Written by Mark Jonathan Harris | Created by Ben Thum
Even though Jews are less than two percent of the U.S. population, since the days of vaudeville, they have comprised a disproportionate number of comedians in the entertainment industry. At a time of rising antisemitism in America, can this gift for laughter help defuse prejudice and hate?
Feature-Length Movie | Comedy, Documentary
Pitch Deck
Synopsis
A Legacy of Humor
Why do so many comedians and comedy writers come from Jewish families? And why, for more than a century, have American audiences of all backgrounds responded to this Jewish sense of humor? These questions lie at the heart of what this feature documentary explores in a manner that is innovative, informative, and, above all, very funny.
A Gift For Laughter tracks the journey of Jewish comedy from the Yiddish theater of the Lower East Side, to the warm kitchen of Molly Goldberg, to the social criticism of Lenny Bruce and Mort Sahl, to the zaniness of Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, and Larry David, to the subtlety of Jerry Seinfeld and Sarah Silverman. That path mirrors the American Jewish experience of moving from the margin to the mainstream.
The documentary presents archival footage and interviews with many of the Jewish giants of American comedy, including legendary teams such as the Marx Brothers, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, and great comedians from Fanny Brice, Jack Benny, and Mel Brooks to Billy Crystal, Jon Stewart, and Susie Essman. The best and brightest of the new generation of Jewish comedians also enhance this amazing story.
Antisemitism has been increasing and intensifying, quintupling in the last decade in the United States. The FBI says that 60 percent of all religious-based hate crimes targeted Jewish people. In the wake of violence in Israel and Gaza, Wray warns, “They are reaching historic levels.” Comedy exists to make people laugh and smile, even in the darkest of times. With hate crimes against Jews at a historic level in America, we need humor more than ever to help fight bigotry and reaffirm Jewish identity.
A sampling of the many interviews of comedy legends we have already captured
(Click to view): 1. Carl Reiner, 2. Dick Van Dyke, 3. Susie Essman.
Also available: 4. Jerry Stiller, 5. Shelley Berman, 6. Sid Caesar, and many more.
