Jackie, Oy!: Jackie Mason from Birth to Rebirth

by Jackie Mason, Ken Gross

Chronicles the comedian's struggle between the life of rabbinic study charted for him and the world of entertainment, the blow dealt to his career by Ed Sullivan's blacklisting, and his reemergence as a respected and popular entertainer

290 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1988

About the author

Jackie Mason (born Yacov Moshe Maza) was an American stand-up comedian. His "politically incorrect" routines and opinionated observations on Jewish and American life have often provoked controversy.

Mason graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from City College of New York and (at the age of 25) was ordained, as his three brothers and father had been, as a rabbi in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Three years later he resigned the post to become a comedian.

In 1992, Mason won an Emmy for his voice-over of Rabbi Hyman Krustofski in The Simpsons episode, "Like Father, Like Clown" making him the first guest star to win an Emmy for his role. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, Mason was voted among the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. He was also ranked #63 in Comedy Central's 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comedians.

John Byner impersonated Mason for the Aardvark cartoon character in the cartoon series The Ant and the Aardvark.

Reviews

[Douglas Lord · Rating 4 out of 5]

This autobiography of the stand-up comic best known (depending on your age and preferences) for his roles on The Simpsons, The Ant and the Aardvark, and/or his YouTube station TheUltimateJew begins with a career-defining day—October 18, 1964*. On The Ed Sullivan Show, he (allegedly) unknowingly fires the “one-finger salute” to the host. Sully is so mad that he vows to bar Mason from television for the rest of his life. It almost works! Born to a poor rabbi in (of all places) Sheboygan, WI, in 1931, Mason had a difficult time growing up in an Orthodox household. Of his father (Mason actually pursued studies to become a rabbi himself), Mason writes, “He was learned, but he wasn’t good at making a living” and describes the man as prone to rages; “[t]his was a violent, crazy, insane type of beating.” From this crucible was born the protean comedian who worked his way up to where he “was pulling down as much as $10,000 a week in nightclubs” in the early 1960s. Many comics today owe a little something to Mason’s understated, long-suffering delivery and his ability to come to a boil over tiny things such as parking tickets or presidential candidates. Mason presents himself in the book and in comedy as something of a perpetual underdog. Behind the eight ball is the place he seems most comfortable. Despite all the clawing and chutzpah, however, is a shlimazel, “one more hungry comic who never rose above the category of almost-star.” VERDICT There’s not much intimacy or panache in this title, which sounds at times like merely a transcribed tape recording. But interesting? Yes!

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[Regina Merwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

My family was smitten by Jackie Mason's classic show, "The World According to Me". It was interesting to know he had once been a rabbi with a congregation, and I wanted to know more.
Well, if you like Jackie Mason's comedy you may not want to read this biography. I got the feeling he got to approve everything in it, and he STILL comes off as angry, bitter and vindictive. (I know that probably describes a lot of comics, but most of those aren't SO up front about it.)

But I find this segment of show biz fascinating, so 3 stars, but not for Mason's personality!

[Steven Spector · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hate his politics but I love his humor! A light autobiography with more truth between the lines than on them.