Freddie Roman (born Fred Kirschenbaum; May 28, 1937 – November 26, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, best known for his frequent appearances at "

Borscht Belt The Borscht Belt, or Jewish Alps, is a colloquial term for the mostly defunct summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in parts of Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster counties in the U.S. state of New York, straddling both Upstate New York and the nort ...

" hotels.

Early life

Freddie Roman grew up in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, New York. His father was a shoe salesman. His

uncle An uncle is usually defined as a male relative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent. Uncles who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. The female counterpart of an uncle is an aunt, and the reciprocal rela ...

and

grandfather Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic ...

owned the Crystal Spring Hotel in the

Catskills The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...

. There, Freddie was given a chance to emcee on summer nights at age 15. He became a teenage comic in small resorts, but later left show business to work for his father. He became the

proprietor Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...

of a ladies' shoe store, but soon realized his true love was "not in shoe business, but

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

Career

Roman headlined at resort venues, including Caesars Palace on the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city ...

and

Harrah's Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven go ...

Atlantic City. He continued to perform, well into his later years. The Friars Club changed their two-term maximum bylaw so Roman could stay on as its dean. He was, ultimately, succeeded by

Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys, an Emmy and 10 Cable ACE Awards. Over his career, he hosted over 50,000 interviews. ...

, who was the next dean of The Friars Club. Roman co-wrote, and starred in, the stage show ''Catskills on Broadway'', as well as appearing in several films.

Personal life and death

Roman resided in Boynton Beach, Florida. His son was Alan Kirschenbaum, a television producer, who died in 2012. Roman died in Boynton Beach on November 26, 2022, at the age of 85.

Filmography

Films

*''Welcome to Kutsher's: The Last Catskills Resort'' (2012) *''The Last Laugh'' (2006) *''Bittersweet Place'' (2005) *''Christ in the City'' (2005) *'' Finding North'' (1998) *''

Sweet Lorraine "Sweet Lorraine" is a popular song with music by Cliff Burwell and words by Mitchell Parish that was published in 1928 and has become a jazz standard. It is written in F major and has an AABA structure. A version by Teddy Wilson charted in Octobe ...

'' (1987)

Television appearances

*''The Big Room for MTV's Ha!'' *'' Friars Club

Roasts Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelization ...

'' *''Funny Already: A History of Jewish Comedy'' *''

Law & Order: Criminal Intent ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' is an American police procedural Drama (film and television), drama television series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and Executive producer#Motion pictures and television, p ...

'' *''Now That's Funny!'' *'' Stark Raving Mad'' *''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...

'' *''The 46th Annual

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

s'' (presenter) *''

Red Oaks The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera ' ...

'' (Amazon.com) - 18 episodes

Stage

*''Catskills on Broadway'' (2003) *''Sunrise Lakes Phase IV'' (2010)

References

External links

Freddie Roman's Early Career and interview
*
Freddie Roman: Still Roasting After All These YearsFriars Club
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roman, Freddie 1937 births 2022 deaths People from Queens, New York American stand-up comedians American male film actors American male television actors People from Fort Lee, New Jersey Jewish American comedians Comedians from New York (state) Jewish American male comedians 21st-century American Jews