By Mark D. Zimmerman
MELVILLE, New York — Saturday Night Live just celebrated their 50th anniversary with a 3- hour special on NBC. The list of Jews associated with the show over the years is substantial, starting with producer and creator of the show Lorne Michaels, and including Gilda Radner and Laraine Newman in the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players cast.
Other Jewish cast members have included Paul Shaffer, Al Franken, Billy Crystal, Ben Stiller, Rachel Dratz, Adam Sandler, Sarah Silverman, Andy Samberg, and Sarah Sherman. And many Jews can be found among the writers, musicians, and other staffers of SNL.
There have been many sketches with Jewish themes and Jewish characters. Among these are Adam Sandler’s Hanukkah Song, Vanessa Bayer’s character Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy, Sarah Sherman as Jewish Elvis, Gilda Radner selling Jewess Jeans, and writer Robert Smigel’s video Christmastime For The Jews, featuring Darlene Love. Among the lyrics she sang were the lines, ”They can finally see King Kong without waiting in line/They can eat in Chinatown and drink their sweet-ass wine/They can crank Barbra Streisand on the streets they cruise/Christmastime for the Jews.” Which of the following was a less memorable Jewish-themed Saturday Night Live sketch?
Mark D. Zimmerman is the author of Rashi, Rambam and Ramalamadingdong, A Quizbook of Jewish Trivia Facts & Fun