Friday, June 30, 2023

Welcoming Shabbat with Lecha Dodi Sung by Randy Herman and Yifaat Asher to Billy Joel's "Honesty"

Fitting Friday night melodies to popular tunes can be a challenge. Sometimes the fit is natural and sometimes seems forced. But this Lecha Dodi adaptation of Billy Joel's hit song Honesty flows naturally.

The performers are singer Yifaat Asher and Cantor Randy Herman of the Chizuk Amuno Congregation & Schools in Baltimore, Maryland.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

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Thursday, June 29, 2023

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Mel Blanc Tells Johnny Carson How He Created His Iconic Cartoon Voices

In May 1983 (40 years ago) Mel Blanc, the "Man of a Thousand Voices" appeared on the Tonight Show and explained to Johnny Carson how he got started in voicing cartoon characters.

Blanc has been called the first and best voice actor. He made it an art. His career spanned vaudeville, radio, movies and television starting in the late 1920s and continuing to this day, 34 years after his death. 

Blanc has been the voice behind more than 400 animated characters in over three thousand cartoons. In his 60 year career he has been the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Tweety, Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, the Tasmanian Devil, and numerous other characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoons. 
 
He later voiced characters for Hanna-Barbera's television cartoons, including Barney Rubble and Dino on The Flintstones, Mr. Spacely on The Jetsons, Secret Squirrel on The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show, the title character of Speed Buggy, and Captain Caveman on Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels and The Flintstone Kids.
 
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.

 
    #Throwback Thursday   #TBT

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: Drivers License Applicants Tested on Crazy Road Signs - a Candid Camera Classic

Candid Camera was an American hidden camera/practical joke reality television series created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially began on radio as The Candid Microphone on June 28, 1947. 

After a series of theatrical film shorts, also titled Candid Microphone, Funt's concept came to television on August 10, 1948, and continued into the 1970s. 

The show involved concealing cameras filming ordinary people being confronted with unusual situations, sometimes involving trick props, such as a desk with drawers that pop open when one is closed or a car with a hidden extra gas tank. When the joke was revealed, victims would be told the show's catchphrase, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera."

Peter Funt joined the show professionally in 1987 when he became a co-host with his father. During this time the show was being broadcast on the CBS television network. In 1993, Allen Funt had a serious stroke, from which he never fully recovered. This required Peter to host the show full-time. 

The show went through a few revivals. During his time on the show Peter was a producer, host and acted on the show. He also produced and hosted over 200 episodes. 

In this classic 2003episode set in a Department of Motor Vehicles office in California, Peter Funt plays the role of  a DMV examiner asking people who are applying for their driver's license to identify road signs by their shape. But these are not ordinary road signs.

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.

Tuesday, June 27, 2023

Remembering Sheldon Harnick, "Fiddler on the Roof" Lyricist

Sheldon Harnick, who wrote the lyrics for Fiddler on the Roof, Fiorello, and She Loves Me, died last week in New York at the age of 99.

As Robert Berkvist wrote in The New York Times,

“Fiddler on the Roof” was more than a hit show; it was a phenomenon. It won nine Tony Awards, including one for its score. It was made into a hit movie in 1971, has been performed all over the world, and has had five Broadway revivals, most recently in 2015. (A Yiddish-language production was an Off Broadway hit in 2019 and played a return engagement in late 2022.)

In addition to “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” the score included a number of songs that would soon be regarded as classics, including “Tradition,” “Sunrise, Sunset” and Tevye’s humorously wistful lament “If I Were a Rich Man” (“There would be one long staircase just going up/ And one even longer coming down/ And one more leading nowhere, just for show”).

As a tribute to Sheldon Harnick, we're sharing a video of an on-stage discussion with Jeffrey Lyons during the Florida Holocaust Museum's 2013 To Life event, when Harnick explained how the song If I Were A Rich Man evolved from a Hasidic nigun during the development of Fiddler on the Roof.

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.    

Monday, June 26, 2023

A Joke to Start the Week - "Spouse Control"

It's Monday again, and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today we're sharing a joke told by cantor and comedian Herschel Fox.
 
Fluent in Yiddish and Hebrew, Herschel Fox has appeared in countless night clubs, theatres and synagogues throughout the United States. He has shared the stage with artists such as Jan Peerce, Mickey Katz, and Molly Picon. 

Primarily a cantor, having trained with Cantor David Koussevitzky and Sidor Belarsky, he has held positions in synagogues in Connecticut, New York, and California.

But Herschel is also a stand-up comedian and loves to tell stories in Yinglish. Today we're sharing a joke from his 2021 presentation "The World of Jewish Humor" at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, California, where Herschel has been a cantor for more than 40 years.

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.
 

Sunday, June 25, 2023

Comedy Showcase: Rita Rudner on Her Mother-in-Law, Smart Cars, and GPS

We've been big fans of Rita Rudner ever since she started to appear on late night TV in the 1980s.

One of the hallmarks of her comedy is that it's clean, free from the vulgarity and shouting that many stand-up comics find necessary.  Her delivery is demure, tasteful, full of wry observations, and very funny.

Rudner started her career as a dancer, then switched to stand-up comedy about her dating experiences.  She married British producer Martin Bergman about 30 years ago and they have a daughter.  She is fond of Jewish humor but generally reserves it for when she performs for Jewish audiences.

Video clips of her recent performances have been posted on YouTube. Today we're sharing her observations on her 90-year-old mother-in-law, smart cars, and Global Positioning Systems.
 
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. 

 

Friday, June 23, 2023

Welcoming Shabbat with a Bluegrass Version of Shalom Aleichem by Jacob's Ladder

Last week we welcomed Shabbat with a bluegrass version of Lecha Dodi by David Sasso and the Boston-based Jacob's Ladder bluegrass group. The popularity of that selection encouraged us to follow up this Shabbat with their version of Shalom Aleichem, another song that we sing on Friday night.

David Sasso has composed a number of works on Jewish themes. Beyond chamber works from his college years, David has recently composed a choral setting of modern poetry on biblical themes and two setting for soprano and piano of Yiddish poems, including his own Yiddish translation of Wordsworth’s “Daffodils.” 

In 2023, David traveled to the island of St. Thomas to participate in a collaboration with local musician and fellow Interlochen Arts Camp alum Gylchris Sprauve, celebrating the many musical heritages of the US Virgin Islands, including David’s own personal ancestry in St. Thomas and his heritage of Sephardic Jewish music. 

Also in 2023, David teamed up with Boston-based Jewish bluegrass group, Jacob’s Ladder, to record selections from his bluegrass setting of the traditional Friday night Shabbat liturgy, Sasson v’Simcha - Joy and Delight. This service was dedicated to David’s parents, Rabbis Dennis and Sandy Sasso, and premiered in May 2023 at the retirement celebration of Rabbi Dennis Sasso at Congregation Beth-El Zedeck in Indianapolis.

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.  

Thursday, June 22, 2023

Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: 59 Years Ago With Jean Carroll on Food and Family

Jean Carroll, the first female stand-up comedian, was born as Celine Zeigman on January 7, 1911 in Paris, France. She began her career as part of the comedy dance team Carroll and Howe, with her husband, vaudevillian Buddy Howe, who later became her manager. 

She appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show more than 20 times and had her own short-lived sitcom, The Jean Carroll Show (also known as Take It From Me), which aired for one season (1953–1954).

In November 2006, she was honored with an evening at the Friar's Club in New York City. The emcee was Joy Behar and the main speaker was Lily Tomlin. In 2007, Carroll was featured in the Off-Broadway production The J.A.P. Show: Jewish American Princesses of Comedy, which includes live standup routines by four female Jewish comics juxtaposed with the stories of legendary performers from the 1950s and 1960s, Belle Barth, Pearl Williams and Betty Walker, Totie Fields, and Carroll herself. She was later featured in the 2009 PBS documentary, Make 'em Laugh.
 
Here's one of her appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 when her subject was food and family.

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.)

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: Uninvited "Guest" Visits Hotel Room - A Candid Camera Classic

Candid Camera was a popular and long-running American hidden camera reality television series. Versions of the show appeared on television from 1948 until 2014. Originally created and produced by Allen Funt, it often featured practical jokes, and initially began on radio as The Candid Microphone on June 28, 1947. 

The show involved concealed cameras filming ordinary people being confronted with unusual situations, sometimes involving trick props, such as a desk with drawers that pop open when one is closed or a car with a hidden extra gas tank. When the joke was revealed, victims were told the show's catchphrase, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera." The catchphrase became a song with music and lyrics by Sid Ramin.

Today we're sharing a classic episode from 1963 in which hotel guests were shown to their room when another unexpected "guest" wandered into the room.

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.

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Comedy Special: Cathy Ladman on Growing Older on The Tonight Show

Cathy Ladman is a 67-year-old American stand-up comedian, television writer, and actress. She was featured in her own installment of HBO's One Night Stand comedy series, and has been a guest on The Tonight Show on nine occasions.

We've featured her stand-up comedy five times previously, and now we found a new video clip of her commentary on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. In this clip she talks about getting older, going shopping at Costco with her teenage daughter and the Erie Canal song she learned in the third grade.

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.

Monday, June 19, 2023

A Joke to Start the Week - "Gorgeous"

It's Monday again and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today we're sharing an oldie but goodie that Joel Gibbs, the Bucks County, Pennsylvania-based voice actor, posted  on his YouTube channel "Sol Stories."

Gibbs is starring as Sol Krupnick in “Meet Sol Krupnick,” “an on-stage, theatrical, one-man-show” about a “Jewish kibitzer of undetermined (old) age who shares fun stories about his crazy family, tells classic jokes and offers ‘unique’ observations about the world around him.”

Or, in other words, the 70-year-old Jewish grandfather is performing a one-man show as himself.

Gibbs, a longtime congregant at Shir Ami in Newtown who still attends events at the synagogue, opened his show with a recent performance at KleinLife in Northeast Philadelphia. About 200 friends and family members came to show their support. But really, they came to laugh. As Gibbs said of the night, “I portrayed the character; I told the stories and jokes; the audience laughed a lot.”

Gibbs calls himself the “Man of a Thousand Voices.” He does more than 100 celebrity impressions and has worked on more than 40,000 projects worldwide, according to his press release. He partnered with Billy Crystal, Julie Andrews and other celebrities on the “Love the Arts in Philadelphia” campaign to promote the city’s cultural institutions.

Today we're sharing one of Sol's stories about the time his brother was starting to come out of anaesthesia after a hospital procedure.

Enjoy!

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Sunday, June 18, 2023

Folksbiene Theatre Sings "This Land is Your Land" in Yiddish at Summerstage Festival in Central Park

Last Wednesday night New York's Central Park was filled with the sound of Yiddish song as the Grammy Award winning ensemble, The Klezmatics, was joined by an all star line up of Yiddish concert and theatre stars: Joanne Borts, Josh “Socalled” Dolgin, Cantor Magda Fishman, Avi Fox Rosen, Sarah Mina Gordon, Daniel Kahn, Elmore James, Lea Kalisch, Daniella Rabbani, Eleanor Reissa, Lorin Sklamberg and Special Guest Dudu Fisher.

The event was presented by Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage in collaboration with the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

During the event, lyrics were projected on a giant screen, and made available on audience cellphones via QR codes, as the singers led the audience in an unprecedented community chorus, joyously celebrating our precious cultural legacy. The event included an unprecedented 4000-voice sing-along, celebrating the launch of YiddishSongs.org, home of The Yosl and Chana Mlotek Yiddish Song Collection.

Here is a video clip of the ensemble singing This Land is Your Land in Yiddish.

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.

Friday, June 16, 2023

Welcoming Shabbat with a Bluegrass Version of Lecha Dodi by David Sasso

David Sasso has composed a number of works on Jewish themes. Beyond chamber works from his college years, David has recently composed a choral setting of modern poetry on biblical themes and two setting for soprano and piano of Yiddish poems, including his own Yiddish translation of Wordsworth’s “Daffodils.” 

In 2023, David traveled to the island of St. Thomas to participate in a collaboration with local musician and fellow Interlochen Arts Camp alum Gylchris Sprauve, celebrating the many musical heritages of the US Virgin Islands, including David’s own personal ancestry in St. Thomas and his heritage of Sephardic Jewish music. 

Also in 2023, David teamed up with Boston-based Jewish bluegrass group, Jacob’s Ladder, to record selections from his bluegrass setting of the traditional Friday night Shabbat liturgy, Sasson v’Simcha - Joy and Delight. This service was dedicated to David’s parents, Rabbis Dennis and Sandy Sasso, and premiered in May 2023 at the retirement celebration of Rabbi Dennis Sasso at Congregation Beth-El Zedeck in Indianapolis.

Tonight we welcome Shabbat with a Bluegrass version of Lecha Dodi from Jacob's Ladder's latest record.

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.  

Thursday, June 15, 2023

Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Louis Nye as Gordon Hathaway on the Steve Allen Show in 1956

Today we're time traveling back to 1956 when one of the most popular TV shows was the Steve Allen Show. One of the best segments of the weekly show was the Man on the Street interview that Allen conducted with Louis Nye, Don Knotts, and Tom Poston. 

Nye played the pretentious country-club braggart Gordon Hathaway, with his catchphrase, "Hi-ho, Steverino," that made him one of the favorites on Allen's show.

Louis Nye was born Louis Neistat in Hartford, Connecticut in 1914. Nye's parents were both Yiddish speaking Jews from the Russian Empire. Nye attended Weaver High School, but he was not a good student. "My marks were so low," he explained, "that they wouldn't let me in the drama club. So I went down to WTIC Radio, auditioned, and got on a show." 

Here is a Man on the Street video clip from 1956. Enjoy!

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Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Showcase: Golf Sneeze on a Candid Camera Classic

Candid Camera was a popular and long-running American hidden camera reality television series. Versions of the show appeared on television from 1948 until 2014. Originally created and produced by Allen Funt, it often featured practical jokes, and initially began on radio as The Candid Microphone on June 28, 1947. 

The show involved concealed cameras filming ordinary people being confronted with unusual situations, sometimes involving trick props, such as a desk with drawers that pop open when one is closed or a car with a hidden extra gas tank. When the joke was revealed, victims were told the show's catchphrase, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera." The catchphrase became a song with music and lyrics by Sid Ramin.

Today we're sharing a classic episode from 1965 in which comedian Joey Faye played the part of a golf caddy with an bad cold that made him sneeze loudly just as the golfer was about to take a swing.

Enjoy! 

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Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Hava Nagila in Ghent, Belgium

Since starting Jewish Humor Central 14 years ago, we've posted 118 versions of Hava Nagila, arguably the most played Jewish song around the world. Here's the latest one that we found while surfing the Internet, in a kiosk in the Belgian city of Ghent.

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.

 

Monday, June 12, 2023

A Joke to Start the Week: The Kronheimer Twins

It's another Monday and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today Mickey Greenblatt is back with another good one.

Marshal (Mickey) Greenblatt received degrees from Columbia (BA and BS in Flight Sciences), a DC from Von Karman Institute (1963) and his PhD from Princeton in Aerospace Sciences. e worked as a researcher for NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory. 

With four other scientists, he founded Fusion Systems Corporation, which invented microwave-powered UV lamps for drying coatings. He founded and served on the boards of technology companies and is active in volunteer work. He served on the executive committee of the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington for many years.

Mickey also loves Jewish jokes and sent us this one to share with you. Here's the setup: Harry and Philip were the ten-year-old Kronheimer twins. These twins were always getting into trouble. They drove everybody crazy. Finally their mother Shoshana decided to take the two kids to Rabbi Kaplan.  And then...

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.

Sunday, June 11, 2023

Comedy Flashback: Billy Crystal Accepts the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize in 2007

Today we're turning the calendar back to 2007 when Billy Crystal gave an acceptance speech on receiving the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain prize.

The Mark Twain Prize recognizes people who have had an impact on American society in ways similar to the distinguished 19th century novelist and essayist best known as Mark Twain. As a social commentator, satirist and creator of memorable characters, Samuel Clemens was a fearless observer of society, who startled and outraged many while delighting and informing many more with his uncompromising perspective of social injustice and personal folly. He revealed the great truth of humor when he said "against the assault of laughter nothing can stand."

Billy delivered a memorable speech in which he used his impeccable sense of humor to express gratitude for the honor and also to give some insight into his personal life and special thanks to his wife and daughters.

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.

Friday, June 9, 2023

Welcoming Shabbat with the Big Band Sound of Elliot Dvorin and the Key Tov Orchestra

Elliot Dvorin and the Key Tov Orchestra are at it again.

We have featured the Chicago-based wedding band before, performing a flash mob version of Hashem Melech and and a mashup of Passover songs in downtown Chicago, with the Kol Ish a cappella singers in a bluegrass version of Yigdal, in an Israeli salsa number in Miami, and in a Chicago mashup of Chanukah songs old and new.

Today we're sharing a performance of the Key Tov Orchestra playing a medley of Shabbat songs:

Bim Bam (Instrumental) 
Shabbat Shalom (Hey!) 
Shalom Aleichem by Israel Goldfarb 
Shalom Aleichem by Rabbi Shmuel Brazil
Regesh V'Shamru by Reb Shlomo Carlebach 
Lecha Dodi Shabbos Kodesh by Moshav Band 
Harachaman Hu Yanchilenu  

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.)

Thursday, June 8, 2023

Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Rodney Dangerfield at His Best

It's Throwback Thursday again and we're going back 54 years to get another dose of Rodney Dangerfield explaining why he "don't get no respect."

Born Jacob Rodney Cohen on Long Island, Dangerfield (he took the name from a character in a skit on the Jack Benny Show) had a career that went beyond standup comedy to the movies and to his own comedy club, Dangerfield's, in Manhattan.

Here's Rodney delivering one of his classic routines on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1969.

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.  

 
#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Remembering Ed Ames: Singer, Actor, Ardent Zionist, and Inadvertent Mohel on Johnny Carson Show

Ed Ames, the singer, actor, and ardent Zionist, died in Los Angeles on May 21 at the age of 95.

Best known for his singing career with three of his brothers as The Ames Brothers, and his acting in the role of Mingo, a Cherokee tribesman in the TV series Daniel Boone, Ames was a committed Zionist and president of the California chapter of the Zionist Organization of America.

Ames also became known as an unintentional mohel after a guest appearance on the Johnny Carson Show.

As Dennis Hevesi wrote in The New York Times,

Mr. Ames played Mingo for the first four of the show’s six seasons, from 1964 to 1968. But his most memorable moment during those years did not come on “Daniel Boone.” It happened on April 29, 1965, when he was Johnny Carson’s guest on “The Tonight Show.”

In a segment that soon became a staple of “Tonight Show” highlight reels, Mr. Ames set out to teach Mr. Carson how to toss a tomahawk, using a rudimentary drawing of a sheriff on a wooden panel as his target. He threw the tomahawk across the stage. When it embedded precisely in the sheriff’s crotch, the audience reacted with loud, sustained laughter.

Mr. Ames tried to retrieve the tomahawk, but Mr. Carson grabbed his arm. As another roar of laughter subsided, Mr. Carson looked at Mr. Ames and said, “I didn’t even know you were Jewish.”

He was.

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.  

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Comedy Special: Elon Gold on Doctors Who Only See Well Patients

We've been following Elon Gold and posting some of his shtick on Jewish Humor Central for the last 12 years. 

Elon is an American comedian, television actor, writer and producer. He starred in the television series Stacked.  He also starred in the short-lived sitcom In-Laws
 
Known for his impressions, including those of Jeff Goldblum, Howard Stern and Jay Leno, Gold was a judge on the ABC celebrity impersonation competition series The Next Best Thing. Gold was also in the movie Cheaper by the Dozen as a cameraman from the Oprah Winfrey show.

Gold attended the Westchester Day School in Mamaroneck, NY and the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy (MTA)/Yeshiva University High School for Boys in Manhattan, NY. He is a practicing Orthodox Jew.

Today we're sharing a video clip of Gold's appearance with James Corden on The Late Late Show where he performs for the Stage 56 audience. Topics include being a dad to teenagers, trying to take his kid to the doctor during the pandemic, and why everyone the past few years seems to be either asymptomatic or anti-Semitic.

Enjoy!
 
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Monday, June 5, 2023

A Joke to Start the Week - "On the Wagon"

It's Monday again and time for another Joke to Start the Week. Today we're sharing an oldie but goodie that Joel Gibbs, the Bucks County, Pennsylvania-based voice actor, posted  on his YouTube channel "Sol Stories."

Gibbs is starring as Sol Krupnick in “Meet Sol Krupnick,” “an on-stage, theatrical, one-man-show” about a “Jewish kibitzer of undetermined (old) age who shares fun stories about his crazy family, tells classic jokes and offers ‘unique’ observations about the world around him.”

Or, in other words, the 70-year-old Jewish grandfather is performing a one-man show as himself.

Gibbs, a longtime congregant at Shir Ami in Newtown who still attends events at the synagogue, opened his show with a recent performance at KleinLife in Northeast Philadelphia. About 200 friends and family members came to show their support. But really, they came to laugh. As Gibbs said of the night, “I portrayed the character; I told the stories and jokes; the audience laughed a lot.”

Gibbs calls himself the “Man of a Thousand Voices.” He does more than 100 celebrity impressions and has worked on more than 40,000 projects worldwide, according to his press release. He partnered with Billy Crystal, Julie Andrews and other celebrities on the “Love the Arts in Philadelphia” campaign to promote the city’s cultural institutions.

Today we're sharing one of Sol's stories about the time his friend Sammy was sitting on the porch of his apartment in Boca Raton and saw a cloud of dust coming towards him. And then...

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.