Shelley Berman Editorial Photo

Shelley Berman, comedian, stand-up, monologist, writer, actor, and teacher, poses with a fan after a one-man show at a Chicago, Illinois theater in 1983. Berman was an original and controversial. He gained popularity in the late 50`s and 1960s for his cranky, neurotic characters, often engaged in a telephone conversation, as he sat alone onstage, perched on a stool and holding an imaginary telephone receiver. His hot-selling, gold comedy albums paved the way for others to do the same, such as Bill Cosby, Bob Newhart, and Steve Martin. He spent his last decades as a professor of comedy at the University of Southern California and playing the role of Larry David`s elderly father in `Curb Your Enthusiasm.` A former Chicagoan, Berman died from Alzheimer`s-related causes at 92 on Sept. 1, 2017 in Southern California.