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A voice for his generation, Tom Lehrer found laughter even in the most sensitive aspects of Jewish life and history

JL;DR SUMMARY Tom Lehrer, the American Jewish singer-songwriter who passed away at 97, masterfully infused Yiddishkeit into his satirical music, honing a tradition of Jewish cabaret performers who entertained with sharp socio-political commentary. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish IdentityYiddishkeitJewish HumorAmerican Jewish CultureTom LehrerHistorical InfluenceSatirical MusicCabaret TraditionSocio Political Commentary

Places mentioned

Santa Cruz, California, United States
"Tom Lehrer sits beside the piano in his house in Santa Cruz, California, in 2000."
Maine, United States
"Lehrer was sent in summertime by his parents to Camp Androscoggin in Maine, patronized by New York families of German Jewish origin."
New York, United States
"Lehrers skills were acquired early in a prosperous Upper East Side New York Jewish family, whose Yiddishkeit, he would later recall, had more to do with the delicatessen than the synagogue."
Austria
"Austrian Jewish essayist Jean Amry (born Hans Chaim Maier)"
Germany
"in the official German translation of his song, to avoid unsettling postwar Teutonic audiences"
Chernivtsi, Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukraine
"In a memoir, the Czernowitz-born Jewish writer and cabaret entertainer Benno Weiser Varon lauded Lehrer for his all-around talent"

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Retrieved 2025-07-30 05:31:03 UTC
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