Comedy Showcase: Rita Rudner at Her Best at Palm Beach Gala

We've been big fans of Rita Rudner ever since she started to appear on late night TV in the 1980s.

One of the hallmarks of her comedy is that it's clean, free from the vulgarity and shouting that many stand-up comics find necessary.  Her delivery is demure, tasteful, full of wry observations, and very funny.

Rudner started her career as a dancer, then switched to stand-up comedy about her dating experiences.  She married British producer Martin Bergman about 30 years ago and they have a daughter.  She is fond of Jewish humor but generally reserves it for when she performs for Jewish audiences.

 

Earlier this year Rita performed one of her best stand-up comedy routines at a Lady in Red fund raiser for disabled veterans in Palm Beach.

It's 29 minutes long, much longer than most of our posts, but we think you'll agree that it's worth watching.

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.

The Flagler Hotel: Following the Borscht Belt Trail from Palm Beach to South Fallsburg

We just returned from a month of Jewish humor lectures and programs in South Florida, which included visiting local tourist attractions. 

One of the picturesque sites that we enjoyed was the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, which once housed a hotel. It was the home of Henry Morrison Flagler, one of the richest men in America, who with John D. Rockefeller, founded the Standard Oil Company.

Our curiosity was piqued by a recollection that before Grossinger's, the Concord, and Kutsher's, there was a Flagler Hotel in South Fallsburg, New York, at the center of the Borscht Belt. Could there be a connection between Flagler's hotel building spree in Florida and one of the first Catskills hotels?

It didn't take much Googling to discover that there was indeed a connection. Although Flagler did not build the Catskills hotel, his Florida properties were the inspiration for the design of the first lavish resort that kept Jewish vacationers happy for many summers.

After Kutsher's, the last of the kosher Catskills hotels, was demolished last year to make way for a new spa hotel, and documented in Welcome to Kutsher's, a film now playing nationwide, we thought that anyone who treasures Catskills memories would enjoy this video explaining the Palm Beach - South Fallsburg connection.

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.)