Everybody Gotta Be Someplace

This is the first of two long-players from Yiddish humorist Myron Cohen. Although he'd been a local hit in the nightclub circuits, Cohen's initial national success came as a frequent guest on The Ed Sullivan Show as well as making the rounds on the early-to-mid-'60s late-night talk scene on programs such as the respective Joey Bishop and Steve Allen shows. Everybody's Gotta Be Someplace (1966) finds Cohen on-stage for what must have been a typical late show at the venerable Royal Box in the Americana Hotel deep in the heart of New York City's Broadway district. Rather than being a typical punch-line or gag-oriented comedian, Cohen spins refreshingly wholesome and whimsical yarns based on his observations of people practicing the daily craft of simply being themselves. Although many of the characters are portrayed from Cohen's own Jewish perspective, his tales transcend all race and ethnicity with the truly universal language of humor. The modern-day Aesop also incorporates a subtle moral to many of his observations. The relationship-oriented humor of "Husbands and Wives and Lovers" contrasts the slightly sillier "Two Elephant Stories" or the brilliant timepiece "Life at 'The Stage'" — which depicts gems culled from the wit and wisdom picked up at the venerable Stage Door Deli, where Cohen was known as a regular. He also takes on the increasingly popular trend of naturism on "Life in the Sun" as well as a twist on the presumption that women are the only ones affected by vanity on "The Long Coat Tale." In the wake of the direction that 21st century comedians have taken standup, none of the material on Everybody's Gotta Be Someplace could be considered offensive or questionable, although an adult perspective could be considered useful for fullest impact. In 2003, www.laugh.com issued the title on CD for the very first time.