Humor in Yiddish Phrases - A New Series - "A Goyishe Name from Ellis Island"

In our search for new faces and new sources of Jewish humor, we came across a series of posts by a ventriloquist who goes by the name of Dr. Allan and has a dummy named Chaim.

Here's a post with Chaim telling a classic story of how an immigrant arriving at Ellis Island managed to end up with a very non-Jewish name.

Enjoy!

The Great Jewish Entertainers: Ventriloquist Rickie Layne and Velvel

Rickie Layne (1924-2006) was born Richard Israel Cohen in Brooklyn. He was an actor and entertainer, but he was best known for his ventriloquism. In 2002 he received the Askins Award for lifetime achievement from the International Ventriloquist Association.

Layne began entertaining at age 9 doing impersonations of Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson, and other stars but his act took on a new twist after an uncle gave him a ventriloquist's dummy.

Nat 'King' Cole was so impressed with Layne and his dummy Velvel that he urged Ed Sullivan to put the act on his popular Sunday night variety show and if Layne bombed, Cole said he would appear on the show himself at no charge. Layne went on to appear in 48 of Sullivan's shows.

Layne's dummy was originally named Willie, but while performing in the Catskills, he gave the dummy a Yiddish accent and changed his name to Velvel.

Here's a rare video clip of Ricky Layne and Velvel kibitzing with Ed Sullivan in 1956 (Velvel always called him "Solomon."

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 THEPLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO. 

Ventriloquist Jonathan Geffner and His Cast of Jewish Characters

Jonathan Geffner and his puppet partners have enchanted audiences of all ages and sizes throughout the USA and beyond. They have appeared on the nationally seen television programs: Late Night (NBC), Hour Magazine (FOX), The Joe Franklin Show (WOR), Dialogue (ABC) and KTV (CNBC). 

Jonathan has also appeared on numerous cable TV programs, and has been featured on ABC-TV News and News-12 Long Island. National TV audiences have also seen Jonathan and Friends in several anti-drug PSAs. Their award-winning videos have been seen in thousands of schools across the country.

We've previously posted Jonathan doing a show in Yiddish for kids in a Hasidic camp. In this video, he performs for a Jewish school audience.

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.