My Memories of David Brenner

The comedy world lost another icon Saturday when David Brenner succumbed to his battle with cancer at the age of 78, according to Yahoo.

Brenner, according to his publicist Jeff Abraham, died peacefully at home with his family by his side.

David Brenner was one of my favorite comedians growing up. I loved him on the Tonight show. I was also a huge Freddie Prinze fan. Freddie Prize and David were very close. In fact, Brenner in a lot of ways was Freddie’s mentor. Later, when I got to interview Brenner, he told me some great Freddie stories and made me feel like I was a friend, which as a fan, really resonates.

David Brenner was one of the first comics to take the newspaper and make it funny. I remember a commercial for one of his HBO specials where he held a USA Today and said that’s where he gets his material. I also remember a Sunday night sometime in the nineties when Davis Brenner took the stage at 'The Laff House' in Philadelphia and did his whole show reading from a stack of newspapers and making it hysterical. Just like he always done.

David Brenner was supposed to perform at the Broadway Theatre in Pittman on March 1st but had to cancel because he was ill. I was looking forward to not only working with him but hanging backstage with my “friend” and hearing more stories from him. David had a way of making the whole audience feel like his friend.

Suzy Yengo, who owns the Catch A Rising Star comedy club chain says “I had the privilege of working with the legendary David Brenner many times at Catch A Rising Star. He lived comedy. His stories about Catch in the olden days, Johnny Carson and so many industry people kept me in tears of laughter.”

“His physical stature was appropriate as he towered over most comics with his integrity and finesse.