Aimee Ginsburg Bikel was the wife of the late Theodore Bikel, the renowned actor, folksinger and activist. She reflects on her friendship with actor Ed Asner, best known for playing Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, who passed away on August 29.
Jews have always been at the forefront of American popular music. Musician and music producer Ben Sidran, author of There Was A Fire: Jews, Music and the American Dream talks about: Who is a Jew in America? What is Jewish about popular music in America? What’s the prognosis for the future? Ben is in conversation with pianist Joe Alterman, executive director of Neranenah Concert & Culture Series, which celebrates Jewish contributions to music and the arts.
What we’re reading—and watching—this week.
In 1976, Moment wrote about Jewish comics’ rise from obscurity into mainstream American media and the role comedy has played in Jewish life.
Borscht Belt humor walks a narrow line between good jokes and bad taste. Alexander Wohl analyzes this sometimes off-color Jewish humor.
In 1979 Time magazine, the quintessential barometer of American life, told the nation that even though Jews made up only 3 percent of the population, 80 percent of America’s working comedians were Jewish.
Own a piece of history! This was what the listing for the “Solomon Cohen House,” built in 1875, urged prospective buyers to do.
