Twenty years ago I was sitting in the Weston (MA) kitchen of Richard Sher and we were talking about how radio was great before TV killed it. How it used to offer plays, documentaries, westerns, sitcoms, quiz shows and assorted soaps and serials. How the only saving grace these days was public radio. It provided more than pop music as mental floss; it threw thought bombs at the listeners.

“What if there was a show that made people think and laugh,” Richard postulated. “Like an American version of ‘My Word’.” When I pointed out that the long-running British radio series was on many of our NPR stations, he replied: “Most of their cast are either ancient or dead. What you’re hearing are old broadcasts. I think I can put together a comedy quiz show just by assembling a group of friends with big personalities from right here in the Boston area.” Where would you go with that? “We’d do a pilot and I’d sell it.”

And so, in the old Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney gambit of “hey, kids, let’s put on a show,” that’s exactly what Richard did. His weekly series, Says You!, has been cruising along, powered by the devotion of thousands of fans across the country, for 19 years now — cruising along until the morning of Feb. 9 when Richard Sher, 66, suddenly was taken away from us by cancer.

The outpouring of praise and sadness has been phenomenal. Just take a look at the endless chain of comments online (80 at last count), attached to the Gazette obituary. As listeners know, Richard wasn’t just someone who came up with a radio show. He was the heart and soul of the show. Yes, it’s an ensemble show, but we are his ensemble. He created us as well.

He was the show’s producer, director, writer, host, editor and venue booker. He was the Chief-Cook-and-Bottle-Washer. To take on this kind of multi-tasking, you have to be either a genius or a crackpot — or a little of both. His first stroke of genius came in his selection of a cast. The originals since the show’s premiere are Barry Nolan, Francine Achbar, Tony Kahn, Carolyn Fay Fox, Paula Lyons (my wife) and myself. We all — especially Richard — have a love affair with language. The chemistry seemed to fall into place quite easily. For example, Richard and I shared a cranial storage area of educational detritus that we used for wit at social occasions.

Examples of his show-biz genius abound. Let’s start with the format. Says You! is essentially a quiz show, but it’s all based on the interplay of our personalities. As far as the cast is concerned, there is no preparation, no rehearsal. We just come as we are and let out our inner animals. Richard Sher was the handler, the tamer. He saw each performance as a sort of concert of comedy and jazz. He relied on improvisation and riffed with us. He tailored questions to fit our individual predilections. He baited us with clever wordings to tickle our knee-jerk instincts to go for the jocular. In effect, the shows were more “scripted” than we thought.

But just as important is the role of the audience. For Richard, they too are part of the cast. He totally involved them in every performance. At the beginning of each live show, he would tell the audience that although he loved them for their loyalty, they were in fact also there as a “prop.” He set a fire of enthusiasm under them by having them “on cue, applaud like mad” just in case we bombed and he needed extra clapping for the edit session. The audience warmly reciprocated. They knew that’s why they were there. Richard also banked on the fact that our fans were on our wavelength. I don’t think a show has gone by where if none of us knew the answer there wasn’t at least someone in the audience who did — and Richard counted on that. Each live performance became as relaxed and rollicking as a family reunion, complete with Richard’s aptly chosen local music acts. As Time Magazine said, Says You! turned into a party for smarties.

Richard and his family considered themselves summer people, enjoying the company of their Island friends for years on end. Four different times he brought Says You! here for live performances.

Another example of his smarts was how he edited these shows. He removed all timely humor, all topical references. This means the nearly 500 shows we have recorded to date are “evergreens.” They can be broadcast at any time. So, for the time being, the show will continue. We are hoping to do more live shows in the months ahead. The question now is who if anyone can fill Richard’s hosting shoes, not to mention all his other shoes. He is and will be sadly, sorely, surely missed.

Arnie Reisman and his wife, Paula Lyons, regularly appear on the weekly NPR comedy quiz show, Says You! He also writes for the Huffington Post.