The Comedian And Broadway Star Was 93

Dick Capri, who began performing stand-up comedy in the 1960s, died in his sleep from an aortic dissection on December 26. He was 93.

Born Richard Capri in Reading, Pennsylvania, Capri honed his early skills as a comedian as a clerk in his father’s grocery store doing comedy mimes of the customers. Eventually, he pursued a career as an impressionist and began performing on programs such as The Merv Griffin Show and The Ed Sullivan Show.

In 1973, Capri rose to prominence when he toured with Englebert Humperdinck. He also appeared opposite stars in the caliber of Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli and Tom Jones at venues such as Radio City Music Hall and the Minskoff Theater in New York, as well as in Las Vegas and London through the course of his career. And he performed for presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush.

Capri made his Broadway debut in 1991 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater, co-starring in the Catskills On Broadway, which ran for 14 months and later toured nationally. He was active doing his stand-up in hotels in the Catskills, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Reno and Tahoe, among other locations. And he had four acting credits, according to IBDb, including the 2010 film One Angry Man, which was inspired by the Henry Fonda 1957 theatrical of the same name.

“Some say it’s not good to meet your idols cause you could be disappointed but not with Dick. From the first time I met him at the #friarsclub he could not have been nicer, sweeter or more down to earth,” wrote comedian Mike Fine on social media. “An absolute giant of a performer and more importantly as a person. Lucky to have called him a friend.”

Wrote comedian Alan Zweibel: “What I think I loved the most about him was his simple honesty. A man who had brushes with greatness, yet managed to stay his humble self. R.I.P. Dick. Thank you for all you taught me.”