Comedy legend Robert Klein reflects on his remarkable journey from saving a child’s life as a young lifeguard in the Borscht Belt to working alongside SNL icons like John Belushi and Bill Murray, revealing with emotion and humor how timing—both in comedy and in life—can change everything.

Comedy legend Robert Klein recently sat down for an unforgettable conversation that traversed decades of show business, near-death heroics, and the golden age of live entertainment.

Now in his 80s but as sharp as ever, Klein reflected on his early years as a lifeguard in the Catskills’ Borscht Belt—where he not only witnessed the birth of American stand-up comedy but also saved a young boy’s life—and his later work alongside titans like John Belushi, Bill Murray, and Dan Aykroyd on Saturday Night Live.

“I think people forget just how gritty and real the Borscht Belt was,” Klein said with a smile. “It was a boot camp for entertainers—and sometimes lifeguards.”

Before Klein was making audiences laugh across the country, he was a teenager working summer jobs in the Jewish resorts of upstate New York.

It was there, he says, that he saw live comedy for the first time and unknowingly absorbed a masterclass in timing, delivery, and stage presence.

“I watched guys like Buddy Hackett and Jerry Lewis perform before I even knew I wanted to be a comic,” Klein recalled. “There was a rhythm to it. A cadence. You don’t forget that.”

But the moment that left a mark beyond the stage came poolside.

“I saw this little kid struggling,” he said. “Nobody else noticed. I just dove in—instinct, I guess—and got him out. It didn’t feel heroic at the time. It felt necessary.”

The rescue wasn’t just a footnote in his story—it shaped the seriousness with which Klein viewed responsibility, a theme that would later show up in the self-aware, socially observant comedy that became his trademark.

Decades later, Klein found himself at the center of one of television’s most influential comedy institutions: Saturday Night Live.

Though he never joined the cast, he hosted the show multiple times and worked with its original stars—including John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Murray—at pivotal points in their careers.

“Oh, John,” Klein said with a wistful laugh. “He was pure chaos. Brilliant chaos. You never knew what he was going to do, and that was the magic.”

Klein recalls the first time he shared the stage with Belushi: “I was doing a bit, and suddenly John just barrels in, throws on a wig, and turns it into something totally different. It was maddening and beautiful.”

He also remembered Bill Murray’s razor-sharp timing and dry delivery. “Bill was the cool kid who always had the funniest line, even if he only said three words. You couldn’t outpace him—he had this low-simmer energy that could kill on camera.”

As for Dan Aykroyd, Klein said he was “the engineer behind the madness,” bringing structure to the chaos with his meticulous approach and encyclopedic mind. “Dan knew why a joke worked. That’s rare.”

Klein’s memories highlight not only the talent of those early SNL stars but the intensity of their creative environment. “There was no safety net,” he said. “You either got the laugh, or you didn’t. It was live. You couldn’t hide.”

When asked about his own contribution to comedy, Klein demurred with typical modesty. “I was just trying to be funny and tell the truth,” he said. “And I still am.”

Though he never became as much of a household name as some of his younger contemporaries, Klein’s influence looms large.

Comics like Jerry Seinfeld and Jon Stewart have credited him as a foundational voice—someone who paved the way for observational, self-aware stand-up that spoke to middle-class life with intelligence and bite.

These days, Klein isn’t chasing punchlines as much as reflecting on them. “I’ve had a good run,” he said. “And I still think about that kid in the pool sometimes. One second later, and I might’ve been telling a different story.”

As the conversation wound down, Klein offered a final thought on the power of comedy and timing: “It’s not just about making people laugh—it’s about knowing when to jump in, whether it’s a joke… or a rescue.”

From the Borscht Belt to Studio 8H, Robert Klein’s story isn’t just a history of comedy—it’s a reminder that the funniest people often carry the deepest sense of duty.