Free e-Book For Purim - "Israel is a Funny Country" - March 21 Thru March 24

 

A Joke to Start the Week - "Emissions"

It's Monday morning and it's time for another Joke to Start the Week. This week we do a deep dive into the treasure chest that is Old Jews Telling Jokes. 

So what did we come up with today? Another oldie but goodie told by 78-year-old lawyer Ron Busch. Here's the setup:

Mr. Ginsberg is a resident of Rossmoor. He's getting ready to go to Florida for the winter and he goes to see Dr. Schwartz, an internist. The doctor asks "What's the problem?" And then...

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.)

Tony Orlando and Dudu Fisher Sing "Hava Nagila" and "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" in Hebrew

1970s phenomenon Tony Orlando made a name for himself churning out bubble-gum pop songs with a female duo called Dawn, performing such runaway hits as Knock Three Times and Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree. 

The group sold nearly 30 million records, topped the Billboard charts three times, and had their own television variety show that lasted for two seasons.

Orlando has teamed up with Israeli singer Dudu Fisher and they have been performing in Fisher's show The Voice of Broadway, which played in Branson, Missouri and was shown in a PBS television special. A highlight of their show is their singing Hava Nagila followed by Tie a Yellow Ribbon, the song that made Tony Orlando and Dawn famous. Orlando sings the song in English, and Fisher joins in with a Hebrew translation.

Here's the video clip of Orlando and Fisher singing the two songs. If you're feeling nostalgic about the 1973 original, the Tony Orlando and Dawn original song follows.

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.)

Comedy Classics: Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca as Classical Musicians

Last Sunday we attended a concert by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra at the New Jersey State Theater in New Brunswick. The featured composition was Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2. We had first row center seats in the mezzanine, which provided an excellent view of the entire orchestra, including the percussion instruments at the back of the stage.

Our inclination to find humor in just about every situation got the best of us as we watched the two percussionists waiting patiently for their moment to arrive when they could clash the cymbals and briefly strike the kettledrums with timpani mallets.

So what's so funny about this? We couldn't help but recall a Sid Caesar-Imogene Coca skit from Your Show of Shows where they played the roles of two percussionists awaiting their special moment in a classical music concert. In this skit the piece was Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.

After a short search of YouTube we found the Caesar-Coca skit and are glad to share it with you today.

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: Shalom from Israel to Ireland on St. Patrick's Day

Today is St. Patrick's Day. No, it's not a Jewish holiday, but it's a day when people all over the world celebrate the culture of Ireland, and that does include the Jewish presence in the Emerald Isle.

The history of the Jews in Ireland extends back nearly a thousand years. Although the Jewish community has always been small in numbers (not exceeding 5,500 by religion since at least 1891), it is well established and has generally  been well-accepted into Irish life. Jews in Ireland have historically enjoyed a relative tolerance that was largely absent elsewhere in Europe.

Shalom Ireland is a one-hour documentary about Ireland’s remarkable, yet little known, Jewish community. This fascinating film chronicles the history of Irish Jewry while celebrating the unique culture created by blending Irish and Jewish traditions. From gun running for the Irish Republican Army during Ireland’s War of Independence to smuggling fellow Jews escaping from the Holocaust into Palestine, Shalom Ireland tells the untold story of how Irish Jews participated in the creation of both Ireland and Israel. 

The film profiles several prominent Irish Jews including Robert Briscoe, the first Jewish Lord Mayor of Dublin; the renowned Talmudic scholar Rabbi Isaac Herzog, who served as the first Chief Rabbi of Ireland before becoming the first Chief Rabbi of Israel; and Rabbi Herzog’s Belfast-born son, Chaim Herzog who became President of Israel. Today, as their population declines and their culture is in jeopardy of extinction, Irish Jews recently launched an effort to revitalize Dublin’s once vibrant Jewish community.

Irish music and dance has found its way to Israel, and Israel has established the Israeli Academy of Irish Dance. In 2014, a group of dancers from the academy showed up on St. Patrick's Day at the Ayalon mall in Ramat Gan as a flash mob performing Irish dances to the delight of shoppers.

Here is a trailer for the film Shalom Ireland followed by the video of the Irish dance flash mob in Ramat Gan.

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 Great Jewish Comedians: Al Kelly Shows Off His Doubletalk on The Ernie Kovacs Show

Al Kelly (1896-1966) was known as the world's greatest double-talk comedian. Al Kelly was his stage name. He was born Abraham Kalish.

Kelly started in an act called Nine Crazy Kids, then started performing comic monologues. Early in his career, he performed largely in the Borscht Belt. 

When he was performing this stand-up comedy in the 1930s, he fluffed a joke so that it came out as nonsense: this got a good laugh so he made such double-talk the focus of his act and became especially known for this.


On TV, Kelly was featured among others in The Ed Sullivan Show (then Toast of the Town, in 1949, 1961, 1962) and the game show Back That Fact (1953). He was also an actor with supporting roles, such as in the film Singing in the Dark (1956) and in the TV series Mack & Myer for Hire (1963).

The only video clip we could find of Kelly doing his double-talk was in a guest appearance on The Ernie Kovacs Show.

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.) 

Comedy Nostalgia: Intro to Texaco Star Theater with Milton Berle

If you're old enough to remember the Texaco Star Theater starring Milton Berle, you'll feel a twinge of nostalgia as you watch the "men of Texaco, who work from Maine to Mexico..."

These four always introduced the weekly show and raised the curtain on Uncle Milty as he emerged from behind the curtain in a silly costume. 

This video clip is just a tease, with a few seconds from Milty's opening sketch. If you're hungry for a full episode, here's a link to the show that aired on November 29, 1949.

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: "When Does Life Begin?"

It's another Bob Hertzendorf Monday. That means it's time for us to post another clip from Bob's standup comedy routine before an audience in Lakewood, New Jersey.

We've been lucky to have received a collection of these from Bob, an accomplished actor and comedian, and we're happy to share them with you. We have a few more in our files, and you can expect to see them in the weeks to come.

Today's clip is an oldie and a quickie. So don't rush to the kitchen for a coffee refill if you don't want to miss the punch line.

Here it goes:  A priest, a reverend, and a rabbi. When does life begin? And the priest said...

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.)

Mexican Cantor Moshe Mendelson Sings a Song About Gefilte Fish

We have featured Cantor Moshe Mendelson from Mexico City singing Ein Keilokeinu with a full mariachi band. It was one of the most liked posts ever on Jewish Humor Central.

Because you liked it so much, we're posting another song by Cantor Mendelson. It's in Yiddish, but you don't have to speak the language to understand that he's singing the praises of gefilte fish.

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.)

"Jerusalem Prayer" - A New Song for Peace by Shmuel Halevi

We hadn't heard of Shmuel Halevi until he posted this song on YouTube last week. Now after listening to the Hebrew and English versions, we're looking for some of his other songs.

His new composition Jerusalem Prayer is an emotionally charged song of the soul. The song was actually composed in Jerusalem. It expresses the feelings of a spiritual experience the writer felt at the time of the composition. We think it's a good way to get into the right frame of mind to welcome Shabbat.

Be sure to watch the video to its conclusion. You won't want to miss the outtakes after the credits run. 

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.)

The Great Jewish Comedians: Freddie Roman, King of the Catskills

Freddie Roman has had a long successful career as a stand-up comedian in the Catskills and in Las Vegas. He has been the Dean of the Friars Club for more than 20 years.

Roman was born Fred Kirschenbaum in Jamaica Queens, New York in 1937. He got his start in the Borscht Belt after working in his father's shoe store and then sold life insurance for a few years before making comedy his full-time job.

Starting out as social director at the Homowack Lodge in Spring Glen, New York, worked his way through the Catskill mountain resorts and got to know all of the comedians who performed in the hundreds of hotels situated 90 miles from New York City.

We met Freddie last June at the finals for The Jewish Week's Funniest Comedian contest and had a delightful conversation about his stand-up routines and his role in the recent documentary Welcome to Kutsher's.

He is still active and is now appearing in the Amazon Prime sitcom series Red Oaks, together with Jennifer Grey, Paul Reiser, and Richard Kind.

Here's a great example of the stand-up comedy that Freddie Roman has been performing for more than 55 years.

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.)

Man Falls Into Mikveh Trying to Change Clock on Wall

This is one of those moments that would pass unnoticed were it not for the ubiquitous cell phone that can function as a camera. 

Watch as a man tries to change the time on a wall clock without using a ladder in a mikveh (ritual bath) and loses his footing.

If it were staged it would be considered slapstick. We have to admit that we have no knowledge of who the rabbi is, and where the mikveh is. We can't guarantee that it wasn't staged, but it was posted on November 1, 2015, which happens to be the date when we moved our clocks back an hour to change from daylight time to standard time.

All we know is that it happened, and someone was there to capture the moment. We can only wonder, as the last frame of the video asks, is the clock now kosher?

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.)

"Fiddler on the Roof" Cast Crashes The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

The Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York City, where The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is taped, is just across the street from the Broadway Theatre, where the new version of Fiddler on the Roof is performed every day.

Both shows start around the same time and long lines form every evening around Broadway and 53rd Street. That coincidence provides the setup for a funny skit involving a Jewish family from Kansas that winds up in Colbert's audience instead of in the Fiddler audience.

What follows is sheer fun and hilarity. 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.)

A Joke to Start the Week - "Ethnic Wedding Differences"

We love Mondays, and apparently so do most of our readers, because our Monday feature, the Joke to Start the Week, is usually the most widely viewed and shared post of the week.

We're lucky to have befriended Bob Hertzendorf, the New Jersey-based comedian and actor, who has been supplying us with jokes and stand-up routines for us to share with you. 

Bob has appeared on stage in productions of Fiddler on the Roof, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Lend Me a Tenor, Guys and Dolls, and Barefoot in the Park. 

Here's another clip from one of his shows for an audience in Lakewood, New Jersey. In it he talks about different responses to wedding music by Italian, Puerto Rican, and Jewish participants.  
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.)

Rabbi Enters Presidential Race in Funny Commercial for Shabbat Across America

With all the media coverage of Super Tuesdays as the 2016 presidential election draws nearer, you may have missed (as we did) the entry of another candidate -- Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald, founder of the National Jewish Outreach Program.

Rabbi Buchwald threw his hat into the presidential ring as the candidate of the Shabbat Party in this funny commercial.

Had we seen it sooner, we would have posted it in time for this past Shabbat, which was billed as Shabbat Across America and Canada.

We hope you had a good Shabbat whether or not you participated in the program.

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 Great Jewish Comedians: Irving Benson, Milton Berle's Heckler-in-Residence

Irving Benson is an American actor and comedian. He is one of the last survivors of the vaudeville era and just celebrated his 102nd birthday.

Benson gained national exposure during the 1960s, when fellow vaudevillian Milton Berle hired him to play a faux heckler named Sidney Spritzer. 

The character would turn up in the balcony overlooking the stage of Berle's variety show (where the studio audience could see him) and banter with Berle about the host's alleged lack of talent and originality. 

Benson became Johnny Carson's favorite comic and appeared frequently on the Johnny Carson-hosted Tonight Show. He was honored for Best Documentary at the 2011 Backlot Film Festival for "The Last First Comic" uncovering the roots of American comedy also going inside the colorful world of the Burlesque show. He turned 100 in January 2014.

Here's one of the Benson-Berle heckling skits from Berle's show. 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.) 

Revisiting the Borscht Belt - A Nostalgic Return to the Cradle of Jewish Humor

(A note to our readers: We were invited to submit a guest post about the Borscht Belt on the website of the Israel Forever Foundation. It's an engagement organization that develops and promotes experiential learning opportunities to celebrate and strengthen the personal connection to Israel as an integral part of Jewish life and identity. Here's the complete article, including two video clips, that was posted yesterday at Israel Forever.) 
 

Have You Ever Visited the Borscht Belt?

by Al Kustanowitz

Just as Israel has been called the cradle of world civilization, Sullivan County, a quiet rural area in upstate New York, has earned its reputation as the cradle of Jewish humor.

Sullivan County (and part of Ulster County) are the location of the Catskill Mountains, in whose rolling hills and valleys scores of resort hotels were built in the first half of the twentieth century.

These hotels, catering to Northeastern Jews hungry for fresh, cool air and bountiful portions of traditional Jewish cuisine, flocked to the hotels for recreation, entertainment, comedy, and unlimited portions of brisket, kugel, herring, gefilte fish, and borscht. This classic soup, served hot or cold, with sour cream at dairy meals or with meatballs at meat meals, is the source of the name that describes the summer scene in the mountains – The Borscht Belt.

The names of the hotels are now legendary – Grossingers, The Concord, Kutsher’s, The Granit, The Pines, Homowack Lodge, The Nevele, Brickman’s, Brown’s, The Fallsview, and others too numerous to mention. Kutsher’s was the longest lasting of the group, succumbing to a lack of interest by a younger generation more inclined to travel abroad. It lasted until its 100th anniversary year, and was the subject of a nostalgic film about it and its peers. Welcome to Kutsher’s was released last year. Here is the trailer for the film, which is still being shown at Jewish film festivals:


 
The food served at all of the Catskills hotels was legendary. At breakfast, lunch, dinner, and between meals in the tea room, guests would order everything on the menu and the waiters would accommodate every request. Guests, sometimes embarrassed at ordering so many portions of food would ask for multiple main courses as “a side of stuffed cabbage” or “a side of brisket” and the waiter would bring trays loaded with full main courses for each of the “sides” requested. Since all food was included in the cost of the room, the cost of each dish was never a concern.

Here are breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus from The Concord, Grossinger’s, and Kutsher’s to give you an idea of how many dishes were consumed on a typical day. Just note the five different types of herring and two types of sardines offered as breakfast appetizers.

Most of the hotels are gone now, along with most of the generation that clogged the highways all summer long en route to the resort hotels. But what remains is the comedy and the comedians who started out as waiters, busboys, and tummlers (slapstick entertainers) and made their way to become the most famous funny men and women of films and television. Almost all of them were Jewish.

The list is very long: Milton Berle, George Burns, Sid Caesar, Red Buttons, Danny Kaye, Jerry Lewis, Joey Adams, Shelley Berman, Joey Bishop, Fanny Brice, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Eddie Cantor, Jack Carter, Myron Cohen, Irwin Corey, Billy Crystal, Bill Dana, Rodney Dangerfield, Phyllis Diller, Totie Fields, Buddy Hackett, Mickey Katz, George Jessel, Alan King, Alan Sherman, Phil Silvers, Henny Youngman, Jonathan Winters, Freddie Roman, etc, etc, etc.

The rise and fall of the Borscht Belt hotels was chronicled in a CBS Sunday morning segment that you can watch below:


 
The Catskills are trying to make a comeback as a resort destination with the old hotel sites being rebuilt as spas, golf clubs, and casino resorts, but without the kosher food and amenities that attracted a generation of Jewish guests.

If you visit the Borscht Belt today, you’ll find two of the old hotels that have been converted to corporate retreats, a few spas under construction, and many bungalow colonies populated by Orthodox and Haredi families.

But if you’re nostalgic for an all-inclusive vacation with unlimited food, you’ll find it in the hotels all over Israel. Instead of ordering lots of “side dishes” from a menu and being served by a waiter, you’ll have to serve yourself from the bountiful buffets served around the clock. It may not be the Borscht Belt, but the Shakshuka Belt can be just as delightful.

Al Kustanowitz founded Jewish Humor Central in 2009, to bring a daily dose of fun and merriment to readers who would otherwise start the day reading news that is often drab, dreary, and depressing. In 2012, Al wrote a series of seven interactive books with the series title Jewish Humor on Your Desktop. Israel is a Funny Country, now in an expanded second edition, is one of the books in the series. For more info, click HERE or send an email by clicking HERE.

The Great Jewish Comedians: Jack Gilford Imitates Split Pea Soup Coming to a Boil

Jack Gilford (1907-1990) was a great comic actor who played characters in film, television, and on records. He was born Yankel Gellman on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. His parents were Romanian-born Jewish immigrants.

He began his career in the Amateur Nights of the 1930s moving on to nightclubs as an innovative comedian doing satire and pantomime. He was a regular at the Greenwich Village nightspot, Cafe Society and hosted shows featuring Zero Mostel, Billie Holiday and jazz greats like Hazel Scott. It is said that he invented the expression, "The butler did it!", as part of one of his movie satire routines. 

He also did a facial pantomime of Pea Soup Coming to a Boil in the 1983 movie Happy with Dom DeLuise. During the 1950s, he was a victim of the The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) blacklisting which stalled his TV career until the early 1960s. But after that, he became a regular popular comic character actor on dozens of TV series and movies. He was most recognized for being the rubber-faced guy on the "Cracker Jacks" commercials for a dozen years, from 1960-1972.

He was nominated for Tony awards on Broadway for best supporting actor in the musical, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Cabaret. The song Meeskite was written for him by John Kander & Fred Ebb.

He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film, Save the Tiger (1973), starring opposite Jack Lemmon, who won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance.

He developed some unique impressions that became his trademarks — most notably, one of "split pea soup coming to a furious boil" using only his face. Other unusual impressions he created were a fluorescent light going on in a dark room, John D. Rockefeller Sr. imitating Jimmy Durante, and impressions of animals.

Gilford was also one of the principal comedic actors in the hilarious LP records You Don't Have to be Jewish and When You're in Love, the Whole World is Jewish. 

Here is the video clip where Gilford does his split pea soup impression (with croutons). 

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.)  

Unexpected Traces in Jewish Places: Five Women from Ancient Chinese Jewish Community make Aliyah

This week five women from the ancient Chinese Jewish community of Kaifeng made aliyah to Israel, aided by the Shavei Yisrael organization.

Michael Freund, Founder and Chairman of Shavei Yisrael calls this Jewish history in the making. The Jewish community in Kaifeng has existed since the 7th or 8th century. Today there are about 1,000 residents of Kaifeng who are identifiable as descendants of the Jewish community via family trees. These new immigrants are among a growing number of young people who are looking to return to their Jewish roots.

They are descendants of Sephardic Jews from Iraq or Persia who traveled along the silk route and settled in the city of Kaifeng which at the time was one of the imperial capitals of China.

Their next step is studying at a religious womens' seminary preparing to undergo formal conversion by Israel's Chief Rabbinate.

Watch as they describe their emotional landing in Israel, say the Shehecheyanu blessing, sing Hatikvah in Chinese, and pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

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: "Bad Surgery"

It's another Monday morning, and it's time for another Joke to Start the Week. It's also time for us to head to the airport and fly back to the cold northeast after a month-long lecture tour of South Florida.

So let's laugh together with 74-year-old Certified Financial Planner Norman Politziner with a classic from the Old Jews Telling Jokes joke collection.

Here's the setup: Three guys wake up in the recovery room after terrible operations, and one guy groggily looks at the others and says.......

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.) 

Old Jews Pulling Cars: Mighty Atom Jr. Returns to Pull Truck with Show Judges & 5000 Lbs.

Last week we posted a video of Mike Greenstein, the 93-year-old heir to his father's title of Mighty Atom, pulling a car containing his girlfriend and his brother and his wife, a total of 3,500 pounds.

Then we found out that his feat wasn't good enough for him, so he came back to the America's Got Talent studio to try his luck in pulling a truck containing the show's four judges, a total of 5,000 pounds.

That's a lot of weight to pull with only your teeth, but Mike was determined to succeed. Was he successful? Watch the video and see.

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.) 

Weekend Standup Comedy Bonus: Dr. Ed Yisroel Susskind Delivers an 19 Minute Joke Set

We've posted standup comedy routines by a lot of comedians, old and new. But Dr. Ed Yisroel Susskind was an unexpected find for Jewish Humor Central.

We learned that you can't tell a comedian by his or her looks. Dr. Susskind is a case in point. A quick look at him and you expect to hear a d'var Torah - a Biblical lesson, not a succession of old, tried and true jokes. 

But Dr. Susskind, a clinical psychologist, marital therapist and wannabe comedian, was following through on an invitation by Rabbi Pesach Burston of Chabad of Orange County, New York to do an evening of standup comedy.

The jokes in this 19-minute set deal with aspects of being Jewish, Jewish culture, the Jewish mindset, and Jewish religious life.

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.)

The Great Jewish Comedians: Robert Klein on the Trials of a Substitute Teacher

Robert Klein was born in the Bronx, and was raised in a 1950s Bronx Jewish environment. After graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School, Klein had planned to study medicine; however, he changed his mind during his studies at Alfred University. 

After graduating, he studied at the Yale Drama School when he learned about an opportunity to audition for The Second City. In a piece he wrote for the improvisational troupe's book, Klein recalled sitting in a room full of other hopefuls, including Fred Willard. 

Klein's audition consisted of an improvisation set with Willard about two guys in a nightclub, which was successful enough to get Klein and Willard hired by Second City. In the spring of 1965, Klein was chosen as a member of Second City. When he returned to New York City a year later, he was cast by Mike Nichols in the Broadway musical The Apple Tree.

Klein has appeared in such movies as The Owl and the Pussycat, Hooper, Primary Colors, Radioland Murders, Ira and Abby, One Fine Day, Two Weeks Notice, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and The Safety of Objects. He had a recurring role in the TV drama series Sisters. In the 1970s, he hosted Saturday Night Live twice.

Klein starred in HBO's first stand-up comedy special in 1975 during the cable channel's early broadcast days and has continued to appear in several more one-man shows which have typically concluded with his "I can't stop my leg" routine. In 1979, Klein was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role in They're Playing Our Song. In 1985, he starred in the "Wordplay" episode of The New Twilight Zone.

Here's a video clip of Klein performing a standup comedy routine on TV in 1973, in which he shared the trials of being a substitute teacher.

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.)