Jackie Mason facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jackie Mason |
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Mason in 2006
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| Birth name | Yacov Moshe Maza |
| Born | June 9, 1928 Sheboygan, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died | July 24, 2021 (aged 93) Manhattan, New York City, U.S. |
| Medium | Stand-up Television Film Radio |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | City College of New York (B.A.), Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem Lower East Side, NYC |
| Years active | 1955–2021 |
| Genres | Political satire Observational comedy Improvisational comedy |
| Subject(s) | American politics International relations Current events Race relations Jewish culture American culture |
| Spouse |
Jyll Rosenfeld
(m. 1991) |
| Children | 1 |
| Notable works and roles | The World According to Me! and Jackie Mason on Broadway |
Jackie Mason (born Yacov Moshe Maza; June 9, 1928 – July 24, 2021) was a famous American stand-up comedian and actor. He was known for his unique way of speaking and his funny observations about life and culture.
Jackie Mason's one-man show, The World According to Me!, was a huge success in 1986. It won many awards, including a special Tony Award and an Emmy Award. He also won another Emmy for his 1988 show Jackie Mason on Broadway. Later, he won a third Emmy for voicing Rabbi Hyman Krustofski in The Simpsons. He wrote and performed six successful one-man shows on Broadway.
Critics often described his humor as bold and sometimes controversial, but always funny. He had a special way of talking, like someone learning English who still used Yiddish phrases.
Contents
Early Life and Family Background
Jackie Mason was born Yacov Moshe Maza on June 9, 1928, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He was the youngest of six children in a very religious Orthodox Jewish family. His family had a long history of rabbis, including his father, grandfather, and great-grandfathers.
His parents, Eli and Belle Maza, were born in Minsk and moved to the U.S. in the 1920s. A Jewish organization helped his father find a job as a rabbi in Sheboygan. When Jackie was five, his family moved to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. They moved so he and his siblings could attend a yeshiva, which is a Jewish school. In their neighborhood, his parents and friends mostly spoke Yiddish.
As a teenager, Jackie worked as a busboy at hotels in the Catskill Mountains in New York. He once joked about being a lifeguard even though he couldn't swim!
In 1953, Mason earned a degree in English and sociology from the City College of New York. At 18, he became a cantor, who leads songs in a synagogue. At 25, he became a rabbi, just like many men in his family. He led congregations in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. He noticed that more and more people, even non-Jews, came to hear his funny sermons. Three years later, after his father passed away, he decided to leave his job as a rabbi to become a comedian. He felt someone in the family needed to make a living in a different way.
Becoming a Comedian
Early Career Steps
Jackie Mason wrote most of his own jokes. He often made fun of everyday things. For example, he once said: "Money is not important. Love is important. Fortunately, I love money." He also joked about pleasing people: "You can't please everyone. I have a girlfriend. I think she's the most wonderful person in the world. That's to me. But to my wife ..."
In 1955, he performed at the Fieldston Hotel in Swan Lake, New York. He was fired because his comedy was too new for the audience at the time. Later, other comedians with similar styles became popular. He started using his stage name, Jackie Mason, after being on a radio show. He performed in New York City nightclubs and on national TV shows like The Steve Allen Show and The Tonight Show in the early 1960s. He was advised to change his accent, but he refused.
Mason often appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960s. He even joked about seeing the Beatles on that show, saying they were "four kids in search of a voice who needed haircuts." In 1962, he released his first comedy album, I'm the Greatest Comedian in the World, Only Nobody Knows It Yet.
The Ed Sullivan Show Incident (1964)
On October 18, 1964, Jackie Mason was performing on The Ed Sullivan Show. Ed Sullivan, the host, was behind the camera, signaling Mason to finish his act quickly. This was because President Lyndon B. Johnson had given an unexpected speech, which cut into the show's time.
Mason started joking about the signals, using his fingers in his act. Sullivan thought Mason made an rude gesture, but Mason said he didn't know what that gesture meant at the time. Sullivan was very angry and banned Mason from his show, canceling a big contract. This made it hard for Mason to get TV jobs for almost 20 years.
Mason later sued Sullivan to clear his name. Two years later, Sullivan invited Mason back on the show and publicly apologized. Mason joked about it, saying, "It is a great thrill ... and a fantastic opportunity to see me in person again." Even after the apology, Mason said it took him "twenty years to overcome what happened in one minute."
Broadway Success and The Simpsons
In 1969, Mason made his Broadway debut in a play he co-wrote called A Teaspoon Every Four Hours. He also appeared in movies like The Jerk (1979) and History of the World, Part I (1981).
His big return to Broadway was in 1986 with The World According to Me!. This show was a huge hit and ran for a long time. Critics loved it, and it won many awards, including a Special Tony Award and an Emmy Award.
Mason also starred in the movie Caddyshack II (1988). In 1990 and 1991, he had another successful Broadway show called Brand New. Critics praised his "brilliant" comedy and how he made fun of everyone, including himself.
In 1992, Mason won an Emmy Award for his voice work as Rabbi Hyman Krustofski on The Simpsons. He was the first guest star to win an Emmy for a role on the show. He appeared in many other Simpsons episodes, including ones where Rabbi Krustofski passed away.
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One of his most famous Broadway shows was Politically Incorrect (1994–95). A critic from Time magazine said Mason was a "true satirist" who used humor to show the funny side of our world. He was known for challenging ideas about what people should or shouldn't say.
Mason continued to perform many successful one-man shows on Broadway, including Love thy Neighbor (1996–97), Much Ado About Everything (1999–2000), Prune Danish (2002), Jackie Mason: Freshly Squeezed (2005), and The Ultimate Jew (2008).
In 2005, a poll of comedians ranked him among the top 50 comedy acts ever. He holds records for the longest-running one-man show on Broadway and the longest-running stand-up show in London's West End. His last films were One Angry Man (2010) and Jackie Goldberg: Private Dick (2011).
Political Views
Jackie Mason was a longtime supporter of the Democratic Party, but by 2007, he became a registered Republican. He openly supported Donald Trump.
He also admired Rabbi Meir Kahane and supported his ideas about Israel. Mason was a co-founder of an organization called One Jerusalem in 2001. This group's goal is to keep Jerusalem as the united capital of Israel.
Personal Life
On August 14, 1991, Jackie Mason married his manager, Jyll Rosenfeld. He had one daughter, Sheba Mason, who was born in 1985 and also became a comedian.
Death
Jackie Mason passed away on July 24, 2021, at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. He had been in the hospital for over two weeks. Many famous people, including comedians and actors, shared their sadness about his death. They remembered him as a very funny and talented performer.
Works
Selected TV, Film, and Radio Roles
- The Ed Sullivan Show (1961–1968) – frequent guest appearances
- It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World – gas station attendant
- Sleeper (1973) – Voice of robot tailor (uncredited)
- The Stoolie (1974) – Roger Pitman
- The Jerk (1979) – Harry Hartounian
- History of the World, Part I (1981) – Jew #1
- Caddyshack II (1988) – Jack Hartounian
- Chicken Soup (1989) – Jackie Fisher
- The Simpsons – Rabbi Hyman Krustofski in ten episodes:
- "Like Father, Like Clown" (1991)
- "Today I Am a Clown" (2003)
- "Once Upon a Time in Springfield" (2009)
- "Treehouse of Horror XXII" (2011)
- "The Ten-Per-Cent Solution" (2011)
- "At Long Last Leave" (2012)
- "Clown in the Dumps" (2014)
- "The Nightmare After Krustmas" (2016)
- "Flanders' Ladder" (2018)
- "Woo-Hoo Dunnit?" (2019)
- The Fairly OddParents episode "Beddy Bye/The Grass Is Greener" (2003) – Harvey Sandman a.k.a. The Sandman
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – The Quandary Phase (2005) – The East River Creature
- The Jackie Mason Show (2005–11) – Host
- 30 Rock episode "The Collection" (2007) – himself
- The Drinky Crow Show episode "Aspire" (2009) – Mort Cooper
- One Angry Man (2010) – Jackie Mason
- Jackie Goldberg: Private Dick/ Goldberg – P.I. (2011) – Jackie Goldberg
- Answer Me This! Episode 206 (2012) – Jackie Mason
- Graham Norton BBC Radio 2 Show (2012) – Jackie Mason
- When Comedy Went to School (2013) – Jackie Mason
Television Specials
- Jackie Mason On Location (1978)
- 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)
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)
- Jackie Mason: Fearless (2012)
Books
- Jackie Mason. Jackie Mason's America. Carol Publishing Group, 1983.
- Jackie Mason. Jackie, Oy!: The Frank, Outrageously Funny Autobiography of Jackie Mason. Robson, 1988.
- Jackie Mason, Ira Berkow. How to Talk Jewish. Macmillan, 1991.
- Jackie Mason and Raoul Lionel Felder. Schmucks!: Our Favorite Fakes, Frauds, Lowlifes, Liars, the Armed and the Dangerous, and Good Guys Gone Bad. Harper Collins, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-06-112612-3
Video Blogging
Mason also created over 200 video blog entries on YouTube. In these videos, he shared his thoughts on current events and politics. He also tried podcasting and appeared on the British podcast Answer Me This! in 2012.
Legacy and Awards
Jackie Mason received a special Tony Award in 1987 for his show The World According to Me!.
He won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for his 1988 HBO special, The World According to Me!. He also won a 1992 Emmy Award for his voice acting as Rabbi Krustofsky on The Simpsons.
In the animated cartoon series The Ant and the Aardvark, the Aardvark's voice was an imitation of Jackie Mason.
