Comments on: Now for a little comic relief (?): Michael Richards

By: Ariel

Ariel — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 13:46:57 +0000

A Jewish Canadian.

By: Victor Krueger

Victor Krueger — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 15:51:47 +0000

William Shatner is Canadian.

By: Steve Rosenbach

Steve Rosenbach — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 20:30:47 +0000

This reminds me of that amazing sketch quite a long time ago on SNL, “Jew or Not A Jew.” I didn’t know whether to be insulted or burst out laughing. I finally burst out laughing… because “Jew or Not a Jew” is something we Jews do all the time when we socialize with each other! Sort of a Jewish version of Charades.

Michael Richards is not, despite what his agent says, Jewish – not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Elaine Benis? I never thought her character was supposed to be Jewish, although a lot of the humor is very New York City – which means a Jewish-style sort of humor even if the person involved is Italian or Puerto Rican…. Like “George Costanza.”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is probably not Jewish, although her French paternal grandparents probably were. After all, “Julia Elizabeth Scarlett Louis-Dreyfus” is one and a half too many names for a Jew.

The whole “Cosmo Kramer” question is still up in the air, as far as I’m concerned. Like Elaine, I don’t think his character was supposed to be exlicitly Jewish, but I’m not sure.

Of course, the inspiration for Cosmo Kramer, Kenny Cramer is Jewish. (Kenny was Larry David’s across-the-hall neighbor when they both lived in the same apartment building in the West 40’s some years before the show.)

By: Isaiah Hunahun

Isaiah Hunahun — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 07:39:10 +0000

I hate it when you can’t delete it :

By: Isaiah Hunahun

Isaiah Hunahun — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 07:38:20 +0000

I’m not Jewish either — it’s was just a funny name I made up. :

By: Isaiah Hunahun

Isaiah Hunahun — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 07:37:16 +0000

I never liked that show. I could watch about a minutes of it at best. :

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 06:25:57 +0000

I liked Seinfeld, but I wouldn’t call it a monument to Jewish humor. In that respect, the prize still goes to the original “In Laws”.

By: mizpants

mizpants — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 05:30:24 +0000

Mishu: Yes, Elaine was a shiksa, and George Costanza was presumably not intended to be Jewish, but the general shtick of Seinfeld was so thoroughly Jewish that I never quite believed that they were anything but.

Except for Kramer, as I said above. And — pace Steve — it wasn’t just that his comedy was physical. It was also that he was a completely unselfconscious and unreflective character, a kind of magical simpleton.

Is it possible to be Jewish and all of the above? Of course, but it’s just plain intellectually dishonest to insist that any stereotyping is illegitimate. We all carry stereotypes in our heads and they make for useful shorthand and good screenwriting.

By: mishu

mishu — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 04:22:05 +0000

I just remembered one episode. Elaine had ‘schicksappeal’.

By: mishu

mishu — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 04:18:53 +0000

I always thought Elaine was Catholic.