Brother Theodore

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Brother Theodore
New York
, U.S.
Years active1946–2001
Children1

Theodore Isidore Gottlieb (November 11, 1906 – April 5, 2001), mostly known as Brother Theodore, was a

Diseuse or Kabarett, which was popular in Western Germany during the 1920s and 30s's. He was described as "Boris Karloff, surrealist Salvador Dalí, Nijinsky and Red Skelton…simultaneously".[1]

Biography

Early years

Gottlieb was born into a

Reichsmark. After being deported from Switzerland for chess hustling, he went to Austria where Albert Einstein, a family friend, helped him immigrate to the United States.[2][3]

In USA

He worked as a janitor at

B-movies, although he did provide the voice of Gollum in the 1977 made-for-television animated version of The Hobbit and the follow-up adaptation of The Return of the King (1980). He also voiced Ruhk, Mommy Fortuna's assistant and carnival barker in The Last Unicorn
(1982).

Success

Theodore's career as a

quadrupedism", the idea that human beings should walk on all fours. Jay Landesman booked him at St. Louis' Crystal Palace during the 1960s. In the early 1960s, he frequently performed at the Café Bizarre in New York's Greenwich Village (106 W 3rd Street). He reached a wider audience through television, with 36 appearances on The Merv Griffin Show in the 1960s and '70s, and was also a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Dick Cavett Show, and The Joey Bishop Show. After his nightclub and TV appearances in the 1950s and '60s waned,[3]
he retired in the mid-1970s.

Comeback

He was pulled out of retirement and booked by magician

The New York Post.[4]

In an interview for MUM, The Society of American Magicians official magazine Dorothy Dietrich said:[5]

Dick knew him. As a kid Dick used to see him around the village and they would be lined up around the block to see him. The stage was black with a pin spot on a desk which was raked towards the audience. The light comes on and there he is with a big shadow behind him. He just stares at the audience for an excruciatingly long time. Then he says, "Einstein is dead. Schopenhauer is dead... and I'm not feeling so well myself!"

He was the king of dark humor. He performed as a wacko. Truthfully, he was always depressed in real life and people thought it was his stage character. He was from a rich family in Europe and then his whole family went to concentration camps and lost it all. When he came to the States, he quickly became a huge celebrity in the Village. Then he totally disappeared and became a has been. Dick remembered him and tracked him down. We asked him to perform at the Townhouse and he turned us down saying that his life was over and he couldn't perform anymore. We insisted that he try to perform again in our place. He didn't make it easy for us. He had all these provisions that he tried to use on us to not perform.

He ended up doing the Saturday night midnight show for three years. We revived his career and it helped promote us. We did Equity Showcase Theater for out of work actors to display their talents. We had famous directors trying out their shows. One time an audition for a two-person show brought in 2000 actors vying for the parts. The line went all around the block.

Theodore made 16 appearances on NBC's

National Public Radio (NPR). Beginning in 1982, Theodore took up residence on Saturday nights for a nearly two-decade run at the 13th Street Repertory Theatre in Greenwich Village.[6]

An article on Theodore appeared in RAVE magazine with color photos. Segments from it are in the book Who's Who in Comedy. Just prior to his death from pneumonia, he recorded several monologues for the controversial documentary series, Disinfo Nation. He appeared in Billy Crystal's mockumentary Don't Get Me Started and voiced the character of an ointment expert on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday version of Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer in 1995.

To My Great Chagrin documentary

In early 2001, Theodore and film artist Jeff Sumerel met and discussed producing a documentary about Theodore. In February of that year, preliminary shooting began, including informal interviews with Theodore in his apartment; in April, Theodore contracted pneumonia and died.

Sumerel was encouraged by Theodore's family and friends to complete the documentary. As no funding was available, Sumerel continued the project intermittently as time and financing allowed. After interviewing Henry Gibson other notable performers who were Theodore fans were encouraged to participate. Gibson connected Sumerel with Penn & Teller who were long-time, avid Theodorians. Over the next 5 years Sumerel interviewed Dick Cavett, Eric Bogosian, Tom Schiller, Harlan Ellison, Len Belzer, Joe Dante, Mark Shulman, and Woody Allen, among others. Sumerel spent the next two years gathering archival materials and working with editor Jeter Rhodes, to sift through the vast amount of content conveying Theodore's personal and professional life.The result was a non-traditional documentary titled To My Great Chagrin: The Unbelievable Story of Brother Theodore.[7] The film was selected for premiere, February 13, 2008, at the opening night of the Museum of Modern Art's Fortnight Series.

Death

Theodore died in New York City on April 5, 2001, at the age of 94.[2] He is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.

His headstone reads: Known as Brother Theodore / Solo Performer, Comedian, Metaphysician / "As Long as There Is Death, There Is Hope"

Media presence

Discography

  • Entertainment of Sinister and Disconcerting Humor (Tears from a Glass Eye, With a Tongue of Madness): (10 in. disc, Proscenium 21)
  • Coral Records Presents Theodore: (Coral S 7322)
  • To My Great Chagrin

Film appearances

Note

Theodore claimed on one of his David Letterman appearances that he had filmed a scene as a supermarket cashier in Leonard Part 6 starring Bill Cosby, but was fired after a day of shooting because he repeatedly mocked the star.

Television appearances

Radio appearances

  • Joe Frank's radio shows The Decline of Spengler, The End, A Tour of the City, Black Light
  • Steve Post The Outside radio show on WBAI in New York during the 1960s and 70s.
  • Bob Claster's Funny Stuff on KCRW in Santa Monica, September 24, 1989.
  • The Ointment Expert: Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer, 1996 //www.hearingvoices.com/webwork/isay/knipl.html

References

  1. ^ "BROTHER THEODORE, ONE OF DAVID LETTERMAN'S ALL-TIME MOST MEMORABLE GUESTS, LECTURES US ON 'FOODISM'". Dangerous Minds. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Martin, Douglas (April 6, 2001). "Theodore Gottlieb, Dark Comedian, Dies at 94". The New York Times.
  3. ^
    ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original
    on March 8, 2008.
  4. ^ "Dick Brookz biography". Dick Brookz website. 1974–2018.
  5. ^ "Dorothy Dietrich - A Great Escape by Bruce Kalver". Houdini Museum. 2016.
  6. ^ "Q & A New York's Oldest Comic: Brother Theodore". New York Daily News.
  7. ^ Harris, Will (July 3, 2019). "The Unique Beauty of Brother Theodore's 'Stand-up Tragedy'". Vulture. Retrieved September 6, 2023.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brother Theodore.
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