The real story behind Sammy Davis Jr.’s conversion to Judaism
Jewish comedians made racist jokes about him. Some Black audiences booed him. But his faith was genuine
Milton Berle
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The Schmooze Can You Guess the First Jewish Actor To Ever Win an Emmy Award?
Amidst all the discussion around here about the cast and crew of “Transparent,” “Veep,” “Inside Amy Schumer” and the like, we were wondering who was the first Jewish personality to win a Primetime Emmy Award. Carl Reiner, perchance? Mike Nichols? Elaine May? The answer, as it turns out, is none other than Milton Berle, aka…
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The Schmooze How 100 Years of Jewish Jokes Shaped Modern Humor
Not that it should come as any surprise, but Vulture’s recent list of merely affirms the widespread assumption that much if not most of what passes for contemporary humor was and remains directly or indirectly forged out of the tragicomedy of Jewish culture. With roots going back to the Old World badkhns through Yiddish vaudeville…
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Culture A Talking Trove of Interviews as AJC Oral History Goes Online
Ever wonder what Detroit Tigers’ slugger Hank Greenberg really had to say about anti-Semitism? Or how Congresswoman Bella Abzug felt about sexual discrimination? From the late 1960s to 1990, some 2,000 people were interviewed for the American Jewish Committee’s William E. Wiener Oral History Library. Recorded on audiocassette, these interviews comprised more than 6,000 hours…
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The Schmooze Liz Taylor’s Funeral — The A-List Rabbi
Crossposted from TMZ Liz Taylor’s funeral will be officiated by a man with plenty of celebrity experience — because he’s helped bury dozens of them. Taylor is having a traditional Jewish burial ceremony at Forest Lawn cemetery in Glendale, Calif., right now — and the man doing the service is Rabbi Jerry Cutler. Cutler has…
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