The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot in Tel Aviv has selected a list of the 15 greatest moments in the history of Jewish comedy.
The list, reported in The Hollywood Reporter, coincides with the museum’s exhibit “Let There Be Laughter — Jewish Humor Around the World.”
So, without further ado . . . drumroll, please!
- Borscht Belt (1920s-70s), cradle of American Jewish comedy
- The Marx Brothers’ “Duck Soup” (1933), mirror scene
- Henny Youngman’s “Take My Wife, Please” (1940), joke origin
- “An Evening With Nichols and May: The Jewish Mother” (1960-61), Broadway skit
- “The 2000-Year-Old Man” (1961), Mel Brooks & Carl Reiner routines
- “Sallah Shabati” (1964), Israeli film by Ephraim Kishon
- Joan Rivers’ first “Tonight Show” appearance (1965)
- “Saving Soviet Jewelry” (1976), SNL skit
- “Annie Hall” (1977)
- “Airplane” (1980)
- “Seinfeld” (1989-98)
- “City Slickers” (1991)
- Adam Sandler’s first “Hanukkah Song” (1994)
- Borat’s “Throw the Jew Down the Well” (2006)
- Jon Stewart’s “A Look Back: Let His People Laugh” (2015)
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,Daily Show Video Archive
And now, a question for you: What’s missing?