JNS
Elon Gold dishes on Jackie Mason, COVID-19 and why Jews are so nervous
by Alan Zeitlin
August 1, 2021

…“Jackie Mason was the Sinatra of comedy,” Gold told JNS by phone. “There will never be another. He was a trailblazer. He was not afraid of his Judaism. I heard he was once told, ‘You’ll be a big movie star if you tone it down.’ He’s the opposite of that yenta [Julia Haart] on ‘My Unorthodox Life.’ He stayed true to himself…As for the infamous scandal when Mason supposedly gave the middle finger to Ed Sullivan and was banned for 20 years from the show, many I’ve asked said they weren’t sure if Mason really gave the middle finger to the host, who motioned that Mason only had two minutes left for his act. “I think he did,” Gold said of the middle finger.  READ MORE

TIMES OF ISRAEL Remembering my great friend, Jackie Mason z’’l  The mental acrobatics cultivated by his Talmudic training coupled with his extraordinary talents produced an agility of mind that I’ve never witnessed in anyone else; His ability to weave ideas together into a side-splitting act was surely a gift from God. 

JEWISH NEWS Four clips that show why Jackie Mason was an American Jewish comedy icon After passing away aged 93 this weekend, we look at some of the most famous routines from the legendary comedian