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‘Saturday Night,’ Now Streaming on Netflix, Is an Ode to Jewish Legends of TV Comedy

JL;DR SUMMARY "Saturday Night," a new film by Jason Reitman now available on Netflix, captures the behind-the-scenes drama of the first episode of Saturday Night Live (SNL), highlighting the prominent Jewish contributions to the birth of this comedy institution. 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 RepresentationJewish ComedySaturday Night LiveJewish American CultureLorne MichaelsJason ReitmanRosie ShusterSnl HistoryTv ComedyComedy Writers

Places mentioned

New York City, New York, United States
"The movie is full of reminders of how these creatives shaped TV comedy forever, and the way they are embedded with the Jewish American culture of New York City."
Queens, New York, United States
"Zweibels story is so Jewish New York he came up working in a deli in Queens, writing jokes on deli paper."
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
"Berle, born Mendel Berlinger in Philadelphia, believed that he was still Mr. Television, and that he would be the one remembered when the show went into obscurity that his hammy and sometimes racist humor would blow away the crowd."
Canada
"Except that David in this case is a diminutive Jewish comedy writer from Canada named Lorne Michaels (born Lorne Lipowitz) and Goliath is Johnny Carson."

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Cairo Item ID 43009
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Retrieved 2025-01-30 05:31:00 UTC
Curated 2025-01-30 08:30:36 UTC