Have you heard the one about Moses who—having just led the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage to miraculous freedom, culminating in the waters of the Red Sea splitting—nonetheless impressed his father-in-law so little with his judicial acumen...

(JTA) — Actor Steve Guttenberg has had the kind of career that put him in touch with nearly every trend in Hollywood. There were prestige films like “Diner” and “Cocoon” and the lighter but wildly successful fare like the first four movies in...

Mrs. Midge Maisel has always struggled with her identity. She’s a dutiful-ish mother and talented homemaker, but also a standup comic who roasts her family each night. She’s charming, lovable, peppy and independent, but also pushy and prone to tantrums...

Jewish stand-up comedian Ben Miller works in a somewhat unusual genre of comedy. He uses science as the jumping-off point. This makes sense, since the New York-based comedian entered the entertainment industry after earning a science degree from Columbia...

As a child growing up in a predominantly Protestant town, I was never heavily involved in the Jewish community, and instead chose to attend an all-girls YMCA camp five years in a row. Back at home in Rhode Island, I opted out of starting Hebrew study...

There’s a surprise in the credits for Mel Brooks’ The History of the World Part II. Ike Barinholz, Nick Kroll and Wanda Sykes are among the credited writers. The 2,000-year-old man is not. Go figure. On the face of it, you’d think the 2,000-year-old...

Sammy Davis Jr. was a short and skinny Black man with one eye. His wife was white, his mother was Puerto Rican and he was a convert to Judaism. In the crass and racist world of mid-20th century comedy, he was a walking punchline, even in his own routines. “When...

(JTA) — Ever hear Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” sung in Yiddish dialect? It used to be a regular bit performed by comedian and actor Richard Belzer, who died this week at 78. He also used to do a routine about Bob Dylan’s bar mitzvah in...

Marc Maron knows there’s one topic he just can’t leave alone.  “I don’t know why — every show, there’s part of me that just wants to keep poking the Jew thing,” the stand-up comic says in his new HBO special, From Bleak to Dark....

Richard Belzer, the stand-up comedian who left an indelible mark on television in the character of Det. John Munch, a tough and versatile Jewish cop, has died at the age of 78. His death was first reported on social media by his friend, the actor...

(JTA) — In the 2020 comedy “Shiva Baby,” a 20-something young woman shows up at a house of Jewish mourners and gently offers her condolences. When she finds her mother in the kitchen, they chat about the funeral and the rugelach before the daughter...