Mort, at 93, was recently interviewed for a documentary on Robin Williams. It's very touching that when Sahl first began appearing at a tiny theater in Mill Valley, Robin arrived (via bicycle from his nearby home) to see him. He was the only one to come backstage after the show.
Shy, with his head down, Robin told Mort, "I always wanted to meet you." And thus began a long friendship.
Well, the little theater is of course closed due to the pandemic, and Sahl has not chosen to be one of those Facebook celebs to ZOOM a show from his living room, so we haven't heard anything new, or enjoyed the old anecdotes, for quite some time. Which leads to this bit of trivia filler:
The great nose shortening. Mort did pretty well with his nose...Phyllis Kirk, Yvonne Craig, China Lee...there's quite a list. But there came a time for a change. Many wondered why he went for the nose job, but then again, people have long doubted Sahl's keen ability to predict the future, or anticipate what could become a total disaster.
Back in 2004, NY Times critic Bruce Weber, in reviewing Mort's show downtown, alluded to Mort's blunter look by comparing him to Jerry Stiller!
A few days later, Jerry Stiller (along with his wife Anne Meara) was at the show, and during the (atypical) Q&A session that ended the evening, he stood up. "Mort, I just want to say that I read the Times piece, and I think you are a VERY attractive looking man!"
This got laughs and some knowing applause. Afterward, I took a photo of the two friends:
Mort had a line, which he's probably re-used at the Mill Valley theater now and then, about how if you take up a consistent position in this country, "eventually you'll be tried for treason."
Plastic surgeons may tell you that there's nothing consistent about the human face, and that over the years, parts can sink or sag, making other parts (especially the nose) look a lot bigger. Since that photo from 2004. it's been proven that what may have seemed a bit odd at the time, was prudent. As Mort's aged in his 80's and 90's, and his features have gotten a bit smaller, his nose seems well proportioned!
As to what he would have looked like without the nose job, one "hesitates to speculate." Just to make it official, here's a screen cap from the Flushing Hospital website, and from Medline:
The Pandemic...terrible, isn't it? Nothing much to do but wait it out, and instead of talking about Covid-19, we take our minds off it by discussing plastic surgery! It does confirm that on most any subject, including the future, Mort has insight. He knows! (He also doesn't stoop to puns. The only one I remember is when he talked about "a bust of Nixon -- who may be busted!" He immediately apologized: "That was a pun.") Anyway...onward.
I saw Mort perform many times in the 80s and 90s. It is strange that he would get a nose-job. It lacks honesty, and he was all for the truth. He looked good with his original, Semitic appearance--women liked him, too as was pointed out. So the question is ..why do it?
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