Wednesday, June 22, 2016

The Great Jewish Comedians: Albert Brooks as a Ventriloquist


Albert Brooks, the voice of Marlin, Nemo's father in the hit animated movie Finding Nemo and its just-opened sequel, Finding Dory, is a stand-up comedian, comedy writer and filmmaker.

His parents were Thelma (Goodman) Leeds and Harry Einstein, both children of Jewish immigrants from Russia and Austria. His mother was a singer and actress and his father a radio comedian known as Parkyakarkus. 

Unable to pass up a good punchline, the two performers named their youngest son Albert Einstein, a name he changed to Brooks as soon as he became an adult. His brother Bob retained the Einstein name and plays the role of Marty Funkhouser, one of Larry David's friends on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

In his stand-up comic days in 1972 Brooks performed on The Flip Wilson show. Here's one of his routines as a ventriloquist whose technique with a dummy left a lot to be desired.

Enjoy!

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2 comments:

  1. I figured he'd tried out some wacky material when he was younger, but this??? He's still brilliant.

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  2. Reminds me of Edgar Bergen who was a great hit on the radio but moved his lips on TV.

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