Imogene Coca, born Emogeane Coca (November 18, 1908 – June 2, 2001
Coca was best known for her role opposite Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows. Starting out in vaudeville as a child acrobat, she studied ballet and wished to have a serious career in music and dance, graduating to decades of stage musical revues, cabaret and summer stock. In her 40s, she began a celebrated career as a comedian on television, starring in six series and guest starring on successful television programs from the 1940s to the 1990s. She was nominated for five Emmy Awards for Your Show of Shows, winning Best Actress in 1951 and singled out for a Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting in 1953. Coca was also nominated for a Tony Award in 1978 for On the Twentieth Century and received a sixth Emmy nomination at the age of 80 for an episode of Moonlighting. Coca had no children, but had been married twice; for 21 years to Bob Burton, from 1935 until his death in 1955 and later for 27 years to King Donovan, from 1960 until his death in 1987. On June 2, 2001, Coca died at her home in Westport, Connecticut, aged 92, from Alzheimer's disease.