Career
The Brooklyn-born Handelman was a late 1960s fixture on programs such as The Merv Griffin Show, Dean Martin Presents the Golddiggers, The Barbara McNair Show, The Flip Wilson Show, The Editor Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. His stooped, resigned appearance and surreal sense of humor ("I just got up from a sick bed I don"t know what"s wrong with it—it just lies there") made him a highly-recognizable celebrity on the talk show circuit and resulted in about ten appearances on Johnny Carson. After the demise of the television variety shows, he accepted a handful of acting roles and subsequently taught in Los Angeles the art of stand-up comedy.
According to the Third Amendment and Complete Restatement of the Rodney Dangerfield Trust, there were two bequests regarding Handelman.
He died on August 5, 2007, in his Panorama City, California home in the San Fernando Valley from a heart attack. He was 77.
