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When Jews Were Funny
''When Jews Were Funny'' is a 2013 Canadian documentary comedy film, directed by Alan Zweig. It was produced by Jesse Ikeman and Jeff Glickman for Sudden Storm Entertainment. The film features two dozen interviews with a variety of Jewish comedy professionals in North America and explores the role of Jewish humour in the context of North American comedy. The filmmaker asks whether earlier generations of Jews were funnier than the present generation and, if so, why. The film becomes more personal as its focus shifts to the filmmaker's desire to reconnect with a culture that has changed. The film premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on 10 September. It won TIFF's award for the best Canadian feature film and was named on TIFF's year-end Canada's Top Ten list. The film had a limited theatrical release on 15 November 2013. Premise ''When Jews Were Funny'' is an exploration of Jewish-American comedy and its influence on modern American humour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Zweig
Alan Zweig is a Canadian documentary filmmaker known for often using film to explore his own life. Early life Alan Zweig was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario and has worked in the film industry as a writer, producer, director, driver, and actor. Before finding success as a filmmaker, Alan Zweig drove a taxicab for fifteen years. Early in his career, Zweig’s short films — ''Trip Sheet'' (1976), ''The Boys'' (1977) and ''Stealing Images'' (1989) – provide rare insight into his early inspirations, influences and themes. They run the gamut from documentary to mock doc to fiction. ''Trip Sheet'' was Zweig’s first film, an impressionistic hybrid doc made in his first year at Sheridan College. Shot on colour reversal stock, the film follows cab drivers on their daily beat, a profession that Zweig himself pursued throughout the 1980s. Unseen for more than 30 years, ''The Boys'', an improvised film shot in semi-vérité style, stars four strangers as best friends. The award-w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gilbert Gottfried
Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried (February 28, 1955 – April 12, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian and actor, known for his exaggerated shrill voice, strong New York accent, and his edgy, often controversial, sense of humor. His numerous roles in film and television include voicing Iago in the ''Aladdin'' animated films and series, Digit LeBoid in ''Cyberchase'', Kraang Subprime in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', and the Aflac Duck. He was also known for his role as Mr. Peabody in the '' Problem Child'' film series. Gottfried hosted the podcast ''Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast'' (2014–2022), which featured discussions of classic films and celebrity interviews, most often with veteran actors, comedians, musicians, and comedy writers. The documentary ''Gilbert'' (2017) explored his life and career; it won the Special Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the 2017 deadCENTER Film Festival. Early life Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried was born on February 28, 1955, in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eugene Mirman
Eugene Boris MirmanJackson, Todd (2009). Eugene Mirman. Retrieved on May 13, 2009 from . (born July 24, 1974) is a Russian-American actor, comedian, and writer, known for playing Yvgeny Mirminsky on ''Delocated'' and Gene Belcher on the animated comedy ''Bob's Burgers''. Early life Mirman was born Evgeniy Borisovich Mirman () on July 24, 1974, in Moscow, Russia, when the country was part of the Soviet Union, to Boris Mirman, Jewish Latvian, and Marina, Jewish Russian. His father was a civil engineer. His family immigrated to the United States when he was four years old, and settled in Lexington, Massachusetts, where Mirman attended William Diamond Middle School and Lexington High School. After arriving in the United States, his name was anglicized, his first name being changed to its English form, Eugene, and his patronymic Borisovich being shortened to simply Boris. Mirman is a graduate of Hampshire College in Western Massachusetts. As part of the college's "design your own m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howard Busgang
Howard Busgang is a Canadian comedian and television producer."A comic with chutzpah: He opens a Montreal-style deli in B.C". ''Montreal Gazette'', August 25, 2018. Comedy career Originally from Montreal, Quebec, he studied political science at McGill University before beginning to perform as a stand-up comedian in 1979. He had some supporting roles in film and television, including the film ''Terror Train'' and guest roles in the television series ''The Edison Twins'' and '' Check It Out!'', before he and Shawn Thompson created the short-run comedy series ''We Don't Knock'', in which they performed improvised pranks on real people, for CBC Television in 1986. In the same year, he was one of the performers in ''The Young Comedians All Star Reunion'', a stand-up comedy special on HBO that also included Howie Mandel, Harry Anderson and Robin Williams. Following the end of ''We Don't Knocks run, Busgang and Dale Martindale became cohosts of CBC Television's youth series '' Switchbac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elon Gold
Elon Gold (born September 14, 1970) is an American comedian, television actor, writer and producer. Early life Elon Gold was born to Lynn and Sidney Gold of Goldstar Talent on September 14, 1970. He was raised in the Pelham Parkway section of The Bronx in New York. His older brother Steven is involved in the music production industry. He had a younger brother Ari, a rhythm and blues singer. He attended the Westchester Day School in Mamaroneck, New York and the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy in Manhattan. Career He first starred in the television series '' Stacked''. He also starred in the short lived sitcom ''In-Laws''. Best known for his impressions, including those of Jeff Goldblum, Howard Stern and Jay Leno, Gold was also a judge on the celebrity impersonation competition series on ABC, ''The Next Best Thing''. Gold was also in the movie ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' (2003) as a cameraman from ''The Oprah Winfrey Show''. He had a recurring role on the short lived prime time sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judy Gold
Judy Gold (born November 15, 1962) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, podcaster, television writer, author and producer. She won two Daytime Emmy Awards for her work as a writer and producer on ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show''. Life and career She was born on November 15, 1962, in Newark, New Jersey. She first did stand-up on a dare when she was a music student at Rutgers University. She is a lesbian who shared a relationship with Sharon Callahan, her former partner, for almost 20 years. She has two children (Henry, 1996, and Ben, 2001), facts she frequently referenced on the show ''Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn''. Gold is very active in both LGBT and Jewish communities. She was active in support of the 2004 and 2008 Democratic presidential campaign. In an interview with Marc Maron, Gold revealed her comedic influences to be Joan Rivers, Phyllis Diller, and Totie Fields. Her one-woman show ''25 Questions for a Jewish Mother'', co-written with Kate Moira Ryan, is based on a ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Schiff
''2 Stupid Dogs'' is an American animated television series created and designed by Donovan Cook and produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. It originally ran from September 5, 1993, to May 15, 1995, on TBS as a part of their ''Sunday Morning in Front of the TV'' block and in syndication. The show's main segments feature two unnamed dogs, called "The Big Dog" and "The Little Dog" in the credits (voiced by Brad Garrett and Mark Schiff, respectively). The show has been described as "Hanna-Barbera's answer to ''Ren and Stimpy''", a hit show that premiered two years earlier in 1991 on Nickelodeon. Like ''Ren & Stimpy'', the ''Dogs'' characters are not very bright, the show is scored with jazz music, and the comedy style leans on gross-out body-secretion humor. Asked about the comparison, Hanna-Barbera CEO Fred Seibert was unconcerned, saying that it was "like Pearl Jam worrying about being compared to Nirvana." Ironically, following his dismissal from Nickelodeon, ''Ren and Stimpy'' crea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marc Maron
Marcus David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician. In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' and has appeared more than forty times on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', more than any other stand-up comedian. He hosted ''Comedy Central's Short Attention Span Theater'' from 1993 to 1994, replacing Jon Stewart. He was also a regular guest on ''Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn'' and hosted the short-lived 2002 American version of the British game show ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' on VH1. He was a regular on the left-wing radio network Air America from 2004 to 2009, hosting '' The Marc Maron Show'' and co-hosting '' Morning Sedition'' and '' Breakroom Live''. In September 2009, soon after ''Breakroom Live'' was cancelled Maron began hosting the twice-weekly podcast ''WTF with Marc Maron'', where he interviews comedians, authors, musicians, and celebrities in his gar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Wex
Michael Wex (born September 12, 1954) is a Canadian novelist, playwright, translator, lecturer, performer, and author of books on language and literature. His specialty is and his book '' Born to Kvetch'' was a surprise bestseller in 2005. Wex lives in with his wife Marilla and daughter Sabina.Biography notes from his book covers Michael Wex was born in |
Howie Mandel
Howard Michael Mandel (born November 29, 1955) is a Canadian-American comedian, television personality, actor, and producer. Mandel voiced the character Gizmo in the 1984 film ''Gremlins'' and the 1990 sequel '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch''. In 1987, Mandel starred alongside Amy Steel in the comedy film '' Walk Like a Man''. From 1982 to 1988, Mandel played the rowdy ER intern Dr. Wayne Fiscus on the NBC medical drama '' St. Elsewhere''. He also created, voiced and starred in the FOX children's cartoon '' Bobby's World''. Additionally, he has been a judge on NBC's ''America's Got Talent'' since 2010, and Citytv's ''Canada's Got Talent'' since 2022. He hosted the American NBC and later CNBC game show ''Deal or No Deal'', as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. In 2022, he began hosting the first season of Netflix's ''Bullsh*t the Game Show''. Early life and education Mandel was born and raised in the Willowdale area of North York, Ontario. He is Jewish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perry Rosemond
Perry Rosemond, CM (born 15 November 1936) is a Canadian television writer, producer and director. Life and career Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Rosemond has created, produced, written and directed international television for over forty years. His efforts, notably ''Royal Canadian Air Farce'' and ''King of Kensington'', have been rewarded with the Order of Canada in his home country, and the George Foster Peabody Award in the United States. Most recently, he executive-produced ''When Jews Were Funny'', which was named ‘Best Canadian Feature Film’ at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. Rosemond began his fascination with the arts as a stage and television performer in Winnipeg and Toronto. At age 18 he was a founding member of John Hirsch's Manitoba Theatre Centre. He continued his pursuit of the arts as a television producer director and writer. His A&E production of the Broadway play ''Cold Storage'' starring Len Cariou and Martin Balsam earned him the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Breslin
Mark Breslin, is a Canadian entrepreneur, producer, stand-up comedian and actor best known for being the co-founder (along with Joel Axler) of Yuk Yuk's, the largest chain of comedy clubs in Canada. On December 29, 2017, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada by Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada. Breslin graduated from York University with a B.A. Honours in English Literature. Soon after graduating, he became Director of Theatre and Music for Harbourfront Corporation, an innovative cultural organization which produces events and activities at numerous venues on Toronto's waterfront. He is a founding member of the Canadian Comedy Awards, and was a comedy mentor for the B.C. Festival of the Arts. In 1976, Breslin and his collaborator Joel Axler opened the first Yuk Yuk's, in the basement of Toronto's 519 Church Street Community Centre. Four years later, Breslin and Axler opened Yuk Yuk's first permanent venue at 1280 Bay Street in the Yorkville district. Ov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
