Next came a stint in Hollywood, where he won a bit part in the 1946 Orson Welles film, ''The Stranger.'' He moved to New York after Welles showed a distressing romantic interest in his young wife. He worked at Schrafft's restaurant while beginning to perfect his monologue at small Bohemian clubs in the Village.

With the arrival of television, he made regular appearances on talk shows, including three dozen with Merv Griffin, as well as many with the comedian Steve Allen. After fading to cult popularity in the 1970's, he emerged as one of David Letterman's regular guests in the 1980's.

Brother Theodore had six sellout performances at Town Hall in the 1950's. He received good and bad reviews over the years, but few neutral ones, according to Jewish Week in August 1995. The Village Voice described him as ''a rabble-rouser without a cause - unless his cause is to promote the power of negative thinking and the glorification of anguish and despair.''

Theodore Gottlieb was born in Dusseldorf on Nov. 11, 1906. His father published 52 fashion magazines and might have been worth $80 million, he told friends. His life was easy and luxurious, and he attended the University of Cologne. When Hitler came to power, he fled with his family to Vienna. He was taken to Dachau on his 32nd birthday.

In the death camp, he said he saw men eaten alive by dogs while Nazi guards laughed, according to Who's Who in Comedy. When he agreed to relinquish the family fortune to win freedom, he was told the deal did not guarantee his family's freedom, but made it more feasible.

Eight members of his family died in the Holocaust, including his parents and grandmother. Some had thought their personal danger was gone after the agreement and had returned to Germany, said Lorca Morello, a lawyer, who was Mr. Gottlieb's girlfriend.