List of Jewish American entertainers

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This is a list of famous Jewish American entertainers. For other famous Jewish Americans, see List of Jewish Americans.

Contents

[edit] List

[edit] Actors

Organized by decade of birth

[edit] 1990s

[edit] 1980s

[edit] 1970s

[edit] 1960s

[edit] 1950s

[edit] 1940s

[edit] 1930s

[edit] 1920s

[edit] 1910s

[edit] 1900s

  • Stella Adler (1901–1992) American actress, for decades regarded as America's foremost acting teacher[541]
  • Jack Albertson (1907-1981) American actor best known for his role on Chico and the Man
  • Leon Askin (1907–2005) Austrian (later American) actor[542]
  • Milton Berle (1908–2002) American comedian and actor[543]
  • Joe Besser (1907–1988) American comedian (Three Stooges)[544]
  • Mel Blanc (1908-89) American voice artist
  • Ben Blue (1901–1975) Canadian (later American) actor and comedian[16]
  • Howard Da Silva (1909–1986) American film actor[16]
  • Melvyn Douglas (1901–1981) American actor, won all three of the entertainment industries' highest awards (two Oscars, a Tony and an Emmy)[545][546]
  • Larry Fine (1902–1975) American comedian and actor (Three Stooges)[547]
  • John Houseman (1902–1988) was an American actor who won an Academy Award for The Paper Chase
  • Curly Howard (1903–1952) American, one of the Three Stooges[548]
  • Sam Levene (1905–1980) Russian/American stage and film actor[549]
  • Peter Lorre (1904–1964) Hungarian-born (later American) stage and screen actor[550]
  • Zeppo Marx (1901–1979) American, member of the Marx Brothers[551]
  • Ritz Brothers (1901-1965, 1904-1985, 1907-1986) American comedy team[16]
  • Natalie Schafer (1900-1991) was an American actress best known for her role in Gilligan's Island

[edit] 1890s

  • Jack Benny (1894–1974) American comedian, vaudeville performer, and radio, television, and film actor[552]
  • Gertrude Berg (1899–1966) American radio and television actress[553]
  • Fanny Brice (1891–1951) American comedian, singer, and entertainer[554]
  • George Burns (1896–1996) American comedian and actor[555]
  • Eddie Cantor (1892–1964) American comedian, singer, actor, songwriter, one of the most popular entertainers in the U.S. in the early and middle 20th century[556]
  • Ricardo Cortez (1899–1977) Austrian-born (later American) silent film star, known as a "Latin lover" type[557]
  • Hermione Gingold (1897-1987) [21], British actress
  • Moe Howard (1897–1975) the "leader" of the Three Stooges[558]
  • Shemp Howard (1895–1955) American born, part of the Three Stooges comedy team[559]
  • Sam Jaffe (1891–1984) Academy Award-nominated American film and stage actor[16]
  • Francis Lederer (1899 - 2000) Czech-born (later American) actor [22]
  • Philip Loeb (1892–1955) American stage, film, and television actor[560]
  • Paul Lukas (1895–1971) Hungarian (later American) film actor[16]
  • Groucho Marx (1890–1977) American comedian, working both with his siblings, the Marx Brothers, and on his own[561]
  • Gummo Marx (1893–1977) American, one of the Marx Brothers[562]
  • Paul Muni (1895–1967) Austrian-born (later American) Academy Award and Tony Award-winning actor from the Golden Age of Hollywood[563]
  • Carmel Myers (1899–1980) American silent film actress[564]
  • Molly Picon (1898–1992) American star of stage, screen and television[565]
  • Edward G. Robinson (1893–1973) American stage and film actor[566]
  • Mae West (1893–1980) American actress, playwright, screenwriter, and sex symbol[567]

[edit] 1880s

[edit] 1870s

  • Alla Nazimova (1879–1945) American theater and film actress, scriptwriter, and producer[576]

[edit] 1860s

[edit] 1850s

[edit] 1830s

[edit] Comedians

[edit] Music: singers and songwriters

[edit] Music businessmen

[edit] Dance

Persons listed with a double asteriks (**) are winners of the Tony Award for Best Choreography.

Stanley Donen

[edit] Film directors

[edit] Magicians

[edit] Models

[edit] Producers, screenwriters and creators (film and television)

[edit] Motion picture and television executives

[edit] Professional Wrestlers

[edit] TV and radio presenters

[edit] Theater

Persons listed with a double asteriks (**) are producers who have won the Tony Award for Best Musical and/or the Tony Award for Best Play. Those listed with a triple asteriks (***) have won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and/or Play. Those listed with a quadruple asteriks (****) have won the Tony Award for Best Actor or Best Actress in a Musical or Play.

[edit] Circus

CEOs, Owners, Producers/Directors, and Famous Performers

  • Kenneth Jeffrey Feld, CEO of Feld Entertainment, which owns Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, Disney on Ice!, Doodlebops Live! and Disney Live!
  • Irvin and Israel Feld , were originally booking agents for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and later they purchased the company.
  • Albert Solomonsky, founded the Nikulin Moscow Circus in 1880 and the Riga Circus in Latvia
    • Mifort Treyem (born Treyfem Meyer), weight juggler for the Riga Circus in Latvia
    • Siegmund (Zishe) Breitbart, Polish circus strongman known as "the modern Samson"
  • Paul Lewis (born Rosenberg) of the Lewis Bros. Circus in Michigan
  • Sy Rubens of Rogers Bros. Circus
    • Abe Goldstein, was regarded as "the Greatest Irish Cop Clown" in the business and worked for Ringling Bros. and a number of other circuses
  • Paul Binder, co-founder, ringmaster and artistic director of the Big Apple Circus
  • Peggy Snider, co-founder of the Pickle Family Circus
  • Jillian James Monkey Trainer, bearded lady

[edit] Comics: writers, publishers and artists

  • Harry Donenfeld (1893-1965) an American publisher who is known primarily for being the owner of National Allied Publications, which distributed Detective Comics and Action Comics, the originator publications for the superhero characters Batman and Superman
  • Will Eisner (1917–2005) acclaimed American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit
  • Al Feldstein (1925-) an American painter of Western wildlife and an influential author-editor who wrote, drew and edited for EC Comics, followed by a lengthy career as the editor of Mad
  • Stan Goldberg (1932-) an American comic book artist best known for his work as a flagship artist of Archie Comics and as a Marvel Comics' 1960s colorist
  • Jenette Kahn, an American comic book editor and executive. She joined DC Comics in 1976 as publisher
  • Bob Kane (born Robert Kahn, 1915–1998) was an American comic book artist and writer credited as the creator of the DC Comics superhero Batman
  • Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg, 1917–1994) one of the most influential, recognizable, and prolific artists in American comic books, and the co-creator of such enduring characters and popular culture icons as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk and Captain America
  • Harvey Kurtzman (1924-1993) a U.S. cartoonist and magazine editor. In 1952, he was the founding editor of the comic book Mad
  • Stan Lee (1922-) former Chairman of Marvel Comics. He is the creator of Spiderman
  • Jerry Siegel (1914–1996) the co-creator of Superman (along with Joe Shuster), the first of the great comic book superheroes and one of the most recognizable fictional characters of the 20th century
  • Julius Schwartz (1915–2004) a comic book and pulp magazine editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. He was born in the Bronx, New York. He is best known as a longtime editor at DC Comics, where at various times he was primary editor over the company's flagship superheroes, Superman and Batman.
  • Mort Weisinger (1915-1978) an American magazine and comic book editor best known for editing DC Comics Superman line during the mid-1950s to 1960s period fans and historians call the Silver age of comic books

[edit] Adult Film Stars

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Facts. Shane Habouca. Retrieved on 2006-12-30.
  2. ^ Mentioned he was Jewish at the premier of Keeping Up with the Steins in an interview on WireImage; May 8, 2006 - http://video.wireimage.com/mvMediaPlayer.asp?ItemI=8555865
  3. ^ Bynes mentioned that she is Jewish on Jimmy Kimmel Live (March 7, 2006) and Rove Live (March 28, 2006)
  4. ^ Millea, Holly (July, 2007). "Zac Attack". ELLE. Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.. 
  5. ^ Hollywood enters the era of Scarlett Johansson - USATODAY.com
  6. ^ Bloom, Nate. "Celebrity Jews", The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California, 2007-04-05. Retrieved on 2007-04-05. 
  7. ^ Jones, Jen (3/07). "Sara Paxton". JVibe. Jewish Family & Life. 14-17. 
  8. ^ Paxton, Sara (2005-11-25, 2005-12-11). Sara's Blog. Sara Paxton Official Website. Retrieved on 2007-01-12.
  9. ^ a b c Nikki Reed and Evan Rachel Wood both mentioned that they are Jewish on the Thirteen DVD commentary, between the 10:00 and 11:00 minute mark
  10. ^ Stated on the Live with Regis and Kelly show, July 3, 2007
  11. ^ Slate, Libby. "Former Soviet Skate Stars Top Bill at Knott's", Los Angeles Times, 1989-12-22, pp. 1. Retrieved on 2007-02-16. 
  12. ^ Arnold, Tom (2003). How I Lost 5 Pounds in 6 Years: An Autobiography. St. Martin's Griffin, 145-146. ISBN0312322445. 
  13. ^ Butler, Jerry (1990). Raw Talent: The Adult Film Industry As Seen by Its Most Famous Male Star. Prometheus Books, 59. ISBN087975625X. 
  14. ^ Pogrebin, Abigail (2005). Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk about Being Jewish. Bantam Dell Pub Group. ISBN0767916123. 
  15. ^ Butler, Jerry (1990). Raw Talent: The Adult Film Industry As Seen by Its Most Famous Male Star. Prometheus Books, 208. ISBN087975625X. 
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao "Motion Pictures". Encyclopaedia Judaica. (1971-1972). Keter Publishing House. Retrieved on 2006-11-17. 
  17. ^ Elfman, Richard and Bright, Matthew. Forbidden Zone DVD, Fantoma, 2004, audio commentary. ASIN: B0002LE9QS
  18. ^ "Tony Jay—Obituary", The Jewish Chronicle, 2006-12-22, pp. 26. Retrieved on 2006-12-24. 
  19. ^ Dixon, Wheeler Winston (2006). Visions of Paradise: Images of Eden in the Cinema. Rutgers University Press, 87. ISBN 0813537983. 
  20. ^ Blackwell, Earl (1973). Celebrity Register. 
  21. ^ [1]: "she was the daughter of an upper-class Austrian born Jewish financier Lionel Gingold and English-born Kate Walters."; Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: "Her mother was Jewish."
  22. ^ Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed, art. "Lederer, Francis": "Czech actor"
  23. ^ Ahdoot[2] "New Yorker Dan Ahdoot is another Iranian Jewish entertainer who defied his community's traditions."
  24. ^ Bettinger, Matthew. "Column: Jewish influence, from Ellis Island to Ron Jeremy", The Justice, 2002-10-29. Retrieved on 2006-11-26. 
  25. ^ Pefferman, Naomi. "Late-Nite Jew", The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, 2001-08-31. Retrieved on 2006-11-26. 
  26. ^ Roseanne — [3] "always openly and proudly Jewish..."
  27. ^ Template error: argument title is required. 
  28. ^ Pfefferman, Naomi. "Entertainment icons Milton Berle and Billy Wilder die", The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California, 2002-04-05. Retrieved on 2006-11-26. 
  29. ^ Loh, Sandra Tsing. "Inside Shelley Berman, Again", The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, 2006-03-10. Retrieved on 2006-11-26. 
  30. ^ Faingold, Noma. "Kaballah hasn't dulled Sandra Bernhard's rough edge", The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California, 1998-03-27. Retrieved on 2006-11-26. 
  31. ^ Ballon, Marc. "Q & A With Lewis Black", The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved on 2006-11-26. 
  32. ^ Tregarthen, Cheryl. "Victor Borge", Nordic Notes. Retrieved on 2006-11-26. 
  33. ^ Phipps, Keith (2006-11-20). Random Rules: Alex Borstein. A.V. Club. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.
  34. ^ Parker, James. "'Those words...'", The Boston Globe, 2006-12-03. Retrieved on 2006-12-03. 
  35. ^ a b c d e f Fox, Michael. "Borat nips Gibson as No. 1 anti-Semite in show biz", The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California, 2006-12-22. Retrieved on 2006-12-22. 
  36. ^ a b Franken — [4] "Immediately after, a clip shows Franken suggesting that if he opts to run, he “would be the only New York Jew in the race who grew up in Minnesota.” On Sunday I asked nonchalantly if that meant he considered himself a New York Jew as well as a Minnesotan. “That was a joke,” he said, laughing hysterically once more."
  37. ^ Noted as one of several Jewish comedians at [5]"
  38. ^ a b Swartz, Shauna (2006-11-21). Meet Judy (aka Jewdy) Gold. AfterEllen.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.
  39. ^ Handler — Smason, Alan. "Comely comic reveals laughs in ‘Horizontal Life’", Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved on 2006-11-16. 
  40. ^ a b c Bloom, Nate (2006-11-24). "Celebrity Jews". The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California. 
  41. ^ a b Mason — [6] "Jewish comedian Jackie Mason..."
  42. ^ a b O'Toole, Lesley. "Ben Stiller : 'Doing comedy is scary'", The Independent, 2006-12-22. Retrieved on 2006-12-22. 
  43. ^ Takiff, Jonathan (2006-11-21). 'Tis the season.... Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.
  44. ^ Miller, Larry. "I'm... dreaming... of a white... Chri -- ummm, holidays", The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, 2006-12-22. Retrieved on 2006-12-22. 
  45. ^ a b c Rivers — [7] "Jewish comedienne JOAN RIVERS has launched a scathing attack on MEL GIBSON..."
  46. ^ Schimmel — [8] "I was supposed to have them until after Christmas, but my ex-wife told the kids that since I'm Jewish and don't celebrate Christmas, Santa would not come to my house and they would miss opening presents from Santa on Christmas morning."
  47. ^ a b c Seder — [9] "says Seder, who's Jewish and has dark curly hair"
  48. ^ Eichner, Itamar. "Israeli minister, American Idol", YNetNew.com, 2006-11-17. Retrieved on 2006-11-17. 
  49. ^ a b Apatow — [10] "I look at it as part of my Pat Robertson moral trilogy: The first movie is the anti-sex before marriage. This is the anti-abortion movie. Soon it’ll be the anti-Jew movie and then I’ll realize I’m Jewish and get all confused."
  50. ^ a b Braff — [11] "Zach Braff, the leading actor in NBC's hit comedy Scrubs, is set to visit Israel this coming July. The hot star (31) will arrive in Israel accompanied by his girlfriend, actress and singer Mandy Moore... Braff, a nice Jewish boy, called the Israeli General Consul in Los Angeles, Ehud Danoch, and asked for his assistance with the tour's planning." [12] Mandy Moore on Braff: "I like a good Jewish boy. With a sense of humor." (Moore has a Jewish maternal grandfather) [13] ""I was kosher until I had my Bar Mitzvah, and I parlayed officially becoming a man into telling my father I wanted to eat cheeseburgers." Zach Braff exerted his dietary independence from his Jewish family."
  51. ^ a b Rosen, Steven (2006-11-16). "Want to spoof Purim and the Oscars? Be our Guest!". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles 21 (39). 
  52. ^ a b Bloom, Nate (2006-01-27). "Celebrity Jews". The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California. 
  53. ^ a b Katzenberg — [14] "Hardie also called on several Jewish members of the entertainment industry, including... Jeffrey Katzenberg"
  54. ^ a b Landis — [15] "Landis: Well, I kept thinking, "Who's gonna be interested in this besides our relatives? I mean, we're just five old Jews on a couch.""
  55. ^ Farber, Stephen. "A Night in Hollywood, a Day in Ukraine", The New York Times, 2006-12-31. Retrieved on 2006-12-31. 
  56. ^ a b c Elkin, Michael. "Jewish Jingle Belles?", The Jewish Exponent, 2006-12-21. Retrieved on 2006-12-22. 
  57. ^ "Irving Rapper, the Oscar-winning American-Jewish film director", Jewish Chronicle, 1961-02-10, pp. 30. Retrieved on 2006-11-17. 
  58. ^ a b R. Reiner — [16] "Reiner, however, said Gibson also must do some "major soul-searching." "It’s not a matter of just apologizing for some words you’ve said," said Reiner, who is Jewish. "It’s to really understand why it is you’re anti-Semitic and where those feelings came from.""
  59. ^ a b Fischer, Paul. "Eli Roth Has The Fever", Film Monthly, 2003-09-02. Retrieved on 2007-01-07. 
  60. ^ Zucker — [17] "Two of the initiative’s primary backers, Robert Klein and film producer Jerry Zucker (“Airplane,” “Ghost” and “First Knight”), are Jewish"
  61. ^ Burke — [18] [19]
  62. ^ Vuolo — [20] "SB: Is it correct that you're the first Jewish Playmate? LV: As far as I know, I'm the first Jewish Playmate to admit that I was Jewish. I think there might have been Playmates that were kind of half Jewish and just never really talked about it."
  63. ^ Devlin — [21] "a Jew with Filipino roots is a rare one. But rarer still is a Jew with Filipino roots and working in Hollywood (well, there’s Rob Schneider). Your (bemused) comments, please. I’m a Filipino-Russian Jew with an Irish last name. You can’t get much more mixed up than that."
  64. ^ Heinberg — [22] "Jewish authors who may be of interest... Allan Heinberg"
  65. ^ Lindelof — [23] "Abrams and Damon Lindelof, a Jewish guy..."
  66. ^ Nazarian [24] "Yari is not the only Iranian Jew doing well in Hollywood. Nightclub and hotel entrepreneur Sam Nazarian, 30, is financing and producing films through his L.A.-based SBE Entertainment Group."
  67. ^ Elkin, Michael. "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary ...", The Philadelphia Jewish Exponent, 2006-12-14. Retrieved on 2006-12-14. 
  68. ^ Rosen, Steven. "'The Good Shepherd': I was a young man for the CIA", The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, 2006-12-22. Retrieved on 2006-12-22. 
  69. ^ Bloom, Nate (2006-12-19). The Jews Who Wrote Christmas Songs. InterfaithFamily. Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
  70. ^ Sorkin — [25] "...says the Jewish Sorkin..."
  71. ^ Werner — [26] "Boston also has Jews throughout the front office, including general manager Theo Epstein and chairman Tom Werner."
  72. ^ Yari — [27] "Iranian Jewish film producer Bob Yari's independent film "Crash" won the Best Picture Oscar"
  73. ^ Ziskin — [28] ""Spider-Man" producer Laura Ziskin, who is Jewish..."
  74. ^ Waxman, Sharon; Richard Siklos. "New Dispute Over Firing of Publisher", The New York Times, 2006-12-19. Retrieved on 2006-12-18. 
  75. ^ Roseanne — [29] "always openly and proudly Jewish..."
  76. ^ Hart — [30] "Thought there are no Jewish Republicans in show biz? Well, Bush contributors include... host Mary Hart, who’s a convert to Judaism..."
  77. ^ Daryn Kagan. Jewish Women International (2006-11-22). Retrieved on 2006-11-22.
  78. ^ Chang, Richard. "Slain journalist's father brings message of peace", OC Register, 2006-11-20. Retrieved on 2006-11-20. 
  79. ^ Kurtz, Suzanne. "‘Trading Spaces’ carpenter Amy Wynn Pastor: Jewish girls can build", Jewish Ledger, 2007-01-02. Retrieved on 2007-01-03. 
  80. ^ Schorr — [31] "Schorr suggests in the 2004 anthology “I Am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl.” “We Jews are searchers for truth, sometimes called investigative reporting,” Schorr writes in his personal essay for the book."
  81. ^ Springer — [32] "The Jewish talk-show host..."
  82. ^ Wallace — [33] "Wallace, who said he is Jewish and was brought up in a Zionist home, admitted that earlier in the day he “got himself in trouble for asking provocative questions.”"
  83. ^ Quinn, Sally. "Television Personality Looks Anew At Religion", Washington Post/Newsweek, 2006-12-22. Retrieved on 2006-12-22. 
  84. ^ Bing — [34] Rudolf Bing... had been born a Jew in Vienna"
  85. ^ Lasser — [35] "...there are all these Jewish mannerisms that really aren't in my vocabulary, even though I am Jewish."
  86. ^ Hartog, Kelly. "Red carpet rascal", The Jerusalem Post, 2006-12-11. Retrieved on 2006-12-11. 

[edit] External links