Daniel Okrent, “Schmuck”
Daniel Okrent’s achievements in media and publishing are too numerous to mention. Seriously, too numerous. Also his personal writing (4 books!) and scholarship (Shorenstein Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School!) won’t fit in this space. But I would be egregiously remiss if I didn’t tell you – HE INVENTED ROTISERRIE BASEBALL!!!
This is like having Thomas Edison tell you a joke.
Posted on June 18th, 2009
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| Producer, Director, Editor | Sam Hoffman |
| Producers | Tim Williams Eric Spiegelman |
| Photography | Antonio Rossi |
| Sound (Seasons 1 & 2) | Irin Strauss |
| Sound (Season 3) | Ken Pries |
| Production Coordinator, Data Technician (Season 3) | John Minor |
| Gaffer (Season 3) | John Tanzer |
| Camera, Lighting, Data Assistance (Season 1) | Ryan Bronz |
| Camera, Lighting, Data Assistance (Season 2) | Matt Kalman |
| Production Assistant (Seasons 1 & 2) | Burton Lewis |
| Production Assistant (Season 2) | Angela Cutrone |
| Production Assistants (Season 3) | Michael Highfield Adam Georgieff Big Riff |
| Special Thanks | HarrisLieberman Gallery Joe Keaney at KCET Studio |
| Theme Music | "Dave Tarras' B flat Bulgars" from the album "Klezmer Plus! Featuring Sid Beckerman and Howie Leess" produced by Henry Sapoznik |
Old Jews Telling Jokes: What's This Thing All About?
This season's jokes were shot in a historic soundstage in Hollywood. Yes, that Hollywood. Tinsletown. The Dream Factory. Shooting there felt like we had come a mighty long way from our humble beginnings in an empty storefront in Highland Park, New Jersey. (In actuality it was 2768 miles, if you take 1-40, the Southern route, which you might want to do with the weather we've been having up North.)In fact, it wasn't as far as it seemed. The first shoot, in New Jersey, was organized and cast primarily by my dad. The third shoot, in Hollywood, was organized and cast in large part by my cohort Eric Spiegelman's dad. I found this mirrored paternal joke-gathering activity, from East coast to West, immensely satisfying. It felt like an apt summary of what we are trying to do.
After all, in Hollywood or New Jersey, old Jews are old Jews. Maybe the chais on gold chains are a little easier to see in LA, nestled as they are in thatches of thick gray hair over tan chests and half buttoned Prada shirts. But, Hollywood or not, these men and women are still your aunts and uncles, your wise-cracking attorneys and your periodontists. Their jokes, some new, some not-so-new, were all reassuringly familiar. And why shouldn’t they be? These jokes are the oral history of a culture.
As such, in our book, which will be released this fall by (shameless plug) Random House's Villard Press, we have organized the jokes into chapters that represent important categories of American Jewish life. We have: Jewish Mothers, Food, Success, Rabbis, Husbands & Wives, Sex, Illness, Death and Oral Sex. You’ll want to read it for the insightful social criticism, the intellectual rigor and for the blowjob jokes.
This season, in order to address complaints of depression caused by OJTJ withdrawal on Monday and Wednesday, we have new jokes on the first four days of the week. And, in honor of Passover, we'll have bitter-herb Friday, with jokes presented by my disgruntled and somewhat angry second cousin Herbert. (Just kidding, every Friday we have a greatest hits compilation of the past week's jokes. Anyway, cousin Herbert is much less bitter since he agreed to take the Zoloft.)
Enjoy, and remember, laugh loud. We don't hear so good. © 2009 Jetpack Media | Powered by
