The Marx Brothers, The Three Stooges, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Lenny Bruce, Jackie Mason, Woody Allen and, of course, Seinfeld. The history of American comedy is the history of America\’s funniest Jews.
Back in 1991, David Brenner was king of the comedy mountain.\nThe comic had appeared well over 100 times on the \”Tonight Show,\” which he often guest-hosted in the 1970\’s and \’80\’s. He enjoyed lucrative Las Vegas appearances and was a perennial guest on TV shows like \”Letterman.\”
Recently, The Journal caught up with three comics whose Judaism informs their act and whose career informs their Judaism. Cathy Ladman quips about her intermarriage; Mark Schiff brings his comic pals to perform at an Orthodox shul fund-raiser; and Larry Miller views stand-up as Talmudic discourse.
Dean Ward says he was born at least two decades too late. He had an affinity for films of the mid-century, for the music of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. \”I used to scour the TV Guide for when the old movies were on.\”
There is an old joke from the Holocaust, Robin Williams says.
Two old Jews want to kill Hitler. The fuhrer doesn\’t show up. \”So one turns to the other and says, \’My God, I hope nothing happened to him,\’ \” Williams quips.
Bruce Vilanch, comedy writer to the stars, picks up the phone. \”Jew speaking,\” he says.
Emmy Award-winning Vilanch, 51, is one of the drollest Jews in Hollywood.
\”I went into therapy because I needed to resolve a horrible conflict,\” Martin Lewis reveals in his delightfully cheeky one-man show, \”Great Exploitations! An Audience With Martin Lewis.\” \”I happen to be obviously British, but also Jewish.\”
The Marx Brothers, The Three Stooges, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Lenny Bruce, Jackie Mason, Woody Allen and, of course, Seinfeld. The history of American comedy is the history of America\’s funniest Jews. But while being Jewish and funny has never been mutually exclusive, comedians in days of yore mostly kept their Jewishness offstage. Times are changing, and with multiculturalism comes a new brand of Jewish comedian.
I am a comedian and I have been lucky enough to have worked in my business for 20 years. This is a huge thing because most people in comedy never even work 20 days in 20 years. I have also been blessed to be part of a great group of comedians who have emerged in that time. Three of them are not just my peers, but also good friends. I both love and respect them as comedians and as human beings. Jerry Seinfeld, Paul Reiser and Larry Miller.
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