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CNN Live Saturday

Comedic Actress Coca Dies at 92

Aired June 02, 2001 - 13:12   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: In other news, comedic actress Imogene Coca passed away today. She was 92 years old. Coca was best known as Sid Caesar's co-star on television's classic "Your Show of Shows" back in the 1950s.

The star's long time friend, Mark Basile is joining us now by phone from Westin, Connecticut.

Mark, thanks for talking with us. Tell us about her. What was she like off of TV, off of stage?

MARK BASILE, FRIEND OF IMOGENE COCA: She was a great humanist. Donna, she had a wonderful, wonderful heart and was charming and funny and a great friend, a great giver.

KELLY: Was she as funny when she wasn't performing?

BASILE: She always had a comic take on life, but not necessarily funny in the way she was on stage, but she always appreciated the human condition.

KELLY: Can you tell us how she got into comedy? I thought that was a funny story about the coat?

BASILE: It's a great story. She was standing backstage where it wasn't heated during a new faces of 1934 keeping warm in a coat that Chuck Walters had given her. And when the electricity went out, and the stage (INAUDIBLE) director sent Imogene and Henry Fonda and Chuck Walters out to distract the audience during the electrical blackout. And he eventually incorporated that into the show.

And two weeks later, when this was considered a comedic routine, she was hailed as a great comedienne. And she had been cast as a singer/dancer in that show.

KELLY: Yeah, and here she was in that big coat, all 5 foot 3 inches of her.

BASILE: Exactly.

KELLY: How about her chemistry with Sid Caesar? She talked about that a bit and how well that worked, even though they never saw each other personally. BASILE: That's true. She always said it was an amazing professional relationship, that from the moment they were together, they could feel each other's rhythms and timing. And it just worked like a great mix.

KELLY: What did she enjoy personally for fun? What did she do in her off time?

BASILE: Well, she loved the beach. She loved to travel. She loved pets. She was a great, you know, a great pet lover. She had pet ducks. And she would love to watch television herself and see what new comedians, new actors were on the scene. She was so much involved in show business. She loved all facets of it.

KELLY: Yes. Mark Basile, personal friend. Thank you so much for visiting with us.

BASILE: My pleasure, thank you.

DONNA KELLY: And among others, apparently she inspired Lily Tomlin, Whoopi Goldberg and Tracey Ulman.

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