RIP Jackie Mason

[huskyd]

Jackie Mason is dead. He was one comedian who made me LOL, sometimes to the point of tears.
Mason was an ordained rabbi. He had a congregation in North Carolina, and said his sermons were so funny that increasing numbers of gentiles began attending synagogue. Finally, Mason, noted that he had more gentiles than Jews, so he decided to go into comedy full-time.
As a Miamian, I frequently saw Jackie, usually at our favorite delis. In fact, the last sighting of the old redhead I had was at the Rascal House in North Miami Beach a few years ago.
That restaurant was created by the famous Wolfie Cohen who owned the original Wolfies on Lincoln Road when I was growing up. He was the alleged inventor of the over-stuffed sandwich, and those beauties were almost too big to hold in one hand--but worth the try.
Jackie was from the tradition of great Catskill comedians. Many of the most famous Jewish jokesters got their start as "tumlers" (people who stir things up) hired to keep things happy and moving at the up-state New York resorts.
Yacov Moshe Maza, dead at 93.

 

[Veteran]

He's gone to join other fellow giants of his profession. Milton Berle, Don Rickles, George Burns, Rodney Dangerfield, etc. No doubt they've planned an epic welcoming party.

 

[MSGRET]

@Veteran You don't have comedians like this anymore, people feel insulted if he says something that isn't PC or woke. I loved Jackie, Milton, Don, George, Rodney plus too many others to mention. Shows like the Honeymooners, Carol Burnett, Dick Van Dyke and others. Even Bob Hope wouldn't be considered PC now days.

 

[eebmg]

Jackie Mason was like the Paige Bueckers of Comedy. Just had such a smooth and deliberate pace, never got rushed and delivered.

 

[Bama fan]

Funny guy. RIP

 

[CL82]

 

[huskyd]

In this bit, Jackie makes 2 subtle references to an actual event in his career. Both are to an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. At one performance, Sullivan signaled to Mason with his fingers that he had 2 minutes left to finish. Jackie, irked, waved his middle finger at Ed. Sullivan broke Mason's contract, and the dustup caused Jackie's career to crumble--at least for a time. Eventually, an older Mason made a comeback that culminated in a Broadway show for which he won awards and by which his career was rekindled: "The Word According to Jackie Mason." And what a world is was.

 

[MSGRET]

In this bit, Jackie makes 2 subtle references to an actual event in his career. Both are to an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. At one performance, Sullivan signaled to Mason with his fingers that he had 2 minutes left to finish. Jackie, irked, waved his middle finger at Ed. Sullivan broke Mason's contract, and the dustup caused Jackie's career to crumble--at least for a time. Eventually, an older Mason made a comeback that culminated in a Broadway show for which he won awards and by which his career was rekindled: "The Word According to Jackie Mason." And what a world is was.

According to Wikipedia Mason only pointed his thumb and index finger back at Sullivan and not his middle finger.

 

[Waquoit]

According to Wikipedia Mason only pointed his thumb and index finger back at Sullivan and not his middle finger.

I saw Mason explain the incident on TV once, it sure sounded to me like he gave him the finger.

 

[MSGRET]

I saw Mason explain the incident on TV once, it sure sounded to me like he gave him the finger.

According to Wikipedia this is what happened.

"Middle finger" incident (1964)​

On October 18, 1964, in an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, Mason allegedly gave host Ed Sullivan the finger on air. Footage of the incident shows Mason in the middle of doing his stand-up comedy act and then looking toward Sullivan, who had placed himself directly behind the camera, commenting that Sullivan was signaling him.[4][8] Sullivan was reportedly letting Mason know (by holding up two fingers) that he had only two minutes left, and to cut his act short, as the program was about to cut away due to having been partly pre-empted by an impromptu speech by President Lyndon B. Johnson that the show carried.[4][5]

Mason began working his own fingers into his act to make fun of the situation, and pointed toward Sullivan with an index finger, a thumb, but not, as Sullivan mistakenly believed, his middle finger.[4] Sullivan was infuriated by this, and banned Mason from future appearances on the show, canceling Mason's six-appearance contract worth $45,000 (equivalent to $375,000 in 2020).[4][8] Mason denied knowingly giving Sullivan the middle finger; he later said that he had not heard of the middle finger gesture at that time.[5]

To clear his name, Mason filed a libel suit on the grounds that Sullivan had defamed him at the New York Supreme Court. That court dismissed most of Mason's complaint. Both Mason and Sullivan appealed to the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division (which reinstated three additional causes of action against Sullivan) in June 1966.[2][26][27]

Mason was nevertheless banned from the show for a period of time. Sullivan asserted that Mason was unpredictable and could not be trusted. Because of Sullivan's influence, he was branded as unreliable, volatile, and obscene, and he failed to get substantial television work for the next two decades.[2][4][5][6]

Mason was given a single comeback appearance on Sullivan's television program two years later, and Sullivan publicly apologized to him, but the damage was done.[4] At that time, Mason opened his monologue by saying, "It is a great thrill ... and a fantastic opportunity to see me in person again."[26] Mason later appeared on the show five times: April 23, 1967; February 25, 1968; November 24, 1968; July 22, 1969; and August 31, 1969.[28] Mason later said: "It took twenty years to overcome what happened in one minute".[4]

 

[Waquoit]

But according to me I saw what I saw. With Mason doing the talking.

 

[Postie]

Jackie Mason once commented that he was so insecure when he watched a football game and the team huddled he thought they were talking about him.

 

[Dove]

According to Wikipedia Mason only pointed his thumb and index finger back at Sullivan and not his middle finger.

Oooooooh.Well, there you go.

 

[BBallF]

I saw him in the Catskills many many years ago. I just remember that he made fun of everybody and I was in physical pain from laughing so hard.

 

[Dokey]

It is said you should not speak ill of the dead, so I will say nothing.

 

[Dokey]

Let’s stick to UConn basketball.