Jackie Mason, RIP
John Podhoretz wrote about the passing of comedian Jackie Mason at age 93, who wisely didn't succumb to the demands of the politically correct:
He was different because he wasn’t warm and cuddly. In fact, he brought to the often-corny Jewish comedy of the Borscht Belt a kind of fearless coldness. He was kicked out of a Catskills hotel in 1955 for being too harsh on the audience.Joel Pollak also pointed out how Mason was a survivor of cancel culture:
Mason was also unusual for his time in that he wrote all his own material; other comics bought jokes from desperate young funnymen. He had to: He saw things in a way no one else could. He had, after all, come from a long line of rabbis, born in, of all places, Sheboygan, Wis., where his father had a pulpit.
This Jew from Sheboygan always spoke from the perspective of an outside observer, an undisguisable member of a minority group who saw the ludicrousness both in the majority and the way his own community responded to the majority.
Mason passed away this weekend at the age of 93, but remained active and outspoken despite his age. He had, after all, been “rediscovered” at the end of a career that was presumed to have died in the era of black-and-white television.Mason was certainly a very talented comedian, and wisely didn't let PC get in his way. Guys like him are those we should view as best examples for standup comedy going forward, and not allow PC mentality to get in the way.
By then, he was too hardened by experience to care what people thought. That made his comedy subversive, and hilarious.
Labels: showbiz, United States
