( CNN ) -- Sid Caesar was a man of many words . The comic , writer and star of `` Your Show of Shows '' who died Wednesday knew his way around a punch line . Here are just a few of his pithy quotes and clips of some of his performances : . `` Comedy has to be based on truth . You take the truth and you put a little curlicue at the end . '' `` The guy who invented the first wheel was an idiot . The guy who invented the other three , he was a genius . '' `` If you listen to a language for 15 minutes , you know the rhythm and song . '' `` When I did comedy I made fun of myself . If there was a buffoon , I played the buffoon . '' `` There 's a now , a was , and a gon na be . Now is now , and after now is a was . And what comes after the was is a gon na be . It has n't happened yet . It 's gon na happen as soon as the now is over . But if you have a good now , you 're bound to have a good was and a good gon na be . ''
Sid James was a comic and writer . He was well known for making up stories . He once said he was the ` ` . ''