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.Tumblr (3.0; @oldjewstellingjokes)http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/gp0JgfC6GAI%2Em4v" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="250" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>Mike Leiderman, “Breakfast Lovin’”</h2> <p>Mike Leiderman’s first television job was playing Mr. Ringmaster on Bozo the Clown.</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/870655364http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/870655364Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/gp0JgfC6EgI%2Em4v" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="250" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>Max Weisberg, “Going to Miami”</h2> <p>Max Weisberg was the first person to tell jokes at the Los Angeles filming session, which was a good thing, because he set the tone for the entire day.</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/865949450http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/865949450Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/gp0JgfC6DAI%2Em4v" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="250" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>Steve “Shecky” Platt, “Genie in a Bottle”</h2> <p>You’d be surprised how many people have told us that their friends call them “Shecky.” The comparison, of course, is to Shecky Greene, the famous Las Vegas entertainer.</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/861271218http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/861271218Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/hPcQjYUHkegl" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="243" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>The Jokes of Week Twenty-One</h2> <p>This week, we lodged a complaint, we did our business, we appreciated some art, and we got on a schedule.</p> <p>In case you missed any, just click play above and all four of this week’s jokes will play, in order. Thank you for watching!</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/849453444http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/849453444Fri, 23 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3playlist<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/gp0Jge7bYAI%2Em4v" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="250" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>Max Rosenthal, “Monday, Wednesday, Friday”</h2> <p>When we sent out an email asking for volunteers for Old Jews Telling Jokes, so many people wrote to recommend Max that we initially thought he was five different Max Rosenthals.</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/845052923http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/845052923Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/gp0Jge7bVgI%2Em4v" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="250" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>Jerry Fisher, “Portrait”</h2> <p>A friend of OJTJ producer Eric Spiegelman saw Jerry Fisher on this site and called Eric. “That guy on your show,” the friend said. “He married me and my husband!”</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/840658819http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/840658819Wed, 21 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/gp0Jge7bPwI%2Em4v" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="250" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>Archie Barkan, “Bedpan”</h2> <p>Archie Barkan performed at various hotels in the Catskills from 1957 through 1977.</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/836307303http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/836307303Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/gp0Jge7bNwI%2Em4v" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="250" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>Charlotte Spiegelman, “Naked Woman in the Window”</h2> <p>Charlotte Spiegelman’s son works with Mike Leiderman’s daughter.</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/831933575http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/831933575Mon, 19 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/hPcQjYImkegl" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="243" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>The Jokes of Week Twenty</h2> <p>This week, we hatched a plan, we found a space, we paid a visit, and we stopped by the playground.</p> <p>In case you missed any, just click play above and all four of this week’s jokes will play, in order. Thank you for watching!</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/819345637http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/819345637Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3playlist<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/gp0JgezqbwI%2Em4v" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="250" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>Michael Miller, “Beckie & Angie”</h2> <p>In the 1980s, Michael Miller wrote for TV’s Bloopers & Practical Jokes, starring Dick Clark and Ed McMahon.</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/815089026http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/815089026Thu, 15 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/gp0JgezqOwI%2Em4v" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="250" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>Sylvie Drake, “Elbows”</h2> <p>Sylvie Drake served on the 1994 Pulitzer Prize Drama Jury.</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/810789034http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/810789034Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/gp0JgezqKgI%2Em4v" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="250" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>Mike Leiderman, “Parking in Tel Aviv”</h2> <p>We have run out of things to say about Mike Leiderman. Which is problematic, since we still have three more jokes from him.</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/806394796http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/806394796Tue, 13 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/gp0JgezqHAI%2Em4v" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="250" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>Fred Rubin, “Assassination Attempt”</h2> <p>Fred Rubin is an instructor for the Warner Brothers Writer’s Workshop, the Disney Writer’s Fellowship, the Nickelodeon Writer’s Fellowship, Columbia College at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, and the ABC Talent Development Program.</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/801944056http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/801944056Mon, 12 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/gp0JjP8gkegl%2Em4v" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="243" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>The Jokes of Week Nineteen</h2> <p>This week, we worked on our technique, we heard a lovely performance, we raised some money, and we met a nice girl.</p> <p>In case you missed any, just click play above and all four of this week’s jokes will play, in order. Thank you for watching!</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/789387985http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/789387985Fri, 09 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3playlist<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/gp0JgeuHRwI%2Em4v" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="250" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>Max Rosenthal, “House of Ill Repute”</h2> <p>We know we put another joke from Max Rosenthal up just last week. But he’s one of our favorites, and we can’t get enough.</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/785130881http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/785130881Thu, 08 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/gp0JgeuHPwI%2Em4v" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="250" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>Archie Barkan, “Community Center”</h2> <p>Archie Barkan is a translator for the Shoah Foundation.</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/780977160http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/780977160Wed, 07 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/gp0JgeuHOQI%2Em4v" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="250" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>Annie Korzen, “Hello Dolly”</h2> <p>Here’s another link to Annie Korzen’s book, “<a href="http://www.thebargainjunkie.com/">The Bargain Junkie: Living Life on the Cheap</a>.”</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/776734139http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/776734139Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/gp0JgeuHLwI%2Em4v" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="250" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>Joe Simonowitz, “Practice Makes Perfect”</h2> <p>Joe Simonowitz sat next to Jerry Fisher at the Los Angeles taping. The two of them quietly discussed every joke told by everyone in attendance.</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/772734744http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/772734744Mon, 05 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/hPcQjPxJkegl" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="243" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>The Jokes of Week Eighteen</h2> <p>This week, we made lemonade, we talked about sex, we got to work, and we paid our cabbie.</p> <p>In case you missed any, just click play above and all four of this week’s jokes will play, in order. Thank you for watching!</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/761471938http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/761471938Fri, 02 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3playlist<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/gp0JgemvCwI%2Em4v" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="250" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><h2>Charlotte Bornstein, “Cab Ride”</h2> <p>Charlotte Bornstein was recruited for Old Jews Telling Jokes by another joketeller, Michael Miller. Michael advised that we “just keep the cameras rolling” when we filmed her.</p>http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/757554545http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/post/757554545Thu, 01 Jul 2010 09:00:00 -0400season3