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Jackie Mason

 

Mason, Jackie (b. 1931), comedian. Mason has enjoyed more success on Broadway than any other stand‐up comic, triumphing in no less than six popular one‐man shows that he both wrote and performed. He was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, the son of a rabbi, and followed in his father's footsteps until he turned to stand‐up comedy in clubs in the 1950s. Among his successful one‐man shows were The World According to Me (1986), Politically Incorrect (1994), Love Thy Neighbor (1996), Much Ado About Everything (1999), and Prune Danish (2002).

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Quotes By: Jackie Mason
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Quotes:

"Eighty percent of married men cheat in America. The rest cheat in Europe."

"I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something."

"By these things examine thyself. By whose rules am I acting; in whose name; in whose strength; in whose glory? What faith, humility, self-denial, and love of God and to man have there been in all my actions?"

"Victory goes to the player who makes the next-to-last mistake."

Artist: Jackie Mason
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  • Active: '80s, '90s
  • Genres: Comedy
  • Instrument: Main Performer, Performer, Liner Notes
  • Representative Albums: "The World According to Me," "Brand New," "Much Ado About Everything"

Biography

The prototypical borscht belt comedian, Jackie Mason deftly blended self-deprecating humility with abrasive arrogance to acutely dissect the differences between Jewish and Gentile culture. After finding initial success in the 1960s as a frequent guest of The Ed Sullivan Show, he spent the next two decades in obscurity, blackballed by the showbiz powers-that-be, before re-emerging even more successful than before at the close of the 1980s.

Mason was born Jacob Maza on June 9, 1934, in Sheboygan, WI. The son of a rabbi, he soon moved with his family to New York's Lower East Side, where he spent his formative years studying to follow in his father's footsteps. After his ordainment, Mason spent three years as a rabbi in Latrobe, PA; after earning a warm reception for the Saturday morning sermons that he sprinkled with a variety of jokes and humorous asides, he decided to pursue a career as a professional comedian, adopting his stage name after an appearance on the old Barry Gray radio show.

After finding success on the club circuit, Mason graduated to a string of television performances, ignoring advice from the William Morris Agency to take elocution lessons in order to lose his heavy Jewish accent; he was a particular favorite of Ed Sullivan, and appeared on his variety show countless times. In 1962 Mason issued his debut LP, I'm the Greatest Comedian in the World, Only Nobody Knows It Yet, quickly followed by I Want to Leave You with the Words of a Great Comedian. Many found his broad cultural examinations controversial, while even other Jews felt his self-effacing style bordered on anti-Semitism; combined with his difficult, raucous off-stage behavior, Mason saw support for his act dwindle, and spent the next 20-odd years effectively ostracized, his career restricted to tiny clubs and small film performances.

Against all odds, in 1987 Mason found backing for a planned one-man show; soon The World According to Me! debuted on Broadway to great acclaim -- critics applauded him as a savage satirist, and his performance ultimately won an Tony. His career resurrected, Mason went on to star in the short-lived sitcom Chicken Soup before returning to Broadway in 1991 with Brand New. Subsequent stage shows included Politically Incorrect, Love Thy Neighbor, Much Ado About Everything, and Prune Danish. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Wikipedia: Jackie Mason
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Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason.jpg
Birth name Yacov Moshe Maza
Born June 9, 1936 (1936-06-09) (age 73)
Sheboygan, Wisconsin, United States
Medium Stand-up
Television
Film
Books
Radio
Nationality American
Years active Late 1950s—
Genres Satire/Political satire
Observational comedy
Improvisational comedy
Subject(s) American politics
International relations
Current events
race relations
Antisemitism
Jewish culture
American culture
Spouse Jyll Rosenfeld (August 14, 1991–present)
Notable works and roles The World According to Me!
Hyman Krustofski in "Like Father, Like Clown" and "Today I Am a Clown"
Website jackiemason.com
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
1992 The Simpsons - "Like Father, Like Clown"

Jackie Mason (born June 9, 1936) is an American stand-up comedian.

Contents

Early life

Born Yacov Moshe Maza in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, he grew up in New York City on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Mason graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the City College of New York. At age 25, he was ordained a rabbi (as his three brothers and father had been) in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.[1] Three years later he resigned to become a comedian.

Comedy career

Mason had several one-man comedy stage shows over the years. His first Broadway show was called The World According to Me, which was well-received. Later, he had a show at the John Golden Theatre, called Politically Incorrect, which ran into copyright problems because it was performed at the same time that Bill Maher's TV show Politically Incorrect was on the air. Bill Maher brought a lawsuit against Mason's production, which was dismissed as 'frivolous.' To this day, Mason is able to use this show title, and it is one of his most successful road productions. Between these shows, Mason played the lead in a short-lived television show called Chicken Soup alongside Lynn Redgrave.

In 1992, Mason won an Emmy Award for his voice-over of Rabbi Hyman Krustofski in The Simpsons episode "Like Father, Like Clown",[2] making him the first guest star to win an Emmy for his role.

In a 2005 poll to find the Comedian's Comedian, Mason was voted among the top-50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. He was also ranked #63 in Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time.[3]

He completed a full length motion picture One Angry Man for release in 2009.

Controversy

Advertisement featuring Jackie Mason

Mason has been involved in several controversies over the course of his career.

Mason vs. Sullivan

In 1964, Mason allegedly gave Ed Sullivan the finger on a live telecast of Sullivan's very popular weekly variety show, The Ed Sullivan Show. Sullivan terminated Mason's US$45,000.00 contract immediately. Mason denied that he made the obscene gesture, insisting that he flashed numerous fingers and that the gesture was misinterpreted. He later retaliated against Sullivan by filing (but later dropping) a libel suit. A year and a half later, Mason again appeared on Sullivan's show, where Sullivan publicly apologized to Mason. Mason dropped the lawsuit shortly after. That was Mason's last appearance on Sullivan's show.

A video recording of the incident shows Mason talking through his comedy set and then looking to his right (viewers' left), toward Sullivan, commenting on the fact that Sullivan was giving him finger-signals.[citation needed] Sullivan may have been trying to tell Mason to wrap up his segment. Regardless, Mason continued commenting, talking toward Sullivan instead of the audience and thumbed his nose at him with his middle finger slightly separated from the others. The action left Sullivan with the impression that Mason had given him the finger on live TV. From Mason's viewpoint, Ed Sullivan's finger signals caught the attention of the audience, which distracted them from paying attention to his stand-up routine. As soon as Jackie realized that he was losing not only his audience at the studio but also millions watching him on live TV, he did some quick thinking and began to improvise his stand-up, using his own fingers to make jokes about Sullivan holding up fingers to signal the number of minutes Jackie Mason had left for his routine. When watching the slow motion replays of this incident it is clear that Mason's finger movements did not include giving the finger to Sullivan.

After Mason left the stage, the TV camera then cut to Sullivan, who was looking agitated over what had just transpired—his arms were folded tightly and he was staring downward.

Allegations of racism

In 1991, Mason was criticized by African-American organizations such as the NAACP when he called New York mayor David Dinkins "a fancy schvartze with a moustache."[4] He later apologized. He was later accused of racism when the American comic Ray Hanania, of Christian Arab Palestinian descent, was removed from opening for him at a Chicago club.[4]

Mason referred to Barack Obama as a "schwartzer" during a performance in New York City on March 12, 2009, later saying "I'm an old Jew. I was raised in a Jewish family where 'schwartzer' was used," he said. "It's not a demeaning word and I'm not going to defend myself." Schwartz means "black" in Yiddish.[5]

Statements on Arabs in Israel

Mason counseled Israeli leaders to consider the total expulsion of Palestinians from Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip.[6] Mason and Felder wrote, “We have paralyzed ourselves by our sickening fear of World Opinion, which is why we find it impossible to face one simple fact: We will never win this war unless we immediately threaten to drive every Arab out of Israel if the killing doesn't stop.”[6] They added:

We are brain-dead if we accept the idea that we have to guess which Arab is our next killer. We are not obligated to victimize ourselves by letting the Arabs play Russian roulette with Jewish lives. Israelis are constantly asked the same obnoxious question: 'How can you throw the Arabs out? where would they go?' The answer is, if they don't care whom they kill, why are we obligated to care where they go?[6]

Jews for Jesus lawsuit

On August 28, 2006, Mason filed a lawsuit against the group Jews for Jesus for using his likeness in a pamphlet.[7] His image was used next to the tag line "Jackie Mason...a Jew for Jesus!?" Mason said in court papers filed in New York:

While I have the utmost respect for people who practice the Christian faith, the fact is, as everyone knows, I am as Jewish as a matzo ball or kosher salami.

Mason has claimed that the group was using his image and fame to gain attention and converts. The group responded to the suit by saying, "Shame on him for getting so upset about this."[7] The lawsuit was settled in 2006, with Jews for Jesus apologizing.[8]

One Jerusalem

Mason co-founded the organization One Jerusalem in response to the Oslo peace agreement. Its stated cause is "Maintaining a united Jerusalem as the un-divided capital of Israel.”[9]

Works

Selected TV, film and radio roles

Television specials

  • Jackie Mason's The World According to Me! (1988)
  • An Audience with Jackie Mason (1990)
  • Jackie Mason on Campus (1992)
  • Jackie Mason at the London Palladium (1996)
  • Jackie Mason: A Night at the Opera (2002)

Discography

  • I'm the Greatest Comedian in the World, Only Nobody Knows it Yet! (1962)
  • I Want to Leave You with the Words of a Great Comedian (1963)
  • The World According to Me! (1987)
  • Brand New (1991)
  • Politically Incorrect
  • In Israel
  • Live at the London Palladium (1997)
  • All New! Much Ado About Everything (2003)
  • Prune Danish
  • The Unholy Tour
  • Freshly Squeezed
  • The Ultimate Jew (2008)

One-man shows

  • Jackie Mason's the World According to Me! (1986–1988)
  • Jackie Mason: Brand New (1990–1991)
  • Jackie Mason: Politically Incorrect (1994–1995)
  • Love Thy Neighbor (1996–1997)
  • Much Ado About Everything (1999–2000)
  • Jackie Mason: Prune Danish (2002–2003)
  • Jackie Mason: Freshly Squeezed (2005–2006)
  • Jackie Mason: The Ultimate Jew (2008)

Video blogging

Mason has appeared in over 200 self-written video blog entries on YouTube, in which he gives his opinions on current events and politics.

References

  1. ^ Chris Bergeron (2008-09-20). "Frankie Valli, Jackie Mason to perform in Worcester". Daily News Transcript. http://www.dailynewstranscript.com/arts/x689528666/Frankie-Valli-Jackie-Mason-to-perform-in-Worcester. Retrieved 2008-10-04. 
  2. ^ Basile, Nancy. (2006) The Simpsons Awards, About.com, Accessed 29 August 2006.
  3. ^ Comedy Central's 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comedians, allexperts.com. Accessed 22 September 2009.
  4. ^ a b Metrolife: Jackie Mason Metro. June 13, 2006.
  5. ^ http://www.popeater.com/movies/article/jackie-mason-racism-charges/383621
  6. ^ a b c Mason, Jackie and Raoul Felder. "Time to Threaten Arabs with Mass Eviction." The Jewish Press. January 29, 2003.
  7. ^ a b "Oy! Jackie Mason sues Jews for Jesus." MSNBC. August 25, 2006.
  8. ^ Anemona Hartcollis (2006-12-06). "To Settle Suit, Jews for Jesus Apologizes to Jackie Mason". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/05/nyregion/05mason.html. Retrieved 2008-10-04. 
  9. ^ "About Us." One Jerusalem.

External links



 
 
Learn More
Jackie Mason on Campus (1996 Comedy Film)
Jackie Mason: In Israel (Comedy Film)
Jackie Mason: The World According to Me (Theater Film)

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American Theater Guide. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
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