1950's TV Star Imogene Coca Dies at 92

H A R T F O R D, Conn., June 2 -- Imogene Coca, the elfin actress andsatiric comedienne who co-starred with Sid Caesar on television'sclassic Your Show of Shows in the 1950s, died today. She was92.

Coca died of natural causes at her Westport residence, saidlongtime friend Mark Basile. "She was a humanist," Basile said. "Her humanity was sostrong, so giving. She made people want to be with her.'

Star of TV’s ‘Golden Age’

Coca's saucer eyes, fluttering lashes, big smile and boundlessenergy lit up the screen in television's "Golden Age" and broughther an Emmy as best actress in 1951. Although she did some broadburlesque, her forte was subtle exaggeration. A talented singer and dancer, her spoofs of opera divas andprima ballerinas tiptoed a fine line between dignity and absurdityuntil she pushed them over the edge at the end. "The trouble with most comedians who try to do satire," acritic once wrote, "is that they are essentially brash, noisy andindelicate people who have to use a sledge hammer to smash abutterfly. Miss Coca, on the other hand, is the timid woman who,when aroused, can beat a tiger to death with a feather." With Caesar she performed skits that satirized the everyday —marital spats, takeoffs on films and TV programs, strangers meetingand speaking in cliches. "The Hickenloopers" husband-and-wifeskit became a staple. Once she and Caesar pantomimed a wife posing for her amateurphotographer husband. He kept rearranging her mobile features forthe perfect look and wherever he put her lip or eyebrow, that'swhere it stayed. "The great thing about Imogene is that her left nostril neverknows what the right one is doing," director-producer Max Liebmansaid.

‘Chemistry Was Perfect’

Coca and Caesar complemented each other marvelously. "The chemistry was perfect, that's all," Coca once said. "Wenever went out together; we never see each other socially. But foryears we worked together from 10 in the morning to 6 or 7 at nightevery day of the week. What made it work is that we found the samethings funny."