Matzohball

by Sol Weinstein

Things are really smoking on the island of El Tiparillo when the Holy Land’s superest, secretest agent Israel Bond is called to wield his weaponized mezuzah to save innocent lives and formerly-innocent beautiful lasses in the midst of rebellion. Will he manage to fend off the assassins, the vicious wildlife, and the mysterious Herbie while seducing the island’s wide array of fascinating and exotic women... or will it be the other way around? With Soviet spymaster General Bolshyeeyit, the insidious Dr. Nu, Rotten Roger, and “The Man with the Golden Gums” all on his tuchis, things will not be easy for Oy-Oy-7, licensed not only to kill but also to say prayers over the body... In the mid-1960s, when Playboy was serializing the adventures of the world’s most famous superspy, they interspersed them with the rollicking tales of Israel’s most hilarious weapon, Israel Bond. After the book editions of what the Chicago Tribune called "probably the funniest secret agent parodies ever written" had sold over a million copies, they were allowed to fall out of print. Decades later, all four books in the Israel Bond series are back in new editions!

Genres: Humor

126 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Weinstein was born and raised in Trenton, N.J. In the 1950s, he wrote for his local newspaper, The Trentonian, before turning his sharp wit to comedy sketches and songs for variety show performers. He married Eleanor Eisner in 1955, and they had two children, David and Judee.

He started writing gags for Joe E. Lewis, Alan King and, years later, for Bob Hope’s and Dean Martin’s shows. His show-biz pals were Sammy Davis Jr., Gene Kelly and Dom DeLuise.

In 1962, Weinstein wrote the ballad “The Curtain Falls” for Bobby Darin’s act, which the singer used as his finale for years. The song was also recorded by Hope, and Steve & Eydie, and was featured in the Darin biopic “Beyond the Sea.”

Weinstein conceived his Israel Bond capers, starting with “Loxfinger,” in 1965. The series of four books — including “Matzohball,” “On the Secret Service of His Majesty, the Queen” and “You Only Live Until You Die” — sold more than 400,000 copies and gained him national exposure.

In the ’70s, Weinstein moved to Los Angeles and wrote for such television shows as “The Love Boat,” “The Jeffersons” and “Three’s Company” with writing partner Howard Albrecht.

Weinstein moved to New Zealand in 2002 to be near his son. He was a real mensch, fun to be with, funny, he loved jazz, loved being Jewish and speaking Yiddish, and he loved life itself.

Of his writing partner, Albrecht said, “Sol was the most interesting, knowledgeable, talented — but, more important, the most gentle — man I have ever known.”

Weinstein, writer, composer, jazz fanatic and sweetheart, died of pancreatic cancer on Nov. 25 in his home in Plimmerton, New Zealand, surrounded by his loving family. He was 84.

Predeceased by wife, Eleanor, Weinstein is survived by his daughter, Judee; son, David; and granddaughter, Eleanor.

Kenny Ellis is cantor of Temple Beth Ami, a Reform synagogue in Santa Clarita.

Reviews

[Harry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lot's of fun. Includes enough racist and antisemitic puns to make you groan. Definitly not P.C. Sometimes it was hard to get the references from over 50 years ago.
First we meet Israel Bond, Agent Oy-Oy-7, licensed to kill. Then there's Zvi Gates, agent 113, licensed to wound. After him, Itzhok Ben Franklin, licensed to drive. And let's not forget about agent Ben Gay, licensed to rub. I personally loved when Bond made a sling of 5 Israeli coins: 3 agarot and 2 escargot.
At one point in the book, Bond is tortured with a machine called WD, or Will Destroyer. It subjected Bond to every inane situation comedy and commercial from the late 50s to early 60s until he "was frozen into a mindless ear-to-ear grin." After a while, that's how I felt. The awful puns and jokes got in the way of any semblance of plot.

[Race Bannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a re-read of an old book, and I must say it
does not hold up well in today's world.
It's a James Bond spoof and quite ridiculous but there
are a few humorous lines in the book that make
it somewhat redeeming. Just do not expect a
ton of guffaws nor an exciting spy thriller. This
would not be it.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can tell this book was written almost 60 years ago. It's very politically uncorrect. It is obviously a spoof of all the James Bond movies/books. It has some funny moments but I think the humor would not be understood by a younger generation of readers.

[Susan Rothenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found by chance in a antiquarian book store, this book is full of giggles. The author, Sol Weinstein, is full of puns - with Hebrew Secret Agent Oy-Oy-7 dealing with Gereral Bolshyeeyit, running into Fawn Connery and having to deal with the terror of a computer called IPECAC.

[David Eppenstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this author's books back in the 60's when James Bond was huge and I was a teenager. The books were fun and amusing.