Oldest Living Comedian, Professor Irwin Corey Dies at 102
Brooklyn born comedian “Professor” Irwin Corey died at the age of 102 in his home in New York City on Monday. Known for frequent TV and film appearances in the 60’s and 70’s he was a talk show staple known for his “intellectual doublespeak” and stream of conscious riffs that often made fun of high society. He was billed as “The World’s Foremost Authority.” Also known for philosophical truisms like “Wherever you go, there you are.” Corey had wild hair and an absent minded professor’s affect and was believed by some to be one of the most brilliant comedic minds of his time. Others, perhaps not paying close attention, dismissed his oration as nonsensical.
Corey’s 80 year career started on vaudeville stages and radio before transitioning to television and film and he had great theater roles throughout his life. Corey campaigned for President in 1960 on the “Hugh Hefner Playboy Ticket”, stood in for novelist Thomas Pynchon to accept the National Book Award for Gravity’s Rainbow in 1974, and appeared in a small, but unforgettable role in the iconic 1976 comedy Car Wash as the man who was carrying a pee specimen, but was accidentally mistaken for a “pop bottle bomber.”
Later in life, after being spotted panhandling near the Queens Midtown Tunnel he told the New York Times he raised over $10,000 hustling and donated all the money he collected to charity.
Professor Irwin Corey was 102.
