The wild-haired comedic actor known for his improvisational riffs and nonsensical style and who billed himself as “The World’s Foremost Authority,” on everything, has died at the age of 102.

Irwin Corey’s dizzying mix of earnest political tirades and slapstick one-liners earned him the nickname “professor.”

He was a staple on TV talk shows and in comedy clubs over a career that included working with comics like Jackie Gleason and the The Smothers Brothers and film-maker Woody Allen.

Corey’s son, Richard, called his father “original and one-of-a-kind” and channeled his father’s sense of humour in announcing that the elder Corey had died peacefully at his home, surrounded by his son.