Mike Burstyn, Larry King, Elon Gold, and Jon Voight at Chabad Telethon

Yesterday, the third day of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, marked the 15th yahrzeit (anniversary of the passing) of Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the 7th Lubavitcher rebbe and leader of the Chabad movement.  Around the world, from Australia to America, Chabad communities commemorated the date with music, dance, movies, and speeches.

Every year we wait for the night of fun, music, and good feelings that come with the annual Chabad Telethon.  A big fundraiser for the worldwide organization, it always features top names in the entertainment field, both Jewish and non-Jewish.

As we eagerly await this year's show in the fall, let's take a look at some of the top acts that appeared in the fall of 2009.

First, Larry King's opening monologue.

Next, comedian Elon Gold kicked off the show with his set of jokes.

We included a clip of Elon Gold parodying Vince the ShamWow guy in a blog post from this telethon last December, so it's only one click away.

On with the show!  A comic turn with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog as voiced by Robert Smigel.

And what Jewish show would be complete without a star turn by Mike Burstyn?  In this clip he shows his Second Avenue heritage with a comic routine, during which (if you count carefully) he rattles off eight old jokes while singing a classic Yiddish vaudeville tune, Hu Tza Tza.

We'll end this post with a few good words from actor Jon Voight, one of the few in Hollywood who remain outspoken supporters of Israel  That's not the end of the show, which went on for six hours, but a good sample to get psyched for the next telethon.  If it's not playing on your cable channels, it's a good bet that you'll see it here at Jewish Humor Central.  Enjoy!