The Haunted Smile: The Story of Jewish Comedians in America

by Lawrence J. Epstein

Argues that Jewish comedy is tinged by bitter encounters with anti-Semitism, a desire to be accepted, and concern for a culture disappearing at the same time it draws on a long tradition of Jewish humor.

Genres: Humor, Judaica, Biography, History, Nonfiction, Jewish, Comedy

356 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 2001, offers a serious look at the history and rationale of Jewish humor in the American mainstream. Did Jews change humor? You decide. There's a lot of psychological justification given and you can take it with a grain of salt or the whole shaker, or in different amounts with each story. Comprehensive, yet needs updating after 15 years; no mention of Sarah Silverman or Amy Schumer, barely any Judy Gold, and only a paragraph (!!!!!!!!) on Gilda Radner. Luckily, there are Gilda books that stand on their own and you should read them. Should.

[Linda Mirvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy, have Jews dominated the world of comedy! The book includes a rough timeline, going into the cultural trends as well as psychological
insights of both individual comedians and American Jews in general. And it is punctuated with really funny examples of the work of some of the greats.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine overview of Jewish comedy in America from immigration and vaudeville through 2000. In the first chapter I feared this might be merely a stringing together of various biographies, but Epstein gives this background information to provide context for the chapters to come. The book also largely avoids the pitfall of the “sad clown” cliché by offering a more nuanced discussion of how Jewish culture (especially Yiddish language and the secularization of American Jews) contributed to the flowering of Jewish comedy in the 20th century. Indeed, the Appendix offers some of the best analysis in the book, working to both tie together various themes outlined in the preceding chronological narrative and to give historical, linguistic, and psychological conclusions that help the reader to understand the intrinsic link between Jewish comedy and culture. I gained a great deal of insight into both by the end of the book.

I hope the author thinks about trying to publish an update with a chapter (or two) extending the narrative into the 2020s (others have mentioned Sarah Silverman and Amy Schumer, but also Judd Apatow, Chelsea Handler, and an extended take on Jon Stewart, who does get a paragraph here, which is surprising since it was published back in 2001), perhaps in terms of the challenges comedians have today in pushing boundaries in the current social media environment. I would also be interested to hear the author’s take on what might be considered the wider international expansion of Jewish humor beyond the U.S., as some of the biggest names in comedy in the last few years have been British (Sacha Baron Cohen) and Canadian (Seth Rogen), yet their insight into American culture have been essential and iconic.

[Victoria & David Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview with many brief bios and snippets of their work. The emphasis on the cultural context of Jewish traditions as they have changed over time from the 1880s to the 1980s and beyond give this an especial satisfaction.

[John Albers · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting study of the role of Jewish comedians in popular entertainment, which also focuses on the role of anti-Semitism, and the adoption of American culture into the Jewish community.

[Albie]

The Haunted Smile: The Story of Jewish Comedians in America by Lawrence J. Epstein (2002)

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nope. Gave up. The subject matter is interesting but the writing is godawful.

[Kyle Burley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting subject but flat prose and more than a few factual errors (e.g. Bobcat Goldthwait is not Jewish).

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent study of a wonderful style of comedy.