LIST OF JEWISH AMERICAN ENTERTAINERS

''This is a list of famous Jewish American entertainers. For other famous Jewish Americans, see List of Jewish Americans.''

Contents

List

Actors

Comedians

Dance

Film directors

Magicians

Models

Musicians

Producers, screenwriters and creators (film and television)

Professional Wrestlers

TV and radio presenters

Theater

Footnotes

External links

List

Actors

★ See List of Jewish actors and actresses

Comedians

★ Dan Ahdoot (1979-) Finalist ''Last Comic Standing'', 2004^[1]

★ Woody Allen (1935–) Academy Award-winning film director, writer, actor, and comedian^[2]

★ Morey Amsterdam (1908–1996) television actor and comedian^[3]

★ Dave Attell (1965–) stand-up comedian and host of Comedy Central's ''Insomniac with Dave Attell''^[4]

★ Jack Benny (1894–1974) comedian, vaudeville performer, and radio, television, and film actor^[5]

★ Milton Berle (1908–2002) comedian and actor^[6]

★ Shelley Berman (1926–) comedian, writer, teacher, and actor^[7]

★ Sandra Bernhard (1955–) actress and comedian^[8]

★ Lewis Black (1948–) stand-up comedian, author, playwright, and actor^[9]

★ Victor Borge (1909–2000) humorist, entertainer and concert pianist^[10]

★ Alex Borstein (1971–) actress, writer and comedian^[11]

★ Fanny Brice (1891–1951) popular and influential comedian, singer, and entertainer

★ Albert Brooks, comedian, actor

★ Mel Brooks, comedian

★ Lenny Bruce (1925–1966) stand-up comedian, writer, social critic and satirist^[12]

★ George Burns, entertainer, actor

★ Red Buttons (1919–2006) Academy Award-winning comedian and actor^2[13]

★ Eddie Cantor (1892–1964) comedian, singer, actor, songwriter, one of the most popular entertainers in the U.S. in the early and middle 20th century²

★ Sid Caesar, actor, writer

★ Andrew Dice Clay, comedian

★ Myron Cohen, comedian

★ Steve Bernard Cohen, comedian, dramaturg

★ "Professor" Irwin Corey, comedian

★ David Cross, comedian, actor

★ Billy Crystal (1947–) actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director²

★ Rodney Dangerfield, comedian

★ Larry David, comedian, actor, writer, producer

★ Wayne Federman, comedian, actor, writer

★ Larry Fine, the Three Stooges

★ Al Franken (1951–) comedian, actor, author, screenwriter, political commentator and radio host^[14]

★ Jeff Garlin, comedian, producer

★ Andrew Ginsburg (1979–) comedian, actor, and three time champion bodybuilder^[15]

★ Elon Gold, comedian, actor

★ Judy Gold (1962–) stand-up comedian and actress^[16]

★ Gilbert Gottfried, comedian, actor

★ Shecky Greene, comedian

★ Charles Grodin, comedian, actor

★ Buddy Hackett, comedian

★ Chelsea Handler (1975–) actress/comedian^[17]

★ Moe, Shemp & Curly Howard, the Three Stooges

★ George Jessel, comedian

★ Al Jolson, comedian

★ Mickey Katz, comedian

★ Danny Kaye (1913–1987) film actor, singer and comedian²

★ Alan King, comedian

★ Robert Klein, comedian

★ John Lehr (1967–) actor and comedian^[18]

★ Tom Lehrer, satirist, musician

★ Oscar Levant, comedian

★ "The Reverend" Bob Levy, stand-up comedian and frequent Howard Stern guest

★ Jerry Lewis (1926–) comedian, actor, film producer, writer and director known for his slapstick humor and his charity fund-raising telethons²

★ Richard Lewis, comedian

★ Jon Lovitz (1957-) comedian, actor best recognized for his work on ''Saturday Night Live''

★ Marc Maron, comedian, radio host

★ The Marx Brothers, (Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Zeppo, Gummo), comedians

★ Jackie Mason (1931–) stand-up comedian^[19]

★ Anne Meara (1929–) comedienne and actress, partner and wife of Jerry Stiller^[20]

★ Lorne Michaels, creator of ''Saturday Night Live''

★ Bette Midler (1945–) singer, actress, and comedian, also known as ''The Divine Miss M''^[21]

★ Larry Miller (1953–) stand-up comedian, actor^[22]

★ Daniel J. Murray Divine comedian.

★ Jan Murray (1916–2006) stand-up comedian, actor¹³

★ Freddie Prinze, comedian, actor (Jewish father) ''(disputed)''

★ Gilda Radner, comic actress

★ Carl Reiner, comedian, actor

★ Paul Reiser, comedian, actor

★ Don Rickles, comedian, actor

★ Ritz Brothers (1901-1965, 1904-1985, 1907-1986) comedy team²

★ Joan Rivers (1933–) comedienne, actress, talk show host, and celebrity^[23]

★ Roseanne Barr (1952–) American actress, writer, talk-show host and comedian^[24]

★ Jeffrey Ross, comedian

★ Rita Rudner, comedian

★ Adam Sandler (1966–) actor, comedian, producer, and musician¹³

★ Andy Samberg, comedian

★ Robert Schimmel (1950–) stand-up comedian whose material is often X-rated and controversial^[25]

★ Rob Schneider, comedian, actor (Jewish father)

★ Sam Seder (1966–) actor, comedian, writer, producer, director'Seder' — [8] "says Seder, who's Jewish and has dark curly hair"

★ Jerry Seinfeld, comedian, actor

★ Al Shean, comedian, actor

★ Allan Sherman, satirist, musician

★ Pauly Shore, comedian

★ Sarah Silverman, comic

★ Randy and Jason Sklar, comedians, hosts of ''Cheap Seats''

★ Bobby Slayton, comedian, The Pit Bull of Comedy

★ Jon Stewart, comic, TV host

★ Ben Stiller (1965–) comedian, actor, and film director¹³

★ Jerry Stiller (1927–) comedian and actor²⁰

★ Rich Vos, Comic

★ Ed Wynn (1886–1966) comedian and actor²

★ Henny Youngman, comedian

Dance

Persons listed with a double asteriks (
★
★ ) are winners of the Tony Award for Best Choreography.

★ Paula Abdul (1962–) actress, dancer, choreographer, singer, and television personality^[26]

★ Michael Bennett, choreographer (Jewish mother)
★
★

★ Josephine Earp, wife of Wyatt Earp

★ Eliot Feld, dancer and choreographer

★ Ron Field, choreographer
★
★

★ Michael Kidd, choreographer
★
★

★ Lincoln Kirstein, dance impressario

★ Bella Lewitzky, dancer, choreograher, & teacher

★ Arthur Murray, dance instructor

★ Jerome Robbins, choreographer
★
★

★ Anna Sokolow, dancer & choreographer

Film directors

★ Jeremy Tchaban (1960-) TV personality and post productions.

★ Jim Abrahams, parody director

★ J.J. Abrams, writer and director

★ Woody Allen (1935–) Academy Award-winning film director, writer, actor, and comedian²

★ Judd Apatow (1968–) screenwriter, television/film producer^[27]

★ Alan Arkin (1934–) Academy Award-nominated film actor, director²¹³

★ Jack Arnold, director

★ Darren Aronofsky (1969–) film director, screenwriter and producer¹⁸

★ George Axelrod, director, producer and screenwriter

★ Ralph Bakshi, Israeli-born animation film director

★ Bob Balaban, director and producer

★ Richard Benjamin (1938–) actor/film director²

★ Andrew Bergman, director

★ Curtis Bernhardt, German-born director and producer

★ Peter Bogdanovich, director (Jewish mother)

★ Zach Braff (1975–) television and film actor, director, screenwriter, and producer (''Scrubs'', ''Garden State'')^[28]

★ James L. Brooks, Oscar-winning director, producer

★ Mel Brooks, director, actor and producer (also see Comedians, qv)

★ Richard Brooks, director

★ William Castle, director

★ Ethan & Joel Coen, directors, screenwriters & producers

★ Rob Cohen, director, producer

★ Ricardo Cortez, director and actor; brother of Stanley Cortez

★ David Cronenberg, director

★ George Cukor, Oscar-winning director

★ Michael Curtiz, Oscar-winning director

★ Paul Czinner, Hungarian-born director

★ Jules Dassin, director

★ Larry David, writer, actor, producer

★ Andrew Davis, director

★ Cecil B. DeMille, director^[13]

★ Maya Deren, director

★ Henri Diamant-Berger, French-born director, producer and screenwriter

★ Stanley Donen, director, choreographer

★ Richard Elfman, director

★ Nora Ephron, director

★ Richard Fleischer, director; son of animator Max Fleischer

★ Carl Foreman, director, producer and screenwriter

★ Miloš Forman, Oscar-winning director (Jewish father)

★ John Frankenheimer, director (Jewish father)

★ William Friedkin, Oscar-winning director

★ Samuel Fuller, director

★ Lee Grant (1927–) Academy Award-winning theater, film and television actress, and film director²

★ Christopher Guest (1948–) Lord Haden-Guest, actor, writer, director, composer, and musician^[29][30]

★ Charles Guggenheim, Oscar-winning documentary director

★ Todd Haynes, director (Jewish mother)

★ Amy Heckerling, director

★ Peter Hyams, director

★ Phil Karlson, director (Jewish father)

★ Garson Kanin, director, screenwriter and playwright

★ Lawrence Kasdan, director

★ Jeffrey Katzenberg (1950–) film producer, director and co-founder of DreamWorks SKG^[31]

★ Philip Kaufman, director, screenwriter

★ Irvin Kershner, director

★ Zalman King, director

★ Harmony Korine, director, screenwriter (Jewish father)

★ Henry Koster, director

★ Stanley Kramer, director^[15]

★ Stanley Kubrick, director

★ John Landis (1950–) movie actor, director, writer, and producer^[32]

★ Fritz Lang, Austrian-born director (Jewish mother, raised Catholic)

★ Norman Lear, director, producer and screenwriter

★ Mimi Leder, director

★ Mervyn LeRoy, director and producer

★ Richard Lester, director

★ Barry Levinson, Oscar-winning director

★ Jerry Lewis (1926–) comedian, actor, film producer, writer and director known for his slapstick humor and his charity fund-raising telethons²

★ Anatole Litvak, Russian-born director

★ Siegmund Lubin, director

★ Ernst Lubitsch, director

★ Sidney Lumet, director

★ Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Oscar-winning director

★ Tom Mankiewicz, director and screenwriter; son of Joseph L. Mankiewicz

★ Daniel Mann, director

★ Michael Mann, director^[17]

★ Stuart Margolin, director and actor

★ Elaine May, director, actress and screenwriter

★ Paul Mazursky (1930–) director, producer and actor^[33]

★ Albert & David Maysles, documentary filmmakers

★ Nancy Meyers, director, screenwriter

★ Lewis Milestone, Oscar-winning director

★ Bennett Miller, Oscar-nominated director ("Capote")

★ Mike Nichols (1931–) Emmy, Grammy, Tony and Academy Award-winning film and stage director²

★ Leonard Nimoy, actor and director

★ Ken Olin (1954–) actor, director and producer^[34]

★ Marcel Ophüls, director; son of director Max Ophüls

★ Richard Oswald, German-born director and producer

★ Frank Oz, director (Jewish father)

★ Alan J. Pakula, Oscar-winning director, producer

★ Arthur Penn, director

★ Leo Penn, director

★ Abraham Polonsky, director

★ Sydney Pollack, Oscar-winning director, actor, producer

★ Otto Preminger, director

★ Sam Raimi, director

★ Harold Ramis, director

★ Irving Rapper (1898–1999) British-born film director^[35]

★ Brett Ratner, director

★ Carl Reiner, director and actor; father of Rob Reiner

★ Rob Reiner (1947–) actor, director, producer, writer and anti-tobacco activist; son of Carl Reiner^[36]

★ Ron Rifkin (1939–) actor, director³⁴

★ Martin Ritt, director

★ Jay Roach, director

★ Jerome Robbins, Oscar-winning director, choreographer

★ Herbert Ross, director

★ Robert Rossen, director, screenwriter

★ Eli Roth (1972–) film actor, director, producer and writer^[37]

★ Joe Roth, director, producer and executive

★ David O. Russell, director, screenwriter (Jewish father)

★ Joel Schumacher, director (Jewish mother)

★ Sam Seder (1966–) actor, comedian, writer, producer, director

★ Susan Seidelman, director

★ Adam Shankman, director, choreographer

★ George Sidney (1916–2002) American film director, known for MGM films²

★ Don Siegel, director

★ Frank Silvera, founder of ''Theatre of Being'' (Jewish father)

★ Bryan Singer, director

★ Robert Siodmak, German-born director

★ Todd Solondz, director

★ Barry Sonnenfeld, director^[19]

★ Steven Spielberg, Oscar-winning director, producer

★ Josef von Sternberg, Austrian-born director (The Blue Angel)

★ Oliver Stone, Oscar-winning director (Jewish father)

★ Paul Strand, documentary director

★ Erich von Stroheim, director, actor

★ James Toback, director, screenwriter and producer

★ Edgar G. Ulmer, director

★ Paul & Chris Weitz, directors

★ Billy Wilder, Austrian-born Oscar-winning director, screenwriter and producer

★ Irwin Winkler, director

★ Frederick Wiseman, documentary director

★ William Wyler, Oscar-winning director

★ Boaz Yakin, director

★ Fred Zinnemann, Austrian-born Oscar-winning director

★ David Zucker & Jerry Zucker (1950–) parody directors, producers^[38]

★ Edward Zwick, director, producer

★ Terry Zwigoff, director

Magicians

★ David Blaine, stunt performer (Jewish single mother)

★ David Copperfield, illusionist

★ Harry Houdini, escape artist

★ Max Maven, mentalist

★ Ricky Jay, card tricks

★ Shari Lewis, ventriloquist

★ Jacob Philadelphia

★ (Raymond) Teller, half of ''Penn and Teller'' (Jewish father)

Models

★ Barbi Benton, American model, actress

★ Jeremy Bloom, model, Olympic skier

★ Caprice Bourret, American model

★ Brooke Burke, American television personality and model^[39]

★ Sharon Genish, Israeli model born in America

★ Cindy Margolis, American model

★ Bess Myerson, Miss America 1945

★ Simon Rex, American model, actor, MTV VJ

★ Lindsey Vuolo, model/Playboy Playmate ^[40]

★ Nikki Schieler Ziering, American model and actress

Musicians

★ See List of Jewish American musicians

Producers, screenwriters and creators (film and television)

★ Jeremy Tchaban (1980-) TV Personality and post productions

★ Irwin Allen, producer & director

★ Judd Apatow (1968–) screenwriter, television/film producer²⁷

★ Samuel Z. Arkoff, film producer

★ George Axelrod, screenwriter

★ David Benioff, screenwriter

★ Steven Bochco, creator of ''LA Law'', ''Murder One''

★ Zach Braff (1975–) television and film actor, director, screenwriter, and producer (''Scrubs'', ''Garden State'')²⁸

★ Jerry Bruckheimer, producer

★ James Burrows, director ''Will and Grace'', ''Laverne & Shirley'', created ''Cheers''

★ Paddy Chayefsky, screenwriter

★ Bruce Cohen, Oscar-winning producer

★ Norman Corwin, radio writer, producer

★ David Crane, screenwriter, producer, co-creator of ''Friends''

★ Larry David, writer, actor, producer, co-creator of ''Seinfeld'' and creator of ''Curb Your Enthusiasm''

★ Dean Devlin (1962–) producer and screenwriter^[41]

★ Robert Evans, producer, studio executive, produced ''The Godfather''

★ Lowell Ganz, writer, producer on ''The Odd Couple'', ''Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'', screenwriter for ''Parenthood'', ''City Slickers'', ''A League of Their Own''

★ William Goetz, producer

★ Leonard Goldberg, producer

★ Akiva Goldsman, Oscar-winning screenwriter, producer

★ Carl Gottlieb, screenwriter

★ Christopher Guest (1948–) Lord Haden-Guest, actor, writer, director, composer, and musician²⁹³⁰

★ Soly Haim, Independent Film Producer ^[42]

★ Ben Hecht, screenwriter

★ Allan Heinberg — writer and producer on ''Party of Five'', ''Sex and the City'', ''The O.C.''^[43]

★ Jerry Heller, Mangager of West Coast rap groups N.W.A. and Eazy E. He is co-founder and CEO of Ruthless Records

★ Don Hewitt, executive producer of ''60 minutes''

★ Mitchell Hurwitz, executive producer and creator of ''Arrested Development''

★ Dave Jeser, executive producer and co-creator of ''Drawn Together''

★ Lawrence Kasdan, screenwriter and director

★ Jeffrey Katzenberg (1950–) film producer, director and co-founder of DreamWorks SKG³¹

★ Marta Kauffman, producer, screenwriter, co-creator of ''Friends''

★ Charlie Kaufman, screenwriter

★ David Kohan, executive producer of ''Will & Grace'', ''Good Morning Miami'', ''Twins'', ''Four Kings'', screenwriter of ''The Wonder Years''

★ John Landis (1950–) movie actor, director, writer, and producer³²

★ Ernest Lehman, screenwriter

★ Damon Lindelof (1973–) television writer and executive, most recently noted as the co-creator, producer and head writer of ''Lost''^[44]

★ Bill Maher, creator and host of "Real Time" (Jewish mother, raised Catholic; agnostic)

★ Max Mutchnick, executive producer of ''Will & Grace'', ''Good Morning Miami'', ''Twins'', ''Four Kings'', screenwriter of ''The Wonder Years''

★ Sam Nazarian (1976-) SBE Entertainment Group, film producer and financier^[45]

★ Ken Olin (1954–) actor, director and producer³⁴

★ Marc E. Platt, producer

★ Sydney Pollack, Oscar-winning director

★ Nikki Reed (1988–) screenwriter & actress (''Thirteen'')^[46][47]

★ Carl Reiner, comedian, creator of ''The Dick Van Dyke Show''

★ Eli Roth (1972–) film actor, director, producer and writer³⁷

★ Eric Roth (1943–) Academy Award-winning screenwriter (''Munich'', ''Forrest Gump'')^[48]

★ Joe Roth, film producer, director

★ Adam Sandler (1966–) actor, comedian, producer, and musician¹³

★ Leon Schlesinger, producer

★ Josh Schwartz, screenwriter, creator of ''The OC''

★ Sherwood Schwartz (1916–) creator of ''Gilligan's Island'', ''Brady Bunch''^[49]

★ Sam Seder (1966–) actor, comedian, writer, producer, director

★ David Selznick, producer

★ Rod Serling, creator of ''The Twilight Zone''

★ Amy Sherman-Palladino, writer for ''Gilmore Girls'', ''Over the Top'', ''Veronica’s Closet'', ''Love and Marriage'', ''Roseanne'', director for and creator of ''Gilmore Girls''

★ Joel Silver, producer and co-inventor of Ultimate

★ Matt Silverstein, executive producer and co-creator of ''Drawn Together''

★ Aaron Sorkin (1961–) screenwriter, producer and playwright, creator of ''The West Wing'', ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip''^[50]

★ Aaron Spelling, producer, ''Starsky & Hutch'', ''Charlie's Angels'', ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', ''Vega$'', ''Family'', ''Dynasty'', ''Melrose Place'', ''Charmed'', ''7th Heaven'', ''Summerland''

★ Darren Star, creator of ''Beverly Hills 90210'', ''Melrose Place'', ''Sex and the City''

★ Matt Stone, creator of ''South Park'' (Jewish mother)

★ Irving Thalberg, Oscar-winning producer

★ Eliot Wald, screenwriter for "See No Evil, Hear No Evil," "Camp Nowhere," and "Down Periscope."

★ Tom Werner (1950–) television producer and businessman^[51]

★ Bob Yari (1962-) film producer, director^[52]

★ Laura Ziskin (1950–) film producer (''Spider-Man'')^[53]

★ Azita Zendel Film writer, producer, director^[54]

Professional Wrestlers

★ Bill Goldberg, wrestler, WWE, WCW

★ Paul Heyman, wrestler, manager, ECW, WWF/WWE, WCW

★ Barry Horowitz, wrestler, WWF, WCW

★ Scott Levy, wrestler, ECW, WCW, WWE, TNA

★ Scott Colton, wrestler, ROH

★ Dean Simon, wrestler, ECW, WCW, WWF

★ Matthew Bloom, wrestler, WWF/WWE, NJPW

★ Brian Knobbs, wrestler, WWF, WCW

★ Brian Pillman, wrestler, WCW, ECW, WWF

★ Jerry Sags, wrestler, WCW, WWF, AWA

★ Marc Mero, wrestler, WCW, WWF, TNA

★ Keven Steen, wrestler, ROH,

★ Richard Kathawa,wrestler,wwf

TV and radio presenters

★ Dan Abrams, MSNBC anchor

★ Marv Albert, sportscaster

★ Mel Allen, radio sportscaster

★ Gloria Allred (1941–) lawyer and radio talk show host^[55]

★ Chuck Barris, presenter of ''Dating Game'', ''Gong Show''

★ Wolf Blitzer, CNN reporter

★ Kitty Carlisle, panelist on ''To Tell the Truth'', arts advocate

★ Connie Chung, news anchor (converted)

★ Liz Claman, host of CNBC Morning Call

★ Howard Cosell, sportscaster

★ Katie Couric, presenter of ''The Today Show'' (Jewish mother)

★ Jim Cramer, tv reporter

★ Don Francisco, presenter of ''Sabado Gigante''

★ Joe Frank, radio personality

★ Al Franken (1951–) comedian, actor, author, screenwriter, political commentator and radio host¹⁴

★ Allen Funt, presenter of ''Candid Camera''

★ Ira Glass, presenter of ''This American Life''

★ Marty Glickman, sports announcer

★ Amy Goodman, presenter of ''Democracy Now''

★ Terry Gross, host of NPR ''Fresh Air''

★ Mary Hart (1950–) television personality, long-time host of the entertainment program Entertainment ''Tonight''^[56]

★ Timothy James Henson, host of Distorted View

★ Irv Homer, radio talk show host

★ Daryn Kagan (1963–) host of CNN Live Today^[57]

★ Murray Kaufman, known as "Murray the K", legendary New York disc jockey who helped promote the Beatles; called "The Fifth Beatle" by George Harrison

★ Larry King (1933–) CNN reporter, host of ''Larry King Live''^[58]

★ Ted Koppel, presenter of ''Nightline''

★ Ricki Lake, presenter of ''Ricki''

★ Dave Lieberman, presenter of ''Good Deal with Dave Lieberman''

★ Bill Maher, ex-presenter of ''Politically Incorrect'' (Jewish mother, raised Catholic, agnostic)

★ Howie Mandel, host of Deal or no Deal

★ Dave Marash, Al Jazeera English anchor

★ Al Michaels [35]

★ Amy Wynn Pastor (1976–) carpenter on ''Trading Spaces''^[59]

★ Maury Povich, talk-show host

★ Geraldo Rivera, news reporter (Jewish mother)

★ Joan Rivers (1933–) talk show host, stage actress/writer, comedienne, and celebrity²³

★ Roseanne Barr (1952–) American actress, writer, talk-show host and comedian^[60]

★ Peter Sagal host of "Wait, Wait..don't Tell Me" on NPR

★ Michael Savage, KNEW radio host

★ Laura Schlessinger, radio talk-show host of ''Dr. Laura'' (Jewish father; converted)

★ Daniel Schorr (1916–) journalist who has covered the world for more than 60 years, now a senior news analyst for National Public Radio^[61]

★ Elliot Segal, host of popular radio show, ''Elliot in the Morning''

★ Dinah Shore, television host, singer

★ Howie Schwab sports trivia expert on ESPN

★ Jerry Springer (1944–) host of ''The Jerry Springer Show''^[62]

★ Dave Spector, personality and commentator

★ Herb Stempel, quiz show contestant

★ Bill Stern, radio sportscaster

★ Howard Stern, radio shock jock, author, actor and producer

★ Jon Stewart, comedian, presenter of ''The Daily Show''

★ Walter Craig Bishop, Radio promoter for 99 kiss

★ Mike Wallace (1918–) journalist, ''60 Minutes'' correspondent^[63]

★ Barbara Walters (1929–) media personality, a regular fixture on morning television shows (''Today'' and ''The View''), evening news magazines (''20/20''), and on ''The ABC Evening News'', as the first female evening news anchor^[64]

Theater

Persons listed with a double asteriks (
★
★ ) are producers who have won the Tony Award for Best Musical and/or the Tony Award for Best Play. Those listed with a triple asteriks (
★
★
★ ) have won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and/or Play. Those listed with a quadruple asteriks (
★
★
★
★ ) have won the Tony Award for Best Actor or Best Actress in a Musical or Play.

★ Jacob Pavlovitch Adler, actor

★ Stella Adler, acting teacher & actress

★ Woody Allen (1935–) Academy Award-winning film director, writer, actor, and comedian²

★ Herb Alpert, producer
★

★ Morey Amsterdam, actor

★ Boris Aronson, set designer, costume designer and lighting designer

★ George Axelrod, producer & director

★ Shoshana Bean, actress

★ Julian Beck & Judith Malina, founders of ''Living Theatre''

★ David Belasco, producer & director

★ Michael Bennett, director & producer (Jewish mother)
★
★

★ Jack Benny, actor

★ Milton Berle, producer & actor

★ Shelley Berman, actor

★ Theodore Bikel, actor

★ Rudolf Bing (1902–1997) opera impresario, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York from 1950 to 1972^[65]

★ Victor Borge, actor & writer

★ Fanny Brice, actress

★ Mel Brooks, producer
★
★

★ Abe Burrows, director
★
★
★

★ Red Buttons (1919–2006) Academy Award-winning comedian and actor²

★ George Burns, actor

★ Sid Caesar, actor

★ Eddie Cantor (1892–1964) comedian, singer, actor, songwriter, one of the most popular entertainers in the U.S. in the early and middle 20th century²

★ Kitty Carlisle, actress

★ Joseph Chaikin & Peter Feldman, founders of ''Open Theatre''

★ Paddy Chayefsky, director

★ Heinrich Conried, theatre owner/operator & producer

★ Norman Corwin, director

★ Billy Crystal (1947–) actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director²

★ Rodney Dangerfield, actor

★ Clive Davis, producer

★ Sammy Davis, Jr., actor (convert)

★ Robert Evans, actor

★ Cy Feuer, producer, director & theatre owner/operator
★
★

★ Ron Field, director
★
★
★

★ Larry Fine, actor

★ David Geffen, producer
★
★

★ Judy Gold (1962–) stand-up comedian and film/stage actress¹⁶

★ Leonard Goldberg, producer

★ Gilbert Gottfried, actor

★ Charles Grodin, producer, director & actor

★ Buddy Hackett, actor & producer

★ Arthur Hammerstein, producer & director (uncle of Oscar Hammerstein II)

★ Oscar Hammerstein I, producer & theater director/operator (grandfather of Oscar Hammerstein II)

★ Oscar Hammerstein II, producer & director

★ Ben Hecht, director

★ Anna Held, stage performer

★ Dustin Hoffman (1937–) two-time Oscar winning actor²

★ Curly Howard, actor

★ Moe Howard, actor

★ Shemp Howard, actor

★ Sidney Howard, producer & director

★ George Jessel, producer and actor

★ Al Jolson, performer & producer

★ Mickey Katz, actor & director

★ Andy Kaufman, actor

★ George S. Kaufman, producer, director, and theater owner/operator

★ Danny Kaye (1913–1987) actor, singer and comedian²

★ Larry Kert, actor & singer

★ Michael Kidd, director & producer

★ Alan King, actor & producer

★ Robert Klein, actor

★ Richard Kline, actor

★ Lisa Kron, actress

★ Judy Kuhn, actress & singer

★ Bert Lahr, actor
★
★
★
★

★ James Lapine, director & librettist

★ Louise Lasser (1939–) stage/film/television actress^[66]

★ Norman Lear, producer

★ Ernest Lehman, producer

★ Sam Levene, director & actor

★ Jerry Lewis (1926–) comedian, actor, film producer, writer and director known for his slapstick humor and his charity fund-raising telethons²

★ Judith Light, actress

★ Lucille Lortel, Off-Broadway producer, Lucille Lortel Theatre named after her

★ Craig Lucas, actor

★ Joshua Malina, actor

★ Ross Martin, actor

★ The Marx Brothers, (Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo), actors

★ Jackie Mason (1931–) stage actor, stand-up comedian¹⁹

★ Sanford Meisner, founder of ''Neighbourhood Playhouse''

★ Ed Metzger, actor and writer

★ Idina Menzel, actress, singer & songwriter

★ David Merrick, producer & director
★
★

★ Lorne Michaels, producer & director

★ Arthur Miller, playwright

★ Mitch Miller, producer

★ Isaac Mizrahi (1961–) fashion designer^[67]

★ Howard Morris, actor

★ Zero Mostel (1915–1977) stage and film actor²

★ Alla Nazimova, actress

★ Bebe Neuwirth, actress
★
★
★
★

★ Mike Nichols (1931–) Emmy, Grammy, Tony and Academy Award-winning film and stage director²

★ Joseph Papp a.k.a Joe Papp, founded the non-profit NYC Public Theater
★
★

★ Adam Pascal, actor

★ Mandy Patinkin, actor & singer
★
★
★
★

★ Jan Peerce, actor

★ Marc Platt, producer

★ Sydney Pollack, actor

★ Harold Prince, director
★
★ ,
★
★
★

★ Gilda Radner, actress

★ Tony Randall, actor, founder of ''National Actors Theatre''

★ Carl Reiner, director & actor

★ Rob Reiner (1947–) actor, director, producer, writer and anti-tobacco activist; son of Carl Reiner³⁶

★ Max Reinhardt, director

★ Elmer Rice, director & producer

★ Joan Rivers (1933–) stage actress/writer, comedienne, talk show host, and celebrity²³

★ Jerome Robbins, producer & director
★
★
★

★ Edward G. Robinson, actor & playwright

★ Billy Rose, director, producer, & theater operator

★ Rita Rudner, actress

★ Morrie Ryskind, director

★ Rebecca Schull, actress

★ Jerry Seinfeld, actor & writer

★ Wallace Shawn, actor

★ Al Shean, actor

★ Miriam Shor (1971–) actress¹⁸

★ Shubert family, producers & theater owners
★
★

★ Anna Sokolow, director

★ Lee Strasberg & Harold Clurman, co-founders of ''Group Theatre''

★ Barbra Streisand (1942–) two-time Academy Award-winning singer, theatre and film actress, composer, film producer and director²

★ Julie Taymor, director
★
★
★

★ Bessie Thomashefsky, actress

★ Boris Thomashefsky, actor

★ Sophie Tucker (1884–1966) actress, singer and comedienne²

★ Lesley Ann Warren, actress

★ Steven Weber, actor

★ Bob Weinstein, producer

★ Harvey Weinstein, producer

★ Louis Wolheim, actor

★ Ed Wynn (1886–1966) comedian and actor²

★ Henny Youngman, actor

★ Harris Yulin, actor

★ Florenz Ziegfeld, director and producer

★ Efrem Zimbalist Jr., actor and producer

★ David Zippel, director

Footnotes

1. 'Ahdoot'[1] "New Yorker Dan Ahdoot is another Iranian Jewish entertainer who defied his community's traditions."
2.
3. Column: Jewish influence, from Ellis Island to Ron Jeremy Matthew Bettinger
4. Late-Nite Jew Naomi Pefferman
5. Naomi Pfefferman
6. Entertainment icons Milton Berle and Billy Wilder die Naomi Pfefferman
7. Inside Shelley Berman, Again Sandra Tsing Loh
8. Kaballah hasn't dulled Sandra Bernhard's rough edge Noma Faingold
9. Q & A With Lewis Black Marc Ballon
10. Victor Borge Cheryl Tregarthen
11. Random Rules: Alex Borstein
12. 'Those words...' James Parker
13. Borat nips Gibson as No. 1 anti-Semite in show biz Michael Fox
14. 'Franken' — [2] "Immediately after, a clip shows Franken suggesting that if he opts to run, he “would be the only New York Jew in the race who grew up in Minnesota.” On Sunday I asked nonchalantly if that meant he considered himself a New York Jew as well as a Minnesotan. “That was a joke,” he said, laughing hysterically once more."
15. Noted as one of several Jewish comedians at [3]"
16. Meet Judy (aka Jewdy) Gold
17. 'Handler' — Comely comic reveals laughs in ‘Horizontal Life’ Alan Smason
18. Celebrity Jews, , Nate, Bloom, The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California,
19. 'Mason' — [4] "Jewish comedian Jackie Mason..."
20. Ben Stiller : 'Doing comedy is scary' Lesley O'Toole
21. 'Tis the season...
22. I'm... dreaming... of a white... Chri -- ummm, holidays Larry Miller
23. 'Rivers' — [5] "Jewish comedienne JOAN RIVERS has launched a scathing attack on MEL GIBSON..."
24. ''Roseanne'' — [6] "always openly and proudly Jewish..."
25. 'Schimmel' — [7] "I was supposed to have them until after Christmas, but my ex-wife told the kids that since I'm Jewish and don't celebrate Christmas, Santa would not come to my house and they would miss opening presents from Santa on Christmas morning."
26. Israeli minister, American Idol Itamar Eichner
27. 'Apatow' — [9] "I look at it as part of my Pat Robertson moral trilogy: The first movie is the anti-sex before marriage. This is the anti-abortion movie. Soon it’ll be the anti-Jew movie and then I’ll realize I’m Jewish and get all confused."
28. 'Braff' — [10] "Zach Braff, the leading actor in NBC's hit comedy Scrubs, is set to visit Israel this coming July. The hot star (31) will arrive in Israel accompanied by his girlfriend, actress and singer Mandy Moore... Braff, a nice Jewish boy, called the Israeli General Consul in Los Angeles, Ehud Danoch, and asked for his assistance with the tour's planning." [11] Mandy Moore on Braff: "I like a good Jewish boy. With a sense of humor." (Moore has a Jewish maternal grandfather) [12] ""I was kosher until I had my Bar Mitzvah, and I parlayed officially becoming a man into telling my father I wanted to eat cheeseburgers." Zach Braff exerted his dietary independence from his Jewish family."
29. Want to spoof Purim and the Oscars? Be our Guest!, , Steven, Rosen, The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles,
30. Celebrity Jews, , Nate, Bloom, The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California,
31. 'Katzenberg' — [14] "Hardie also called on several Jewish members of the entertainment industry, including... Jeffrey Katzenberg"
32. 'Landis' — [16] "Landis: Well, I kept thinking, "Who's gonna be interested in this besides our relatives? I mean, we're just five old Jews on a couch.""
33. A Night in Hollywood, a Day in Ukraine Stephen Farber
34. Jewish Jingle Belles? Michael Elkin
35. Irving Rapper, the Oscar-winning American-Jewish film director
36. 'R. Reiner' — [18] "Reiner, however, said Gibson also must do some "major soul-searching." "It’s not a matter of just apologizing for some words you’ve said," said Reiner, who is Jewish. "It’s to really understand why it is you’re anti-Semitic and where those feelings came from.""
37. Eli Roth Has The Fever Paul Fischer
38. 'Zucker' — [20] "Two of the initiative’s primary backers, Robert Klein and film producer Jerry Zucker (“Airplane,” “Ghost” and “First Knight”), are Jewish"
39. 'Burke' — [21] [22]
40. 'Vuolo' — [23] "SB: Is it correct that you're the first Jewish Playmate? LV: As far as I know, I'm the first Jewish Playmate to admit that I was Jewish. I think there might have been Playmates that were kind of half Jewish and just never really talked about it."
41. 'Devlin' — [24] "a Jew with Filipino roots is a rare one. But rarer still is a Jew with Filipino roots and working in Hollywood (well, there’s Rob Schneider). Your (bemused) comments, please. I’m a Filipino-Russian Jew with an Irish last name. You can’t get much more mixed up than that."
42. 'Haim' [25] "Some Iranian Jewish filmmakers are trying to parlay their success to tell their own cultural narratives. Soly Haim, a Los Angeles-based independent producer, is working on a project about how Iranian Jews helped Jews flee Iraq in the middle of the 20th century."
43. 'Heinberg' — [26] "Jewish authors who may be of interest... Allan Heinberg"
44. 'Lindelof' — [27] "Abrams and Damon Lindelof, a Jewish guy..."
45. 'Nazarian' [28] "Yari is not the only Iranian Jew doing well in Hollywood. Nightclub and hotel entrepreneur Sam Nazarian, 30, is financing and producing films through his L.A.-based SBE Entertainment Group."
46. Nikki Reed and Evan Rachel Wood both mentioned that they are Jewish on the ''Thirteen'' DVD commentary, between the 10:00 and 11:00 minute mark
47. Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary ... Michael Elkin
48. 'The Good Shepherd': I was a young man for the CIA Steven Rosen
49. The Jews Who Wrote Christmas Songs
50. 'Sorkin' — [29] "...says the Jewish Sorkin..."
51. 'Werner' — [30] "Boston also has Jews throughout the front office, including general manager Theo Epstein and chairman Tom Werner."
52. 'Yari' — [31] "Iranian Jewish film producer Bob Yari's independent film "Crash" won the Best Picture Oscar"
53. 'Ziskin' — [32] ""Spider-Man" producer Laura Ziskin, who is Jewish..."
54. 'Zendel' [33] "Young Iranian Jews also have been writing and directing independent features. Prior to forming her own production company, Azita Zendel worked for four years as an executive assistant to Oliver Stone and collaborated with him on films including "JFK," "Nixon" and "Natural Born Killers.""
55. New Dispute Over Firing of Publisher Sharon Waxman
56. 'Hart' — [34] "Thought there are no Jewish Republicans in show biz? Well, Bush contributors include... host Mary Hart, who’s a convert to Judaism..."
57. Daryn Kagan
58. Slain journalist's father brings message of peace Richard Chang
59. ‘Trading Spaces’ carpenter Amy Wynn Pastor: Jewish girls can build Suzanne Kurtz
60. ''Roseanne'' — [36] "always openly and proudly Jewish..."
61. 'Schorr' — [37] "Schorr suggests in the 2004 anthology “I Am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl.” “We Jews are searchers for truth, sometimes called investigative reporting,” Schorr writes in his personal essay for the book."
62. 'Springer' — [38] "The Jewish talk-show host..."
63. 'Wallace' — [39] "Wallace, who said he is Jewish and was brought up in a Zionist home, admitted that earlier in the day he “got himself in trouble for asking provocative questions.”"
64. Television Personality Looks Anew At Religion Sally Quinn
65. 'Bing' — [40] Rudolf Bing... had been born a Jew in Vienna"
66. 'Lasser' — [41] "...there are all these Jewish mannerisms that really aren't in my vocabulary, even though I am Jewish."
67. Red carpet rascal Kelly Hartog

External links

★ Jewish Success in the American Media