Jackie Mason

Jacob (Jacob Moshe) Maza (real name comedian) ^[5] was born June 9, 1931 ^[6] in Sheboygan , Wisconsin , and grew up in the Manhattan Lower East Side ( New York ) ^[7] . His father, Rabbi Eli Mordechai Maza (originally Maso, 1896-1954), emigrated to the United States in 1926 from Minsk ; mother - Bella (Beila Rivka) Maza - was also born in Russia ^{[8] [9] [10]} . Eli Mordechai Maza published a number of Yiddish treatises, mainly on religious ethics ^{[11] [12] [13]} . Jacob had sisters Gail (Hilda, married Shulman), Susan and Evelyn (Hawa, married Weisman) and brothers Joseph, Bernard (Dov-Berl) and Gabriel (all three are rabbis) ^[14] .

He graduated from New York City College with a bachelor of arts degree . At the age of 25, Jacob received smikhu (ordination) from the halachic authority of Moshe Feinstein as rabbis , as did his three older brothers, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather. However, after serving in the synagogue in Latrobe , Pennsylvania for three years, Jacob left her, choosing the path of a comedian ^[7] .

Since 1961, Jacob, who chose the pseudonym Jackie Mason , has been acting as a stand-up comic. In 1969, a production of “A Teaspoon Every Four Hours” was shown on Broadway, one of the authors of which was Mason, but she withstood a single performance ^[15] . In 1972, his debut on the wide screen took place: he played the main role in the little-known film The Stoolie , and in addition he appeared in this tape as an executive producer. In 1984, Mason first showed himself as a screenwriter - the film A Stroke of Genius .

In 1986, Mason returned to Broadway with a “one-man show” The World According to Me , for which he received an Emmy Award in the category “Best Screenplay for Variety or Music Program” and the . This performance was followed by several more similar ones, in particular, “Politically Wrong”. Regarding the use of this name, Bill Mar , creator and host of the , filed a lawsuit against Mason, but lost the case: the phrase was recognized as trivial and not protected by copyright.

In 2007, Mason's book was published (co-authored by lawyer ) Schmucks !: Our Favorite Fakes, Frauds, Lowlifes, Liars, the Armed and the Dangerous, and Good Guys Gone Bad ^[16] .

Jackie Mason is ranked 63rd in the list of “100 Greatest Stand-Up Actors of All Time” according to Comedy Central ^[17] .

Conflicts

• Jackie Mason was suspended from participating in the “ Ed Sullivan Show ” after October 8, 1964, during a speech, host Ed Sullivan showed the guest two fingers behind the camera, bearing in mind that he had two more minutes to finish - the program was broadcast live, and the appeal of President Lyndon Johnson was to begin any minute. A widespread version is that the comedian did not want to shorten the performance, responded with indignation and, in revenge, showed the presenter the middle finger ^[18] . However, according to other sources, he simply said “So we're talking with fingers now” ( Rus. And now we talk with fingers ), grabbed Sullivan’s gesture and began to improvise with various movements of the hands and fingers ^[19] . Be that as it may, Mason received permission to return to television only after the trial ^[20] .
• In 1966, Mason aroused the anger of Frank Sinatra by releasing several jokes from the scene related to his wedding with Mia Farrow . Immediately after this, he began to receive anonymous letters of death threats, and once at the door of his room in a Las Vegas hotel they shot three times. It is also known that one day, even before that, Sinatra attended one of Mason’s performances, where he interrupted him, began to call him “Jew” in different ways, but Mason managed to “shave off” the “star”, for which he received the audience’s applause and hatred of the singer ^{[7 ]} .
• In 1991, Mason was criticized by many African-American organizations, including NABTSN , for calling the first and so far the only black New York Mayor David Dinkins "a bizarre schwartz with a mustache." Mason later apologized for this unfortunate joke ^[7] .
• In August 2006, Mason sued the missionary organization " Jews for Jesus ", claiming that they use his image and fame to their advantage. The amount of the claim was $ 2 million. Representatives of the organization said: “Shame on him so badly think about it” ^[4] , but nevertheless apologized and the case was decided by the world in December of the same year ^[21] .
• On March 30, 2012, at about 6:30 in the morning, an 80-year-old Mason contacted the police with a statement that his girlfriend, 48-year-old dental nurse ^[22] Kaoru Suzuki-McCullen, attacked him, tried to take his mobile phone away from him in the apartment. Kaoru filed a counterclaim that, on the contrary, Mason attacked her. The woman was arrested, Mason remained at large, as it was he who had bruises and scratches ^[23] . On May 12 of the same year, both of them withdrew their statements, reaching a settlement ^[24] .

Personal life

Since August 14, 1991, Mason is married to Jill Rosenfeld (born 1952 or 1953 ^[24] ), who is the manager of her husband. Mason’s daughter (not from Rosenfeld, but from a friend, playwright ^[25] and English teacher at high school Ginger Reiter ^[26] (born c. 1951), whom she met in 1976 or 1977), Sheba Mason (born 1985 ^[27] ), also became a comedian actress and singer ^{[28] [29]} . Mother brought up Sheba alone, without Mason, who did not recognize paternity until the examination; she sued him, lost her house, and was in prison ^[30] .

• 1973 - Sleeping / Sleeper - Taylor Robot (dubbing, uncredited)
• 1979 - Flying High - Rabbi (1 episode)
• 1979 - The Jerk / The Jerk - Harry Khartunyan
• 1981 - World History, Part One / History of the World, Part I - Jew (in the section on the Spanish Inquisition )
• 1988 - Golf Club 2 / Caddyshack II - Jack Khartunyan
• 1989 - Chicken Soup - Jackie Fisher (in 12 episodes, the main role)
• 1991 , 2003, 2010-2012, 2014 - The Simpsons / The Simpsons - Rabbi Hyman Krastowski , father of Clown Krasti (in 7 episodes, dubbing) ^[31]
• 2003 - The Fairly OddParents - Harvey Sendman (in 1 episode, dubbing)
• 2007 - Studio 30/30 Rock - Cameo (in 1 episode of the 2nd season )
• 2009 - The Drinky Crow Show / The Drinky Crow Show - Mort Cooper (in 1 episode, dubbing)
• 2010 - / One Angry Man - cameo (also screenwriter)

In addition to all this, Mason has authored over 200 mini-video blog entries on YouTube and ^[32] , in which he expresses his opinion on current events and policies. Mason is also experimenting in the field of podcasting , in particular, in February 2012 he could be heard on , where he talked about his fearless stand-up show.

• 1988 - The Prime Time Emmy Award in the category "Best Screenplay for Variety or Music Program" for The World According to Me show - victory .
• 1988 - for The World According to Me show - Victory .
• 1989 - “ Golden Raspberry ” in the category “Worst Actor” for the role of Jack Hartunyan in the film “ Golf Club 2 ” - nomination .
• 1992 - The Prime Time Emmy Award for for her role in the episode "What Is a Father, Such a Clown" in the animated series The Simpsons - a victory along with five other actors ^[33] .

• Jackie Mason Official Website
• Interview with Jackie Mason on the YouTube site, January 8, 2010 Video 0:06:27
• Matt Skye The Mind of Jackie Mason on andsociety.com , September 9, 2011