Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Sid Caesar and Nanette Fabray in "Shadow Waltz"

When Imogene Coca opted to leave Your Show of Shows to star in her own TV series in 1954, Sid Caesar continued his comedy on Caesar's Hour until 1957, with most of the same writers and actors. Nanette Fabray replaced Imogene Coca as Caesar's co-star.

Caesar's Hour expanded on the format of Your Show of Shows with many sketches running a half-hour or more, including musical parodies such as There's No Business and Towers Trot, and genre parodies such as Bullets over Broadway (a gangster movie takeoff) and Aggravation Boulevard (with Caesar as a Rudolph Valentino/John Gilbert character who fails to make the transition from silents to talkies). 

In this Caesar's Hour great spoof of light operettas, Sid struggles to play the part of the dashing romantic figure he's expected to be, while Nanette does her best to cover his gaffes. 

The song Shadow Waltz was written for Gold Diggers of 1933 - a Warner Bros. film by Al Dubin and Harry Warren.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO. 



#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Meir Kay Asks New Yorkers to Walk the Red Carpet During Fashion Week

As we surf the web looking for funny videos to post here, we come across some very talented funny people who delight in creating interesting and humorous situations to provide entertainment and reasons to laugh.

Because this is Jewish Humor Central, we try to find ones that have some kind of Jewish connection. Sometimes they're obvious, and sometime they're a bit of a stretch.

Meir Kalmanson has been posting funny Jewish videos on YouTube under the name Meir Kay. An Orthodox Jewish filmmaker from Brooklyn, his aim is to spread "happiness and positivity."

We've already featured six of his videos on the Evolution of Chassidic Dance, High Fiving Strangers in New York, Dancing Behind People in Jerusalem, How to Lift the Torah Like a Boss, Looking for a Leader in the Park, and A Hugging Spree in New York City.

In this video, Meir puts down a red carpet in New York streets and subway platforms and invites random strangers to strut during Fashion Week.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO. 

 

Koolulam Brings 2,000 People Together to Sing Mahapecha Shel Simcha

We just can't get enough of Koolulam, the singing project that brings Israelis from all walks of life who hadn't met before to sing popular songs together.

Koolulam has been bringing people together for two years. It's a social-musical initiative aimed at strengthening the fabric of society.

The project centers around mass singing events in which large groups of non-professionals come together to form a single collaborative musical creation. Koolulam brings together people from all walks of life to do one thing: stop everything for a few hours and just sing – together. At Koolulam, the audience is the artist.

Every participant enters as a unique individual and comes out, while still unique, as a part of a larger whole.

For every Koolulam event, a different well-known song is chosen to be performed. The musical team works hard toward each event, putting together a fresh and innovative arrangement of the chosen song. They write new instrumental arrangements as well as an original three-part vocal arrangement.

In this video, Koolulam brought 2,000 people together in the Jezreel Valley to sing a new three-part vocal arrangement of the song Mahapecha Shel Simcha (A Revolution of Joy) to celebrate Israel's 70th birthday. It took just under an hour to learn all the parts.

Enjoy! 

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO. 

A Joke to Start the Week - "Your Back Lights Are Not Working"

A few weeks ago, our joke to start the week came from a Jews Telling Jokes night earlier this year at Chabad of Downtown San Diego. Today we're sharing another joke from that event told by Rabbi Zalman Carlebach, spiritual leader of the shul. 

Rabbi Carlebach was born in Johannesburg and went to Torah Academy. He studied in Morristown, Leeds, England, and Pretoria where he received his Rabbinical Degree. As a student Rabbi, he traveled from rural Australia to Kathmandu, Nepal to share the beauty of Torah with others.

Somewhere along the line he learned to tell jokes. 

Here's the setup for this one:  A driver is stopped by a policeman. He asks why he was pulled over. "Was I speeding?" "No." "Do I not have a license?" "Yes, you have a license." The cop tells him "Your back lights are not working." And then...

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: A Jewish Cowboy and Bull Rider Tells His Story

A Jewish Cowboy? A Jewish Bull Rider? Meet Texan Jonathan Hochman, a self-described Jewish Cowboy and the first Jewish bull rider.

Jonathan's devotion to the sport of rodeo is the focus of today's video, another trip into Jewish Country by the Israeli reporters Oriel and Lior who film and talk their way through a road trip across the American heartland looking for unexpected Jewish connections in flyover country.

And they've surely found one in Jonathan Hochman and his daughter Jimmie, who compete regularly in horseback and bull riding. They raise and train rodeo horses for Jamie to ride in professional and college rodeo events. 

They have 11 horses on their ranch, which they call El Rancho Loco.

Enjoy!


A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

Welcoming Shabbat with Sephardic Cantor Aaron Bensoussan

We're always looking for new and different ways to welcome Shabbat. Most of our posts reflect the Ashkenazic tradition. 

But today we're sharing a medley of Shabbat songs by Cantor Aaron Bensoussan at the Hampton Synagogue in the Long Island town of Westhampton Beach.

If you're used to the pace of Ashkenazic prayer, take a minute (or three) to keep pace with Cantor Bensoussan as he gets up to speed in playing his oud and launches into the medley including Lecha Dodi.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Ed Wynn and Buster Keaton in "Silent Television"

Ed Wynn was born on November 9, 1886, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania into a Jewish American family. His birth name was Isaiah Edwin Leopold, and he went by the nickname, "The Perfect Fool". His stage name came from turning his middle name Edwin into a first and last name.

Wynn began his career in vaudeville in 1903 and was a star of the Ziegfeld Follies starting in 1914. He hosted one of the first network, comedy-variety television shows, on CBS, and won both a Peabody Award and an Emmy Award in 1949.

Buster Keaton, Lucille Ball, and The Three Stooges all made guest appearances with Wynn. This was the first CBS variety television show to originate from Los Angeles, which was seen live on the west coast, but filmed via kinescope for distribution in the Midwest and East, as the national coaxial cable had yet to be completed.Wynn was also a rotating host of NBC's Four Star Revue from 1950 through 1952.  

On this Throwback Thursday, here's a classic comedy sketch from 70 years ago with Ed Wynn and Buster Keaton, best known for his physical comedy in silent films, performing on "silent television."

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.



#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places - Riding with Jewish Motorcycle Clubs

Today we're sharing another episode of Oriel and Lior's road trip through mid-America country roads, discovering Jewish traces in unexpected places. 

This time the country roads lead to New Jersey. And while the state has one of the largest Jewish populations in the US, very few of them are part of the rare breed that is Jewish bikers.

There are about 35 Jewish motorcycle clubs in the USA with names like Shul Boys, Lost Tribe, Star of David Bikers, and Hillel's Angels. In this video, Oriel and Lior ride New Jersey roads with the Chai Riders, one of the oldest Jewish motorcycle clubs.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.