Stand up comedian and actor Jackie Mason died July 24, 2021 at the age of 93 in Manhattan. While an official cause of death was not revealed, Mason had been hospitalized for the past two weeks.
In a style that has been described as “amused outrage” Mason often spoke about being Jewish, his inadequacies, and people in general. He was once quoted as saying, “I was so self-conscious, every time football players went into a huddle; I thought they were talking about me.”
Mason got his comedic start as a “social director” at a Catskills club; but that only lasted one season before he began taking the stage as one of the stand up comics.
Prior to making his mark in the world of comics, Mason was a rabbi.
Mason made his television debut in 1961 on the Steve Allen show. His other screen appearances include “The Jerk”, a rabbit in an episode of “Flying High”, “History of the World: Part 1”, “Caddyshack II”, 12 episodes of “Chicken Soup”, “30 Rock”, and eleven episodes of “The Simpsons”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V4zYe23QLg
While he only made 20 film and television acting appearances, Mason appeared over 100 times as himself including repeated appearances on “The Steve Allen Plymouth Show”, “The Tonight Show” and numerous other talk shows, “The Hollywood Palace”, “The Hollywood Squares”, “What’s My Line?”, nearly two dozen appearances of “The Ed Sullivan Show”, “The Dean Martin Show”, award shows, his own television specials, and various other variety series. Reportedly, Mason was banned from appearing on “The Ed Sullivan Show” for two years after giving series host Ed Sullivan an obscene when told to wrap up his routine.
Mason made a number of appearances on the Broadway stage with his one man shows, one of which “The World According to Me!” earned him a Tony Award.
The son of a rabbi, he was born Jacob Moshe Maza on June 9, 1928 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He, along with his three brothers, became rabbis themselves.
Mason is survived by his wife Jyll and daughter Sheba.
feature photo credit: [[File:JackieMasonOct06.jpg|JackieMasonOct06]]