Celebrating the great Jewish comedians: Gilda Radner

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JORDAN PALMER

In the 1982 film, “My Favorite Year,” the lead character, Bengie Stone, a Jewish comedy writer who worked on a fictional version of Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Show’s” is on a date, and trying to explain to his non-Jewish date, that “Jews know three things, suffering, where to find great Chinese food, and funny.”

That line is sort of a punchline within a stereotype that so many of the great early comedians through present-day are Jewish. Well, I guess we like to laugh and make people laugh. What’s wrong with that?

And that sentiment is alive and well and celebrated daily on the website Jewish Humor Central. Each day, the masterminds at this website send out a daily email, reminding us all to remember to laugh, at least once a day.

On Thursday’s the site publishes, their Throwback Thursday, which features a funny clip from the past. Check it out here on The Jewish Light every Thursday, or visit their site to sign up for their daily newsletter.


Today’s Chuckle

In 1978 Saturday Night Live ran a spoof of the famous Central Park dance scene between Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse in the 1953 movie The Band Wagon. It featured Gilda Radner and Steve Martin attempting to do the same steps as Astaire and Charisse.

But instead of grace and elegance in the dance, Radner and Martin prance clumsily around the floor and stage of the nightclub set.

Enjoy!