When Jews Were Funny

Alan Zweig
2013-11-14


6.5
89 min

From the 1930's to the 1970's, pretty well every comedian or comic you might see on TV or the movies was Jewish. Jews came to dominate the world of western‐society comedy on radio, stage and screen alike.Why did Jews dominate comedy in this period? And why did that domination end? Were Jews just funnier back then? And if so, did that extend to your average Jew on the street? In this 90 minute documentary acclaimed director Alan Zweig will examine these questions and many others in this exploration of 20th century humour, cultural decay, and a search for a missing heritage.

Cast

Name Character Team
Shecky Greene Unowned
Howie Mandel Unowned
Shelley Berman Unowned
Norm Crosby Unowned
Jack Carter Unowned
David Steinberg Unowned
Andy Kindler Himself Unowned
Elon Gold Unowned
Gilbert Gottfried Unowned
Bob Einstein Unowned
Judy Gold Unowned
Marc Maron Himself Unowned
Eugene Mirman Himself Unowned
David Brenner Himself Unowned