Jewish standup comedian Jackie Mason passed away at the age of 93 on Saturday night, according to The New York Times.
Mason was one of the last “borscht belt” comedians, who continuing the style of comedy which was famous in the Catskills resorts long after the last resort closed down.
Mason was born Yacov Moshe Maza in Sheboygan, Wisconsin in 1931 to immigrant parents from Belarus. From a long line of rabbis, Mason received smicha from Rabbi Moshe Feinstein.
Mason won multiple Emmy Awards and a Special Tony Award for his 1986 one-man show titled The World According to Me. Later, his 1988 special Jackie Mason on Broadway won another Emmy Award (for outstanding writing) and another Ace Award, and his 1991 voice-over of Rabbi Hyman Krustofski in The Simpsons won Mason a third Emmy Award. He wrote and performed in six one-man shows on Broadway along with classic film performances on the big screen in Hollywood.
Early in his career, he performed in New York City nightclubs and on The Steve Allen Show (his first national TV appearance, in 1962), in addition to the Tonight Show with Steve Allen, as well as on The Perry Como Show, The Dean Martin Show and The Garry Moore Show. He made several appearances as a guest on The Ed Sullivan Show during the 1960s and in 1962 you came out with his initial LP record, a best-seller titled “I’m the Greatest Comedian in the World, Only Nobody Knows It Yet,” followed by “I Want to Leave You with the Words of a Great Comedian.”
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Earlier this year, Mason told The Jerusalem Report that he performed comedy during sermons when he was a rabbi at a shul in Weldon, North Carolina. “Word got out that I was so funny that gentiles started coming to my sermons. At one point I had more gentiles than Jews in the congregation. That is when I realized I would be a comedian,” said Mason.
Mason was an outspoken advocate of Israel, telling the Report, “If you hate Israel, you hate the Jews, plain and simple. So I feel as probably one of the most famous Jews still living today, it is my obligation to speak out on this issue.”
Even with the coronavirus pandemic, Mason was able to find humor, telling the Report that “Coronavirus has had its perks. My wife can’t go shopping so much. So I’m saving a fortune.”
Mason also appeared in “The Simpsons” as the voice of Rabbi Hyman Krustofski, the father of Krusty the Clown.
Mason is survived by his wife and manager, Jyll Rosenfeld, and his daughter, the comedian Sheba Mason.
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