Jackie Mason obit

Jackie Mason Dead at 93 — Inside the Comedian's Multi-Decade Legacy

 

He was not on the list.

The comedian's friend Raoul Felder confirmed Mason died Saturday at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital. He was 93.

"He died peacefully with several close friends and family at his side," he told CNN.

Mason had been in the hospital for more than three weeks after being admitted for lung inflammation, Felder told TMZ. The veteran jokester had been battling health issues for the last few years.

Al Jean, a writer for The Simpsons for 32 years, paid tribute to Mason with a tweet featuring an image of the comedian's rabbi character from his 1991 cameo on the hit series.

"I feel like Krusty," Jean wrote. "We will very much miss Jackie Mason."

Gilbert Gottfried also took to Twitter to honor his late friend: "One of the best. RIP Jackie Mason."

Henry Winkler chimed in as well, calling his one-man act on Broadway, "Truly one of the funniest shows I have ever seen."

"Thank you Jackie and now you get to make heaven laugh," he wrote.

Michelle Collins paid homage to the man that had an incredible influence on her life with a thoughtful tweet.

"If you know me then you know my mother once dated Jackie Mason, my father was a part-time Jackie Mason impersonator, and I did my own impression for the man himself at a Miami deli when I was 6. One of the funniest comedians of all time, the bastion of Jewish comedy. #RIP👑," Collins said.

Inside Edition correspondent Rita Cosby also shared a tribute to the late comedian, whom she spent time with shortly before his death.

"Prayers and forever love for my dear friend #JackieMason. When we were together just a few weeks ago, he was as hilarious, irreverent and brilliant as ever! Truly one of a kind... who will be deeply missed. Love You So Jackie. #RIPJackieMason," Cosby wrote above an image of the two posing together.

Mason's big break came in 1960 when he made his first national television appearance on The Steve Allen Show. He regularly appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show throughout the '60s and released his first record — entitled I'm the Greatest Comedian in the World, Only Nobody Knows It Yet — in 1962.

 

The comedian landed himself in hot water in 1964 after giving the middle finger during an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Sullivan had signaled Mason to wrap up by holding up a finger, and Mason eventually pointed back at him with what Sullivan believed to be a middle finger.

Mason was banned from the show as a result of the incident. However, he returned to the show in 1968, where he apologized for the incident during his monologue.

One of Mason's biggest feats in life was his success on Broadway. His one-man shows were a hit with both fans and critics and earned him several accolades.

Mason's 1987 act The World According to Me! won four awards: an Emmy, a Special Tony Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and an Ace Award. It was nominated for a Grammy as well.

In 1992, Mason won a Primetime Emmy Award for his voice work as Rabbi Hyman Krustofski in "Like Father, Like Clown" from season 3 of The Simpsons. He voiced the character for seven additional episodes before the character was killed off. Mason continued his circuit of one-man shows through 2012 when he performed his final program entitled Jackie Mason: Fearless.

Selected TV, film and radio roles

    The Ed Sullivan Show (1961–1968) – frequent guest appearances

    It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World – gas station attendant

    Sleeper (1973) – Voice of robot tailor (uncredited)

    The Stoolie (1974) – Roger Pitman

    The Jerk (1979) – Harry Hartounian

    History of the World, Part I (1981) – Jew #1

    Caddyshack II (1988) – Jack Hartounian

    Chicken Soup (1989) – Jackie Fisher

    The Simpsons – Rabbi Hyman Krustofski in ten episodes:

        "Like Father, Like Clown" (1991)

        "Today I Am a Clown" (2003)

        "Once Upon a Time in Springfield" (2009)

        "Treehouse of Horror XXII" (2011)

        "The Ten-Per-Cent Solution" (2011)

        "At Long Last Leave" (2012)

        "Clown in the Dumps" (2014)

        "The Nightmare After Krustmas" (2016)

        "Flanders' Ladder" (2018)

        "Woo-Hoo Dunnit?" (2019)

    The Fairly OddParents episode "Beddy Bye/The Grass Is Greener" (2003) – Harvey Sandman a.k.a. The Sandman, a.k.a. The Mattress King

    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – The Quandary Phase (2005) – The East River Creature

    The Jackie Mason Show (2005–11) – Host (originally aired on CN8: The Comcast Network; repeats currently airing on JLTV)

    30 Rock episode "The Collection" (2007) – himself (small guest appearance)

    The Drinky Crow Show episode "Aspire" (2009) – Mort Cooper

    One Angry Man (2010) – Jackie Mason

    Jackie Goldberg: Private Dick/ Goldberg – P.I. (2011) – Jackie Goldberg

    Answer Me This! Episode 206 (2012) – Jackie Mason

    Graham Norton BBC Radio 2 Show (2012) – Jackie Mason

    When Comedy Went to School (2013) – Jackie Mason

 

Television specials

 

    Jackie Mason's The World According to Me! (1988)

    An Audience with Jackie Mason (1990)

    Jackie Mason on Campus (1992)

    Jackie Mason at the London Palladium (1996)

    Jackie Mason: A Night at the Opera (2002)

One-man shows

 

    Jackie Mason's The World According to Me! (1986–1988)

    Jackie Mason: Brand New (1990–1991)

    Jackie Mason: Politically Incorrect (1994–1995)

    Love Thy Neighbor (1996–1997)

    Much Ado About Everything (1999–2000)

    Jackie Mason: Prune Danish (2002–2003)

    Jackie Mason: Freshly Squeezed (2005–2006)

    Jackie Mason: The Ultimate Jew (2008)

    Jackie Mason: Fearless (2012)[90]

Books

    Jackie Mason. Jackie Mason's America. Carol Publishing Group, 1983.

    Jackie Mason. Jackie, Oy!: The Frank, Outrageously Funny Autobiography of Jackie Mason. Robson, 1988.

    Jackie Mason, Ira Berkow. How to Talk Jewish. Macmillan, 1991.

    Jackie Mason and Raoul Lionel Felder. Schmucks!: Our Favorite Fakes, Frauds, Lowlifes, Liars, the Armed and the Dangerous, and Good Guys Gone Bad. Harper Collins, 2009. ISBN 978-0-06-11612-3