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Jewish Comics

  • Glen Rock Public Library 315 Rock Road Glen Rock, NJ, 07452 United States (map)

Wednesday, August 14 at 7:00 PM

Join us for a discussion about key Jewish standup comics from vaudeville, radio, film, and the Borscht Belt eras, including the Marx Brothers, Jack Benny, the Three Stooges, Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce, Rodney Dangerfield, Joan Rivers, Mel Brooks, and Jerry Seinfeld.

As recently as 1978, it was estimated that 80 percent of the United States standup comics were Jewish. From the Marx Brothers to Jack Benny to Fanny Brice, Jewish comedians went from vaudeville to film and radio. The first satirists were Moe, Larry and Curly from the Three Stooges before Mort Sahl and Lenny Bruce. Rodney Dangerfield and Joan Rivers cut their comic teeth in the Catskills in New York or the Borscht Belt as did Mel Brooks and Jerry Seinfeld. No one knows why Jews dominated comedy but they did.

Evan Weiner is a speaker and author, with a background in radio and TV. His expertise and knowledge can be credited to his decades-long career in journalism. He has won two Associated Press Awards for radio news coverage.  
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Earlier Event: August 14
Sunset Crafts
Later Event: August 15
Little Hands Craft
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