When I lived in Manhattan in the 70' s i saw Brother Theodore sitting alone on an uptown bus on Central Park West during the Holiday Season, and I wished him a Merry Christmas; and am still surprised at how nice and sweet and gentle and sentimental he was, and that he was sincerely touched that someone wished him a Merry Christmas, and it made him so happy to wish me and my girlfriend a very warmhearted Merry Christmas! and he said "You're both very nice people!" And contrary to his very far-out hysterical iconoclastic and irascible comic persona, he was really a very nice loving person too, bless his soul!
He probably ducked on the bus after a quick homicide. LOL. Seriously this guy was the master of the spoken word and a genius of the highest order. I remember seeing him in the eighties and saying what the heck was that!
What you saw on Letterman and when he appeared on stage was his act. He was playing a character. This is not how Brother Theodore was in real life. So, many of these talented, interesting, quirky, and great "characters" would not be allowed on television in today's world due to the networks unquenchable need to pander to so-called "celebrity." This was the tail-end of when late night talk shows were still interesting, instead of literally playing mindless parlor games.
Back in the 80s, when I was in my late teens, I would record Dave on my brand new VCR machine. My favorite guests were Chris Elliot, and Brother Theodore! I used watch him over and over, and hang on his every word! (Plus, he reminded me of my German Grandfather!)
I remember seeing him on Letterman and while I thought he was very entertaining, I found him to be pretty eccentric and possibly demented lol. Little did I know his off-the-wall performance was just that, a performance. I'd misjudged him and believed his nuttiness so convincing 😅
"Only when we have drunk from the river of darkness can we truly see. Only when our legs have rotted off can we truly dance. As long as there is death, there is hope." - BT
He said he carried his quivering flesh in a suit case , dark andrechrome manaics even back then , blatantly talking about it even a bit of applause, my jaw hit the ground
There was absolutely no one else like Brother Theodore. When I first saw him, he scared the hell out of me. He got so worked up I thought that he was going to run off the stage, into the audience and strangle someone....maybe me! Later, I realized just how smart and brilliant a storyteller he was.
Same. I used to watch him on Letterman and not really get his humor. He scared me, but watching him years later I am laughing like crazy at his comedy style. My daughter was even looking at wondering what was so funny. He is hilarious!
I had the pleasure of having Brother Theodore in my cab in the early 80s. He asked about my life & was really interested in what I had to say. I had a social work job hit by Ronald Reagan and he encouraged me that the cab was just a detour. He gave me a pass for his performance in the Village later, but I was unable to attend. He couldn't have been more different from the character (I knew he was only playing) on Johnnie Carson.
Listen to the guy, what he's saying about medicine is the truth. Everyone was taking it as a joke but he's right. The ailments persist, the specialists prosper, and the patients die. That blew me away.
But he didn't have time to get into his alternative theory of health, quadrupedism--walking on all fours. Actually it reminds me of the trend about 25 years ago when psychologists or physical therapists were saying that it's good get down and crawl on all fours. Of course walking on all fours puts you in a posterior up posture. He concluded his long rant about it with, "And if you should grow a tail... wag it.' And whatever happened to the guy who tried to create a sports or health movement based on skipping instead of walking or running. He even got one of the shoe companies to make a special skipping shoes, I think. If I recall, at first his wife was supportive, but his devotion to the activity led to the breakup of his marriage. Maybe his wife thought he skipped out on her.
@@fredbloggs6080 I've heard that the pestilence of hemorrhoids is directly related to our bipedalism. When my friend told me this, I speculated that it would be bizarre if it sparked a "back to all fours" movement, but as it turns out, Brother Theodore had that all sussed a decade earlier.
I saw him my first year in college (Lehigh) in 1957; he blew me away and I always talked about him and his unique character; now I am going to watch a few of his old performances. Don't have originality like that anymore
Theodore had a beautifully perverse view of the hell we call our everyday world. Like an existentialist George Carlin. The cutaway to Paul and Billy Joel was priceless. I wish he was still alive and that he addressed the many horrors of our 21st Century world. He and Lewis Black could have a TV program in which they discussed society's ills in their twisted commentaries. I'd watch it.
The man was a genius. He was very funny but also had very perceptive insight into what was going on in the world, to wit he interlaced his charm to make it thought provoking but palatable for the ignorant.
Almost three decades later and I'm still laughing my head off watching Brother Theodore's appearances on "Late Night with David Letterman." Too bad Letterman's show hasn't been as hilarious since his move to CBS. Obviously it's because almost all of his guests now are strictly mainstream.
He's the original voice of Gollum, from the Rankin & Bass animated version of The Hobbit 1977. the Hobbit 1977 Cartoon: Bilbo finds the ring in Gollum's cave
He had his motto "As Long as There Is Death, There Is Hope" put on his gravestone. Hardly surprising he had a dark outlook on life having been imprisoned at the Dachau concentration camp until he signed over his family's fortune for one Reichsmark ...
That just might be the funniest second or two, combined with Dave's ensuing facial reaction, of this whole video. Got quite a big laugh from the audience too.
The best of the best. I saw him live at that little theater he played at. The funniest thing I ever saw. He survived the holocaust and was brought over here by Einstein. His speech about food is brilliant. All of the routines are great. He took chances on stage. Love his explosions of rage.
I was in 6th grade when i started watching Letterman. When he had Brother Theodore on, i thought he was some eccentric Monk and i was confused as to what i was watching. The audience was laughing but i didn't understand what was funny.
I was a teen in the 80's when Letterman first came on the air. I liked his show because of guests like BT. Letterman was kind of a "fringe" show back then, compared to Carson.
RIP brother Theodore, just came across you recently, you were prophesying the current times, david icke went through the same scenario on the Terry wogan show, audience laughing at truth, who's laughing now?
Ahhhh.... the early 80s, when Letterman was funny, before becoming just another Leftie entertainer/talk show host. Every time Brother Theodore was scheduled (along with Chris Elliot, Larry Bud Melman, Terry Garr) it was going to be a great night with Letterman.
This guy is awesome! Kinda weird, I never really known anything about him until now. Feel kinda stupid for that. But I was just looking for the burbs without knowing the movie title, and realized this guy was in it. And that brought me over here. And he is just awesome!
Letterman’s best guest. And I like how the audience hoots and hollers and applauds when he describes his lovely Lolita as “95 pounds of submissive, quivering flesh.” The first eight or nine years of Letterman’s late night show were his best.
@f33d4ward hm, I think it's more complicated than that. I believe what he's saying is 100% true it's just framed as a joke in a talk show format so as not to shock the jingos while at the same time getting his message across.
