A Nose for Humor. Around here we usually try to keep the Jewish boasting to a humble brag, but with a subject like comedy, who could blame us for getting a little obnoxious and tooting our own shofar? But let's be real, the level of influence and outright stranglehold Jews have had over the art of comedy is staggering. Here's something worth a nosh: Jewish artists didn't just contribute to the art of comedy, they essentially invented most of its modern formats. The stand-up blueprint, the writers' room, the sitcom structure, the romcom, all overwhelmingly shaped by Jewish minds. Who knew?!
It starts in the late 19th century, with the rise of Yiddish theater in Eastern Europe and on New York's Lower East Side. The undisputed top zayde of modern Jewish comedy was Sholem Aleichem, who gave the world the schlemiel ("fool") and the schlimazel ("unlucky one"), archetypes that still define Jewish humor today: a schlemiel is the guy who spills his soup, a schlimazel is the guy it lands on. From there, the craft was sharpened in the Catskills, at the legendary Borscht Belt resorts, where greats like Mel Brooks, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, and Joan Rivers developed the rapid-fire, self-deprecating, observational style that would come to define American stand-up. The edgier, boundary-pushing comedy of the '70s and '80s traces back to the late, great Lenny Bruce, who pioneered the style in the '50s and '60s.
Reel Funny. Then there's comedy on film, a genre Jewish artists helped invent and have dominated for a century. From the Marx Brothers pioneering talking films, to the satire of Mel Brooks, to the neurotic protagonist perfected by Woody Allen, us Heebs have kept the world laughing through the good and bad. Today, Jewish minds like Judd Apatow, Adam Sandler, and Seth Rogen still shape comedy on screen, while stand-ups like Jerry Seinfeld, Dave Attell, Ari Shaffir, Nikki Glaser, and Sam Morril keep audiences in stitches. Even Israel is producing acts with growing international recognition, like Modi and Yohay Sponder.
Live to Laugh. Nu?! Explanation? In 1978, Time magazine estimated that eighty percent of American stand-up comedians were Jewish, this from a group that made up roughly three percent of the U.S. population. Were Jews simply born with the genetic funny bone? One theory: comedy as a coping mechanism. Aristotle claimed every story is ultimately told as either a tragedy or a comedy. Given the extraordinary tragedy the Jewish people have endured throughout history, we've collectively decided to make light of the kvetching and chosen to chuckle instead. Laughter adds meaning to survival. Humor as resilience. If we're alive, we might as well enjoy it, and if you can laugh at it, you can endure it. So forget the medicine, the technology, and the Nobel Prizes for a moment. For the gift of laughter alone, Gotta Love the Jews!
We've barely scratched the surface here, the legacy of Jewish comedy runs so much deeper than four faces on a mountain. Check out that 1978 Time magazine article mentioned earlier about Jews dominating the comedy industry, then watch a quick history of Jewish comedy, followed by a taste of each of these four legends in action. Promise you will L-O-L.
Go Deeper
Behavior: Analyzing Jewish Comics — the original 1978 Time magazine piece behind the eighty percent stat
G-d and Jewish humor - A fun look at how Jews view the intersection of comedy and The Creator.
Now onto the main event!... I hope you enjoy these videos as much as I did researching them! Enjoy.
First you gotta watch this super entertaining video from Unpacked. A fun and informative telling of the story of Jewish comedy. They've edited in some of the most notorious Jewish jokes ever, don't skip this one.
Here is a montage of mainly kosher flavored comedy by the undisputed king of Jewish humor - MEL BROOKS!
The following is a scene from Larry David's (my spirit warrior) show Curb Your Enthusiasm. From one of the best episodes of the series, watch Larry get stuck on a ski lift with an Orthodox jewish woman at sundown. The dialogue is pure meshugas!
Onto Mr. Warmth, the original and greatest of all insult comics, was an absolute gem. He was the court jester for Sinatra and the Rat Pack, king of mudslinging. No one was safe from his verbal arrows, and yet everyone knew, at the end of the day, he was the ultimate class act. Here's a montage guaranteed to get you grinning.
We kept this guy last because as usual, "he don't get no respect!" Rodney Dangerfield (born Jacob Cohen) didn't always lean into his Jewish background for material, but in some ways he might have been the most Jewish comedian ever. No style of comedy is defined more as being Jewish than self-deprecation. That was essentially Rodney's entire shtick, the unappreciated everyman. And he was the absolute funniest shlimazel in the biz. I dare you to watch this collection of one-liners and not laugh out loud!
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