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Jackie Mason brings his shtick to Cleveland
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BY: ARLENE FINE Senior Staff Reporter
“Comedy is my field, but I’m not going to tell you any jokes,” warns Jackie Mason in a phone interview from his New York apartment.
“I charge money for jokes; why will people in Cleveland come and see me if I give my jokes away?”
Cleveland audiences can see Mason on Oct. 4 at Playhouse Square’s Palace Theatre. His latest show is “Jackie Mason: The Ultimate Jew.”
During his stand-up routine, the pugnacious comedian’s hallmark is an uncanny ability to capture the behavior patterns and stereotypes that touch a responsive nerve with many audience members.
“People are my hobby; I have a natural curiosity about what makes a person tick,” he says in his heavy New York accent. “Some people are fascinated with mechanics, stamps or sports; me, I want to know what is going on in a person’s mind. Then, when things seem strange, colorful or provocative, I make jokes that everyone can identify with because it is a caricature of someone they know.”
Born Yakov Moshe Moaza 76 years ago, Mason comes from a long line of rabbis. At age 25 he followed the family’s “business.” He was ordained as a rabbi and for three years served a synagogue in Latrobe, Pa. But he could not resist his natural affinity for comedy and began to add comedic touches to his sermons. “The crowds were getting so big at the synagogue, I decided to charge a cover, a minimum,” he quips.
Mason soon left the rabbinate to pursue his dream of a career in comedy, but he calls being involved in the rabbinate a “brilliantly beautiful thing. Rabbis teach people the best values in life. You could not create a more decent human being than someone who studies Torah and practices the principles of Judaism.”
The comedian insists his current act contains many moral overtones, and he compares it to a rabbi’s sermon. “I use humor to show that anyone committing adultery is a lowlife and someone who is crooked is a worthless human being,” he explains. “And anyone who is Jewish and compromises his identify because he is ashamed of his religion is disgusting to me. I make fun, but people listen.”
Throughout his career, Mason has attracted large Jewish audiences. “The attitudes and values of Jews never vary wherever I go,” he explains. “Jews feel they are outside the system and alienated because of a history of rejection.”
He followed this observation by segueing into one of his popular routines. “Jews have to try harder to feel important,” he says. “As soon as a gentile makes a living, he buys a fishing rod or a hunting license. A Jew buys a flashy car, builds a bigger porch, or gets a great nose job.”
The artful use of humor is the secret of a great orator, says Mason. “I’ve never heard a brilliant orator who did not have a good sense of humor, because it lightens the burden of the message. Humor can indicate the irony of the situation or make your audience remember your main point.”
Despite the richness of political material these days, Mason is careful not to state his personal political leanings while on stage. “My humor is non-partisan; I poke fun at everybody,” he says. “I am not a crusader; I am an entertainer.”
Although he is frequently asked to give advice, the comedian rarely does so. “Except I feel very strongly that people should follow whatever aptitude they have and if they want to be happy, to turn that talent into their career. That is what I did.”
At the end of our interview, Mason and I laughed at a joke he told me when I interviewed him five years ago. It goes: “Jackie, what do you think of the Abortion Bill?” He responded, “So, pay it.”
afine@cjn.org
“Jackie Mason: The Ultimate Jew” is at Playhouse Square’s Palace Theatre on Oct. 4 from 7:30n10. www.playhousesquare.org
or 216-241-6000.
“I charge money for jokes; why will people in Cleveland come and see me if I give my jokes away?”
Cleveland audiences can see Mason on Oct. 4 at Playhouse Square’s Palace Theatre. His latest show is “Jackie Mason: The Ultimate Jew.”
During his stand-up routine, the pugnacious comedian’s hallmark is an uncanny ability to capture the behavior patterns and stereotypes that touch a responsive nerve with many audience members.
“People are my hobby; I have a natural curiosity about what makes a person tick,” he says in his heavy New York accent. “Some people are fascinated with mechanics, stamps or sports; me, I want to know what is going on in a person’s mind. Then, when things seem strange, colorful or provocative, I make jokes that everyone can identify with because it is a caricature of someone they know.”
Born Yakov Moshe Moaza 76 years ago, Mason comes from a long line of rabbis. At age 25 he followed the family’s “business.” He was ordained as a rabbi and for three years served a synagogue in Latrobe, Pa. But he could not resist his natural affinity for comedy and began to add comedic touches to his sermons. “The crowds were getting so big at the synagogue, I decided to charge a cover, a minimum,” he quips.
Mason soon left the rabbinate to pursue his dream of a career in comedy, but he calls being involved in the rabbinate a “brilliantly beautiful thing. Rabbis teach people the best values in life. You could not create a more decent human being than someone who studies Torah and practices the principles of Judaism.”
The comedian insists his current act contains many moral overtones, and he compares it to a rabbi’s sermon. “I use humor to show that anyone committing adultery is a lowlife and someone who is crooked is a worthless human being,” he explains. “And anyone who is Jewish and compromises his identify because he is ashamed of his religion is disgusting to me. I make fun, but people listen.”
Throughout his career, Mason has attracted large Jewish audiences. “The attitudes and values of Jews never vary wherever I go,” he explains. “Jews feel they are outside the system and alienated because of a history of rejection.”
He followed this observation by segueing into one of his popular routines. “Jews have to try harder to feel important,” he says. “As soon as a gentile makes a living, he buys a fishing rod or a hunting license. A Jew buys a flashy car, builds a bigger porch, or gets a great nose job.”
The artful use of humor is the secret of a great orator, says Mason. “I’ve never heard a brilliant orator who did not have a good sense of humor, because it lightens the burden of the message. Humor can indicate the irony of the situation or make your audience remember your main point.”
Despite the richness of political material these days, Mason is careful not to state his personal political leanings while on stage. “My humor is non-partisan; I poke fun at everybody,” he says. “I am not a crusader; I am an entertainer.”
Although he is frequently asked to give advice, the comedian rarely does so. “Except I feel very strongly that people should follow whatever aptitude they have and if they want to be happy, to turn that talent into their career. That is what I did.”
At the end of our interview, Mason and I laughed at a joke he told me when I interviewed him five years ago. It goes: “Jackie, what do you think of the Abortion Bill?” He responded, “So, pay it.”
afine@cjn.org
“Jackie Mason: The Ultimate Jew” is at Playhouse Square’s Palace Theatre on Oct. 4 from 7:30n10. www.playhousesquare.org
or 216-241-6000.
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