Shecky Greene, a high-energy stand-up comedian who for many years was one of the big stars in Las Vegas, died on Dec. 31 at his home in Las Vegas. He was 97.

Mr. Green was a frequent guest of Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson and other television hosts, and had acting roles ink movies and on television. In Las Vegas, though, he was “an institution,” The New York Times said. He told stories, he made faces, he ad-libbed, he did impressions, he sang — he would do just about anything for a laugh.

Interviewed by The Washington Times in 2017, Mr. Greene looked back on his career philosophically: “Why did I do this and that? At 90, I still don’t know. Once in a while I’ll have a nice sleep. Most nights, I wake up yelling, ‘Why did I do that?’”