Courtesy of HBO Dick Cavett calls Mel Brooks more than a comedy star; he’s a “super nova.” Mel Brooks calls Dick Cavett “spectacularly gentile.” The two share the stage on the appropriately titled HBO special, “Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again,” an hour-long, anecdote-filled, hilarious love fest debuting September 9 at 9:00 p.m. Brooks…
Like many people of a certain age, Judy Gold grew up on television sitcoms. They proved to be a tremendous influence, providing a moral compass on issues such as racism (All in the Family), poverty (Good Times), single motherhood (One Day at a Time), homosexuality (Three’s Company), and unmarried professional womanhood (The Mary Tyler Moore…
The Shmooze is surprised but pleased to learn that author, TV star and famed bedwetter Sarah Silverman will star in a new comedy on NBC. The subject of an “intense bidding war” among several networks, the show will be loosely based on Silverman’s own life — as was her previous show for Comedy Central, “The…
Funny or Die “Yeah, uh huh, you know what it is. My nose and ass — they’re both big” is the catchy refrain to this outrageous yet endearing Funny or Die parody, celebrating the idiosyncratic joys of being both black and Jewish. It’s hard to be put off by the video’s many offensive Jewish and…
Four years ago, when “Saturday Night Live” comic Andy Samberg wore a National Organization of Women shirt to a Spike TV event, feminists wondered whether he was just ribbing us. Best known for the satirical rap videos he produces with his comedy trio, The Lonely Island, Samberg trades in dick jokes and fake vomit —…
Crossposted from Haaretz Just like Bob Dylan’s show here, in which two warm-up acts — one a local with connections abroad and the other entirely American — preceded the main performance, so it was with comedian Sarah Silverman at Zappa in Tel Aviv this week. In her case, there were two stand-ups: the excellent ultra-Orthodox…
These days, all you need is a little chutzpah and some social networking to make your dreams come true. At least, that is all American-Israeli Molly Livingstone needed to achieve her goal of meeting Sarah Silverman on the comedienne’s first trip to Israel. The 28-year-old Los Angeles native, who lives in Jerusalem and does improvisational…
Sholom Aleichem’s granddaughter, Bel Kaufman, discusses teaching Jewish humor and storytelling at age 100. (And be sure to read this recent Forward piece on Kaufman.) The Smithsonian writes about the emergence of gender-specific baby clothes in the 20th century. “Who are you calling grandma?” asks the New York Times. And “why is my retired mom…
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