Film Description

"Obliged to choose between complaint and comedy,' Jewish Nobel Laureate, Saul Bellow chooses comedy, 'as more energetic, wiser and manlier.' Through the years so have the Jews used comedy as an antidote to despair, a time-tested remedy to resist, reinterpret, and transcend adversity."

– Sarah Blacher Cohen, Editor, Jewish Wry

As the film reviews the remarkably disproportionate number of American Jewish comedians throughout the 20th century, it will yield insights into the Jewish experience in the United States, the Jewish contribution to the entertainment industry in particular and the responsiveness of American audiences to the comedy of Jewish performers and writers. The programs will examine both sides of the Jewish affinity for comedy: What makes Jews funny? and Why do Americans laugh at their comedy?

The sense of humor that Jewish performers and writers draw upon comes from the history and culture of their people. The Old Testament is, of course, the original source. The film looks not only at the story of the patriarchal nuclear family – Abraham, Sarah and Isaac – but also at the use of scripture as a source of laughs by comedians, including Mel Brooks, Woody Allen and David Steinberg.

The story of the contribution of Jews to American comedy begins with the immigration from Eastern Europe that brought to New York City the greatest concentration of Jewish people in the world. A central thread in the storyline is the development of America’s entertainment industry in which Jews have played prominent roles offstage as well as on. By the early 1900s much of New York’s theatrical business was run by Jews. In vaudeville, most of the booking agents and stage managers were Jewish. Among the Jews who became moguls in the nascent film industry were men who got their start running nickelodeons. Having connections helped many Jewish comedians get their feet in the door.

Still, in show business, talent is all important; a performer has to bring in an audience. Because their humor was highly verbal, Jewish performers were rare in films during the silent era. It was primarily on the stage and through the new medium of radio that Jewish performers got laughs, with some, including George Burns, Jack Benny and Fanny Brice, making the transition from the vaudeville circuit to the airwaves.

Gertrude Berg was one of many radio performers who developed comedy skills in the Borscht Belt. The Catskill resorts that catered to urban Jews replaced vaudeville as the breeding ground for Jewish comedians in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. The tummler, or social director of a resort, became the prototype of the lead figure of the comedy variety show. In turn, these programs, from Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows to Saturday Night Live, were to serve as launch pads for the next generation of comedians.

Meanwhile, stand-up comedy became a popular phenomenon in clubs and on record albums. Attracting a hip, cult audience, Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Mort Sahl and Lenny Bruce challenged the conformity of the McCarthy era.

As it examines Jews in contemporary comedy, the film widens its scope to encompass the comic mind, looking at the writers as well as the directors and stars of popular films and television series. This frame of reference allows full consideration of the work of Woody Allen, Nichols and May, Larry Gelbart, Neil Simon, Albert Brooks, Mel Brooks, Jerry Seinfeld, and Larry David, writer-star of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm.

"Your film will make a significant contribution to the public understanding of this rich, fascinating subject and pay tribute to the great Jewish comedy minds and their contributions to American popular culture. I am honored to be included in this remarkable project."

– Mike Wallace, Senior Correspondent, 60 MINUTES