Kutsher's Comedians Revisited: Henny Youngman Roasts Don Rickles at Friars Club

Yesterday we wrote about the sale of Kutsher's Country Club in the Catskills, and lamented its decline as a center of Jewish comedy. 

We promised to feature a series of nostalgic videos of the many comedians who either got their start there or visited repeatedly after achieving comedic fame on radio and television. One of the first and most famous was Henny Youngman. 

The year was 1968, and Don Rickles was being roasted at a Friars Club gala that included funny, insulting speeches about Rickles. Hosted by Johnny Carson, the evening included roasts by an all-star cast including Henny Youngman, Milton Berle and Alan King.

When Youngman stepped up to the microphone, everyone expected him to poke fun at Rickles, the honoree. But in typical Youngman style, he put the spotlight on himself and his family, reeling off a series of one-liners that had the professional comedian audience howling. We hope you'll like this look back at a funny era as much as we do.

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.)