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. A writer, 
performer, humorist, producer and director, his range of talent and 
contributions to American television are without bounds.
  Reiner, now 78, has had a lengthy and multi-faceted career. In 1950 
Reiner joined Sid Caesar's ``Your Show of Shows,'' the precursor to 
sketch-comedies such as the ``Carol

[[Page 25398]]

Burnette Show'' and ``Saturday Night Live.'' There he honed his comedic 
talents with other giants of laughter, like the legendary Mel Brooks, 
and began the writing for which he gained his unique reputation. After 
the show left the air in 1954, Reiner went to work writing TV pilots. 
Seven years later, CBS bought the ``Dick Van Dyke Show,'' one of 
televisions first and best sitcoms. Reiner went on to win 11 Emmy 
awards for the show.
  Throughout the sixties, Reiner wrote semi-autobiographical comic 
novels, as well as short stories; his current collection is titled, 
``How Paul Robeson Saved My Life.'' He has produced comic television 
shows and movies, and most recently, he created the hysterical comedy 
album, ``The Two-Thousand-Year-Old Man,'' with Mel Brooks.
  Despite Carl Reiner's unmistakable gift for comedy, he remains a man 
of family, and a ``normal'' one, at that. He is married to Estelle 
Reiner, and is a loving father of three. Carl Reiner's universal appeal 
can, at least in part, be attributed to his straight sense of humor, 
unmarred by the vulgar and raunchy comedy too often presented just to 
make a buck. Of course, Reiner has said, ``If it's funnier than it is 
dirty, then let's have it.''
  Let us recognize and honor the man who has shaped so much of our 
shared American culture since the early fifties. A television and comic 
pioneer, Carl Reiner has become a legend in his own time. I 
congratulate his distinct genius and commend him on receiving the Mark 
Twain Prize for American Humor.

                          ____________________