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Tom Lehrer, satirist who sang about ‘Hanukkah in Santa Monica,’ dies at 97

Summarizing Philissa Cramer in JTA · Published Monday, July 28, 2025
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JL;DR SUMMARY Tom Lehrer, a satirist and mathematician, passed away at 97, leaving a legacy that includes the humor-filled song "(I'm Spending) Hanukkah in Santa Monica." 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 Holidays  Secular Judaism  Jewish Music  Popular Culture  Hanukkah  Satire  Cultural Impact  Tom Lehrer  Garrison Keillor  Song Parodies 

Places mentioned

Santa Monica, California, United States
"(I'm Spending) Hanukkah in Santa Monica debuted in 1990, well after Lehrer's peak as a performer, on a come-from-retirement performance on Garrison Keillors radio show."
East St. Louis, Illinois, United States
"The resulting song which also mentions spending Shavuos in East St. Louis, Rosh Hashanah in Arizona and Yom Kippur in Mississippi (try saying it out loud with a Southern accent) has grown more popular in recent years."
Arizona, United States
"The resulting song which also mentions spending Shavuos in East St. Louis, Rosh Hashanah in Arizona and Yom Kippur in Mississippi (try saying it out loud with a Southern accent) has grown more popular in recent years."
Mississippi, United States
"The resulting song which also mentions spending Shavuos in East St. Louis, Rosh Hashanah in Arizona and Yom Kippur in Mississippi (try saying it out loud with a Southern accent) has grown more popular in recent years."
New York City, New York, United States
"The writer Sarah Weinman attributed its rise to the New York City nightclub impresario Michael Feinstein, whom she said had turned the gossip columnist Liz Smith, composer Marvin Hamlisch and writer Nora Ephron on to the song."
Manhattan, New York, United States
"The song was a departure for Lehrer, who was born in Manhattan in 1928 and grew up in a secular Jewish family."
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
"He gained renown locally for his parodies, which often took aim at divisive political issues and pushed the boundaries of propriety."
Massachusetts, United States
"But he spent the bulk of his time in the classroom, teaching math and, at one point, musical theater, at Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Santa Cruz."
Los Angeles, California, United States
"Notable recent covers have included an arrangement by the Gay Mens Chorus of Los Angeles, a jazzy version by the singer Deborah Silver, and a Yiddish rendition that spells the title Khanike in Santa Monica."
Santa Cruz, California, United States
"But he spent the bulk of his time in the classroom, teaching math and, at one point, musical theater, at Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Santa Cruz."
United Kingdom
"His first album, which he paid to record in 1953 and sold at his performances, became a cult hit that ultimately propelled him to multiple world tours, a shoutout by Englands Princess Margaret and, in 1965, a spot in the Billboard Top 20 for his album That Was The Week That Was (it peaked at No. 18)."

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Cairo Item ID 57861
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Retrieved 2025-07-28 05:30:57 UTC
Curated 2025-07-28 08:31:38 UTC