To be or not to be ... Jewish
Some TV shows are more shy than others about presenting characters in a religious light
LYNNE MEREDITH COHN
Detroit Jewish News
You may think they're Jewish. But those in the know say some of those prime-time TV characters you're sure are Jewish are not necessarily "members of the tribe." And, except for a few strongly identifying individuals - some of them bordering on stereotypes -the majority of TV Jewish characters have a schizophrenic religiosity: marginally Jewish but blending well into the gentile mainstream.
Take Paul Reiser's character and his extended family on "Mad About You." Reiser plays Paul Buchman; his parents are named Bert and Sylvia; he's best buds with his cousin Ira; and he's got a dog named Murray. The very Jewish Mel Brooks plays Paul's Uncle Phil, and Sid Caesar is Uncle Harold. Think they're Jewish? Think again.
Reiser says religion has never been discussed "on that show and probably never will be," according to an NBC spokeswoman. Religion, he says, is "an issue that he doesn't get into comedically."
The same air of nebulousness is true for other NBC shows.
For example, on NBC's hit show "ER," Dr. Mark Greene acknowledged his Jewish father - and Christian mother - but considers himself to be "nothing." None of the characters on the show are Jewish, says the NBC spokeswoman (although two actors, Juliana Margulies and Noah Wyle, each have one Jewish parent, just like Dr. Greene).
Although Vicki (Kathy Griffin), the red-head on NBC's "Suddenly Susan," may seem to be Jewish, a spokeswoman says her religious identity hasn't been defined. "The actress is Catholic. I thought she made jokes about not being Jewish," she says.
Two popular NBC sitcoms - "Friends" and "Seinfeld" -have a hard time defining their characters' religious identity.
On "Friends," some of the names sound Jewish: Monica and Ross Geller, Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston). And of course, don't forget Rachel's ex-fiance, Barry, who married Rachel's best friend. The wedding was typical Long Island Jewish - as is Chandler's girlfriend, Janice.
While Rachel's father appears to be Jewish, her mother, played by Marlo Thomas, has never been pegged for a Jew. In fact, Thomas' father, Danny Thomas, was of Lebanese descent.
Two Christmases ago, a "Friends" episode featured Ross (David Schwimmer) cleaning the wax out of a Hanukkah menorah while his on-screen sister, Monica (Courtney Cox), baked Christmas cookies and opened a package of Christmas lights sent by their mother. The Jewish Elliott Gould plays the part of the siblings' father.
A Warner Bros. spokesperson revealed that "the religion of the characters on 'Friends' has never been established, but viewers can make the educated guess that Monica and Ross are half Jewish and that Rachel and her ex-fiance Barry are Jewish."
"But," she added, "the 'Friends' producers have never come out and established their characters' religion in an overt way." (In real life, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow, who plays Phoebe on the show, are Jewish.)
Then there's "Seinfeld." Everybody knows Jerry Seinfeld is Jewish - on the tube and off. But what about the rest of the gang - Kramer, Elaine and George?
No, no and no - and no to George's parents, as well.
Publicists for the show hemmed and hawed when asked about the characters' religious identities, but a not-so-scientific survey of old episodes revealed that Cosmo Kramer, Elaine Benes and George Costanza are definitely not Jewish.
In one episode, Michael Richards as Kramer (the real Kramer upon whom the character is based is Jewish and an old neighbor of "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David) plans a Jewish singles function with authentic ethnic foods. He wants Jerry and Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) to attend, and Elaine says, "Well, I'm not Jewish!" To which Kramer replies, "Neither am I."
In the same show, Kramer holds the function at the Knights of Columbus Hall, courtesy of George's dad's membership. Knights of Columbus is a Catholic organization.
The spokeswoman for Jason Alexander, who plays George, says the Jewish actor "does not know the religious background of George Costanza, (and) has no comment about it."
But Estelle Harris, who is Jewish in real life and plays Mrs. Costanza to the Jewish Jerry Stiller's Mr. Costanza, told the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent, "When I first came on board, I wondered the same thing. I asked Larry David, 'Well, is she Jewish or not?' "
David, the real-life role model for the character of George, answered the question with a question "What do you care?"
"I said that I needed to know for motivation," said Harris, who never got a definitive answer. "I saw where Larry was right," she said. "This way, without identifying, everyone can relate to the woman."
Meanwhile, Judaism, like most ethnicities and religions that "Seinfeld" has touched upon, has been the focus of what some might deem insensitive poking. Several episodes have inspired phone calls to the Anti-Defamation League, including one about a rabbi, another dealing with keeping kosher and another about a bris.
In the rabbi episode, a black-hatted, black-suited rabbi, who speaks in a nasal pitch, divulges confidential information on public TV. The kosher episode features Kramer sneaking lobster into an omelette for Jerry's girlfriend, who keeps kosher.
In the bris episode, Kramer tries to "save" the baby from the mohel's knife, saying the practice is inhuman. In the end, the baby's parents name Kramer as the child's god-parent - because of his concern for the baby's welfare.
At the time of the rabbi episode, Lori Jonas, a publicity agent for the show, said it was all in good fun. Besides, Jerry Seinfeld is Jewish (so the show can't be anti-Semitic).
Jewishness not always hidden
In addition to the assimilated "maybe-Jewish" characters on the Peacock network, one has been clearly defined as Jewish - though perhaps out of touch with his religion. The name doesn't sound Jewish, but Detective John Munch (Richard Belzer) of NBC's "Homicide: Life on the Street" is Jewish, both on and off the show, which is set in Baltimore.
One episode, called "Kaddish," involves the murder of a Jewish woman, Helen Rosenthal, with whom Munch grew up. The murder takes him back to his hometown of Pikesville, a heavily Jewish suburb of Baltimore. "Kaddish" begins with words from the Hebrew prayer for mourning.
The daughter of the murdered Helen tells the coroner that her mother's body must be buried by morning, according to Jewish law. The coroner already knows, saying she's a knowledgeable "shiksa."
Throughout the episode, Munch's non-Jewish partner asks questions about Jewish observance: "What is shiva?" "There's no wake?" "You can't leave the house?" "What's a shiksa?" Finally, Munch replies, "Boy, you sure do live in an Irish cocoon, don't you?"
Munch and Helen's daughter discuss Jewish observance. Through flashbacks we see Helen and her Protestant husband divorce. Helen then moves with her daughter into her mother's home and starts going to synagogue.
"My mom said she liked the ritual, routine," the daughter says.
She asks Munch if he's religious; he says no, the extent of it is "I don't like to work on Saturdays."
At the shiva house, the mirrors are covered, and people sit on crates, not chairs. Munch stops his partner from eating before minyan.
The daughter asks Munch to help make the minyan. He declines, saying, "I don't remember the Kaddish." She tells him, "It's like riding a bike." At the end of the episode, he opens a siddur, next to his high school yearbook. The daughter lights a yahrtzeit candle. Munch dons a kippah and goes to the shiva house for minyan.
Finally, NBC makes a real leap of faith with its hit show, "Third Rock from the Sun," which is about a family of aliens who come to Earth to learn about humans. In one episode, the teenager (Tommy Solomon) comes home from school and asks about the family's ethnicity. Not having one, the family embarks upon a search.
Ultimately, the family decides de facto that it is Jewish. The landlady says, "My third husband was the same as you people."
"What do you mean?" they ask.
"You know, Jewish," she replies, thus making their decision.
While the credits are rolling, the family is shown talking, slipping in Yiddish phrases and discussing whether the man the female character is dating is Jewish.
Some shows embrace identity
Not all Jewish characters on TV are of the maybe-yes, maybe-no variety. There are at least two characters which CBS clearly states are Jewish.
On "Chicago Hope," Adam Arkin plays Aaron Shutt - Jewish on screen and off, a publicist confirms.
Then, there's "The Nanny," which a publicist claims to be "embracing of Judaism," albeit in a stereotypical fashion.
A CBS spokeswoman says Fran Fine, Fran Drescher's nasally character on "The Nanny," is a positive portrayal - and realistic, since the character is based on Drescher's off-the-wall Jewish persona.
On the show, Jewish identity is "used for humor and stereotypical comments about food and clothing and whining," the spokeswoman says. Judaism is "treated lightly and in good taste."
Some examples: Fran's mother buys a condo in Boca; she meets her idol, Bette Midler, and comments on Barbra Streisand; Fran gets in a fight with a woman at Loehmann's over a sweater on clearance.
Yet the show has inspiring moments. Fran and her mother, played by Renee Taylor, host a Passover seder, bringing Judaism to Fran's adopted family. In another episode, Fran dates her temple's eligible cantor. Never mind that he leaves for Broadway with the help of Fran's boss. The temple wants him back - so its members get mad at Fran.
"Fran completely embraces her stereotypical Jewish, female role, is absolutely proud of it and laughs at it," says the CBS spokeswoman. "It's a situation comedy. The writers take examples from her life and personality and enrich them and embellish them and treat them humorously. All done in good taste and good fun -definitely a good example.
"The show has had no complaints about the portrayal," the spokeswoman adds.
Meanwhile network competitor ABC seems to have a paucity of identifiably Jewish characters.
When ABC's Ellen (Ellen DeGeneres) came out of the closet on "Ellen," she professed her love for Susan Richman (Laura Dern). The name may sound Jewish, but coming out of the closet, not out of the synagogue, was the name of the game in that episode. An ABC publicist says religion "was never addressed."
Like NBC, Fox is loaded with prime-time Jewish characters. But while NBC glosses over the Jewishness of most of its characters, in several shows Fox ventures full force ahead, tackling matters of death and mourning, anti-Semitism and intermarriage.
Fox's "Beverly Hills 90210," for example, has brought several Jewish characters to the fore and touched on religious issues. Over seven seasons, the two main Jewish characters became romantically involved with non-Jews.
Andrea Zuckerman (Gabrielle Carteris), who left the show a few seasons back, was a character with a strong Jewish identification who became pregnant during college. She married the baby's father, the Catholic Jesse (Mark Espinoza), and they raised their daughter in both religions.
Currently, David Silver (Brian Austin Green) is romantically linked with Donna Martin (Tori Spelling), also Catholic. David identifies as Jewish, with a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother. He thinks Donna's parents disapprove of their relationship because of the couple's religious differences.
In another episode, Kelly (Jenny Garth) befriended a Jewish AIDS patient. When he died, she lit a yahrtzeit candle. Another time a controversial, anti-Semitic black leader came to campus, and Andrea protested. Her grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, protested with her.
Bet you didn't know a cartoon could be Jewish. Look no further than "The Simpsons" for Krusty the Clown, a.k.a. Herschel Krustofsky (voice by Dan Castellaneta).
Many of the show's writers are Jewish, which may explain the incredible accuracy and impressive level of Jewish knowledge in the episode, "Like Father, Like Clown." After the episode aired, Fox was flooded with phone calls requesting copies of the episode for Jewish organizations and museums, a spokesperson said.
In the episode, the Jewish characters have curly black tendrils, wear long black coats and hats, study in a yeshiva and live on the "lower east side" of Springfield. Krusty's father, Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky (voiced by Jackie Mason), disowns his son because he aspires to a career as a clown.
Krusty goes to the Simpsons' house for dinner and becomes depressed in the presence of a united family; he misses his father.
So Bart and Lisa approach the rabbi, beseeching him to reconcile with his son. They pepper their arguments with talmudic phrases. Finally, the rabbi is convinced, thanks to a quote from Sammy Davis Jr. - "a Jewish entertainer, like your son," Bart says.
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