Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Freddie Roman Joins Jerry Lewis on the MDA Telethon in 1995

Today we're turning the clock and calendar back 30 years to 1995 when comedian Freddie Roman did a standup routine on the Muscular Dystrophy Association Labor Day Telethon.   

The MDA Labor Day Telethon was an enchanting yearly variety show that ran for half a century. Hosted for many years by Jerry Lewis, the telethon featured top stars from the world of music, comedy, and Broadway.

The telethon was created to help support the MDA, which is leading the fight against muscular dystrophy. 

The world of comedy lost Jerry in 2017 and Freddie in 2022 but their humor lives on in YouTube.

Enjoy!

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Don Rickles and Jerry Lewis at the 1982 MDA Telethon

The MDA Labor Day Telethon was an enchanting yearly variety show that ran for half a century. Hosted for many years by Jerry Lewis, the telethon featured top stars from the world of music, comedy, and Broadway and was like no other show on earth. 

The telethon was created to help support the Muscular Dystrophy Association, which is leading the fight against muscular dystrophy. MDA dedicates itself to strength, independence and life.

Today we're turning the calendar back 40 years to revisit Don Rickles' appearance with Jerry Lewis.

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

Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Jan Murray and Jerry Lewis Kibitz on the 1995 MDA Telethon

The MDA Labor Day Telethon was an enchanting yearly variety show that ran for half a century. Hosted for many years by Jerry Lewis, the telethon featured top stars from the world of music, comedy, and Broadway. The telethon was created to help support the Muscular Dystrophy Association, which is leading the fight against the disease.

In 1995 comedian Jan Murray made an appearance on the telethon and kibitzed about their lives in show business and the differences in the way Jerry hosted the MDA Telethon and Jan hosted the Chabad Telethon.

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

Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Mal Z. Lawrence on Gambling and Married vs. Singles

Mal Z. Lawrence probably holds the record for most stand-up comedy routines performed in Catskills hotels. When the hotels started to disappear, Mal simply moved his shtick to the casino hotels of Atlantic City and the playhouses of Century Village and other residential communities in Florida.

Lawrence died last September, but his comedy lives on in video clips posted on the Internet. 

Here's one of his great performances which we recently discovered. It was 1993 and appearing in an MDA Telethon in Las Vegas, Mal delivered some of his classic observations about gambling, and how to tell if a man is married or single.

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

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Norm Crosby Stand-up Malaprops in 1997

Norm Crosby is a Jewish comedian from Boston who served time on the Borscht Belt circuit and in Las Vegas hotels. He's known mainly as a source of malapropisms that he integrates into his comedy routines. 

Crosby became a frequent guest on TV talk and variety shows, including Dean Martin’s, and subsequently was a perfect choice as a regular roaster on the hugely popular Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts of the ‘70s, writing lines like: “Wilt Chamberlain is an insulation to young people all over the world. Wherever he appears, after every game the kids give him a standing ovulation.”

Crosby continued with a busy schedule in the following decades, and was the Los Angeles co-host of the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon for over 25 years, until Lewis was unceremoniously dumped from the annual event in 2011. In later years Crosby, who is now 91 years old, performed at casinos, Friars Club roasts, and on cruise ships.

We previously posted a video clip of Crosby co-hosting a Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon in 1987. Here he is ten years later, at a MDA telethon in 1997.
Enjoy! 

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  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.
 

Buddy Hackett: Not Only Funny, But Smart and Caring

Buddy Hackett (1924-2003) was one of the funniest comedians ever to perform on hotel stages in the Catskills. Most people remember him for his jokes and stories that usually crossed the line into family-unfriendly territory.

We've been able to post a few of Buddy's jokes and interviews, but it wasn't easy to find clean ones. He wasn't a foul-mouth comic like many of today's stand-up performers, but part of the fun in watching him go through his act was anticipating the off-color references that crept into his stories and his delivery of the punch lines with a cherubic smile.

But behind his funny lines, Buddy was a smart and caring person. Not too many examples of his wisdom and caring nature made it through the generations of media conversion to find a place on the internet, but we found two that we'd like to share with you.

When appearing on the 1970s TV game show The Hollywood Squares, Buddy was asked "What country has the highest ratio of doctors to population?" Without hesitation, he blurted out his answer: "The country with the most Jews. I would say Israel." And then he went on to elaborate the reasons why, reasons that we instantly recognize and find intuitive. An easy score for the master comic.

In 1983, Buddy got involved with Jerry Lewis' telethon to provide financial and emotional assistance to children with neuromuscular disease. He delivered an emotional pitch for people to donate to the Muscular Dystrophy Association while delivering a special message to children with neuromuscular disease.

Hackett's Message: "Nobody is perfect. Everybody is different." We waited for a funny punchline at the end of the message, but there was none. This time Buddy was just being a mensch.

Enjoy both videos!

(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.)'