<P> Bell and Benjamin charter a modern plane at an aviation club, but when their wealthy alcoholic pilot (Jim Backus) knocks himself out drunk, the two are forced to fly and land the plane themselves . </P> <P> Finch, his wife Emmeline (Dorothy Provine), and his loud and obnoxious mother - in - law, Mrs. Marcus (Ethel Merman), are involved in a car accident with Pike's furniture van . The three flag down British Army Officer Lt. Col. J. Algernon Hawthorne (Terry - Thomas) in his car and convince him to drive them to Santa Rosita . After many arguments, most caused by Mrs. Marcus, she and Emmeline refuse to go any farther, and Finch and Hawthorne leave them by the side of the road in Yucca Valley . </P> <P> Pike tries to get motorist Otto Meyer (Phil Silvers) to take him to Santa Rosita, but the greedy Meyer betrays him and races for the money on his own, leaving Pike stranded with only a little girl's bike from his furniture van . An enraged Pike catches up with Meyer at a gas station and assaults him as the gas station owners (Arnold Stang and Marvin Kaplan) try to stop him . Meyer escapes in his car while Pike literally destroys the gas station . He then steals the station's tow truck and takes off after Meyer . Pike meets up with Mrs. Marcus and Emmeline and picks them up . While in a town called Plaster City, Mrs. Marcus calls her devoted and powerfully built, but impulsive and dim - witted, son Sylvester (Dick Shawn), who lives on Silver Strand Beach near Santa Rosita, to get the money for them, but misunderstanding and believing his mother is in trouble, he instead races to her in his car . </P> <P> Meyer experiences his own setbacks, including sinking his car while trying to cross the Kern River and nearly drowning . He manages to steal a car belonging to a passing motorist (Don Knotts) by telling him he's with the CIA and re-joins the hunt . All the while, Culpeper and the police department observe their activities from afar . Around this time, two taxi drivers (Peter Falk and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson) get in on the chase in their Yellow Cabs . </P>

Who played sylvester in it's a mad mad mad mad world