Bye Bye Big Al

Somehow I missed the passing of Alan Sues last week.  Not that he was a big name, but he was notable as a cast member of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, often appearing as the flamboyant Big Al.



Even before Rowan & Martin he'd been around.  A veteran of WWII, he was a professional actor in the 1950s, appearing in the original Broadway production of Tea And Sympathy.  He had a comic gift, doing stand-up and sketch comedy, notably in the off-Broadway production of The Mad Show.  He also did TV work before his Laugh-In break, appearing, for instance, in the Twilight Zone classic "The Masks."

When Laugh-In ended, he kept working in TV, still showing up in stuff like Sabrina, The Teenage Witch in the late 90s.  But it's still Big Al that he'll be remembered for.