Legendary Comedian David Brenner Dies at age 78

Sadly, over the weekend, comedian David Brenner died at the age of 78. Brenner who was a regular on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, which truly launched his career in the 1970’s, passed away at his home in Manhattan on Saturday.

The New York Time reported that Brenner’s publicist, Jeff Abraham, indicated that the comedian’s death was related to his battle with cancer.

For many Brenner’s style of comedy was a refreshing change from the masses of comedians who relied on shock value with routines focused on topics of sex or profanity.

Instead, Brenner focused on what he called, “the dumb things that we say and do,” referencing all of the common every-day things that make us all share our heads. Comedians like Jerry Seinfeld later built a career based on the same type of “clean” comedy.

David Brenner made his first appearance on the Carson’s Tonight Show on Jan. 8, 1971. Over the years, Brenner would appear on the show over 150 times, many as a substitute host, earning him the title of the most appearances of anyone.

In an interview in December on “CBS This Morning,” Mr. Brenner recalled that Carson once explained why he was asked so frequently to perform stand-up on the show, as opposed to sitting on the couch for an interview: “He said, ‘Because I like to sit back, smoke a cigarette and laugh for six minutes.’ ”

David Brenner certainly made a lot of people laugh over the years, both directly and indirectly as a result of his influence on other successful comedians. He will surely be missed.