Remembering Ed Ames: Singer, Actor, Ardent Zionist, and Inadvertent Mohel on Johnny Carson Show

Ed Ames, the singer, actor, and ardent Zionist, died in Los Angeles on May 21 at the age of 95.

Best known for his singing career with three of his brothers as The Ames Brothers, and his acting in the role of Mingo, a Cherokee tribesman in the TV series Daniel Boone, Ames was a committed Zionist and president of the California chapter of the Zionist Organization of America.

Ames also became known as an unintentional mohel after a guest appearance on the Johnny Carson Show.

As Dennis Hevesi wrote in The New York Times,

Mr. Ames played Mingo for the first four of the show’s six seasons, from 1964 to 1968. But his most memorable moment during those years did not come on “Daniel Boone.” It happened on April 29, 1965, when he was Johnny Carson’s guest on “The Tonight Show.”

In a segment that soon became a staple of “Tonight Show” highlight reels, Mr. Ames set out to teach Mr. Carson how to toss a tomahawk, using a rudimentary drawing of a sheriff on a wooden panel as his target. He threw the tomahawk across the stage. When it embedded precisely in the sheriff’s crotch, the audience reacted with loud, sustained laughter.

Mr. Ames tried to retrieve the tomahawk, but Mr. Carson grabbed his arm. As another roar of laughter subsided, Mr. Carson looked at Mr. Ames and said, “I didn’t even know you were Jewish.”

He was.

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Wacky Wednesday Movie Clip: Mel Brooks as the Rabbi and Mohel in "Robin Hood: Men in Tights"

In his 1993 musical adventure comedy film Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Mel Brooks parodied the Robin Hood story featuring comedic references to previous Robin Hood films, particularly Prince of Thieves.

The film also features Brooks in a minor role; He plays the rabbi-mohel-wine merchant who gives Robin and his merry men a lesson in circumcision.

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.

MamaLA and the Mohel - A Funny Interview from the LA Jewish Journal

Rabbi Shalom Denbo of Los Angeles sat down for a funny interview last month with Julia Moss of the LA Jewish Journal. 

Rabbi Denbo is a mohel, and often finds himself telling jokes or being told jokes about  his profession.

As Moss, also known as MamaLA, wrote in the Journal,

Jokes? Denbo has heard them all. Years ago, as part of a marketing campaign, he ran an ad in the Jewish Journal that read, “Tell me a mohel joke I haven’t heard, and you’ll get a bris for free.” There were no winners. Not even: “Do you work for tips?”

Born in New Jersey, trained in Israel and now living in Pico-Robertson, Denbo is the author of “7 Traits: How to Change Your World” and has traveled as far as Tahiti, performing more than 1,000 brises, the ceremonial circumcision covenant that connects Jewish boys to their heritage on the eighth day of life.

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 Sitcom Showcase: Seinfeld and the Mohel

In one of the few explicitly Jewish episodes of the Seinfeld sitcom, Elaine and Jerry help friends find a mohel to perform a bris on their newborn son.

When the mohel shows up at the apartment, he's not exactly what they expect. In fact, he's eccentric, somewhat shaky, and manages to cut Jerry's finger in the process.

Here's a compilation of clips from within the episode. 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.)