Shecky Greene, Legendary Stand-Up Comedian, Dead at 97: 'One of the Most Brilliant Comics'

Greene was a staple in Las Vegas and a regular on 'The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'

Shecky Greene, a legend in the Las Vegas stand-up comedy scene, has died at the age of 97, his wife of 41 years, Marie Musso Greene, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal and his manager Howard Rapp confirmed for PEOPLE.

Known for his several appearances and guest-hosting gigs on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Greene's work also extended to film and other television projects, including movies such as History of the World, Part I and programs like Combat! and Laverne & Shirley.

Greene's widow told the Review-Journal that her husband died of natural causes on Sunday morning, noting that he "always made humor out of whatever he could."

"He was a brilliant Comedian. He lead off for 7 years and came back for his first show at Kutchers Hotel and worked in many large venues again,” Rapp said of Greene in a statement to PEOPLE. “He loved entertaining again. I spoked to him last week and we had a fun talk and he finished with a song that included my name."

Rapp concluded, "Many people will miss this TALENT."

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Greene, perhaps best known for his stand-up and as a pioneering lounge act, worked alongside the likes of Frank Sinatra during his extensive career. Frequently appearing on talk and game shows from the 1950s through 1970s, he notably guested on The Tonight Show extensively throughout Carson's run. Per Variety, he was a guest on more than 60 episodes of the program.

During his decades in Vegas, Greene's headline shows would often highlight his improvisational skills, with his sets "tailored to his audience," according to his website's biography.

Born Fred Sheldon Greenfield in 1926, Greene began his career in Milwaukee by way of Chicago, and later left for Miami when Martha Raye asked him to play her club, his biography reads. Eventually, he landed in Las Vegas, where his lengthy list of accomplishments included introducing Elvis Presley to his first Vegas crowd as Greene's opening act in the 1950s.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Greene began his six decades in Vegas when he opened for Dorothy Shay in 1954, and later celebrated his final ticketed performances in the city in 2011.

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Among the many notable stories about Greene's life used for material, perhaps his most famous include him driving his car into the the fountain in front of Caesars Palace and Sinatra saving his life when five men were beating him, per The New York Times.

On television, Greene starred as Pvt. Braddock in ABC's Combat! for eight episodes, and later made appearances in The Fall Guy and The A-Team in the '80s. His film work includes appearances in 1971's The Love Machine, 1976's Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood and Mel Brooks' 1981 hit History of the World: Part I, in which he played Marcus Vindictus.

Writer Alison Martino, a family friend of Greene's, remembered the comedian on X (formerly Twitter) as "one of the most brilliant comics ever."

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