I’ll always remember the late comedy legend for one of my earliest memories of what would now be called “performance art.” I’m thinking of some of his early appearances on Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin, in which he didn’t tell one-liner jokes but instead weaved a complex comedic story, with minor gag lines along the way, leading to one tremendous big punch line–that was invariably completely bleeped. The buildup, the seconds of silence, the uproarious studio-audience laughter and applause. You just don’t get experiences like that anymore.