Mickey Katz was born as Meyer Myron Katz in Cleveland in 1909.  Mickey Katz spent some time performing with Spike Jones’s band. Specializing in Jewish humor, the sometimes controversial musician-bandleader was the father of Joel Grey and the grandfather of Jennifer Grey. He died in 1985 at age 75. In addition to his parodies, Katz created more traditional klezmer music, such as Herring Boats.

Danny Kaye was born David Daniel Kaminsky in 1911 in Brooklyn, NY, to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants. He was a beloved actor, comedian, singer, and dancer.

His performances included physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs. In addition to hosting his own radio and TV shows, Kaye starred in 23 films. He was the first ambassador-at-large of UNICEF, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, and received the French Legion of Honor.

For all of his success as a performer, his greatest legacy remains his tireless humanitarian work. Even though he couldn’t read music, Danny Kaye conducted several performances with orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic, raising over $5 million for musicians’ pension funds. Danny Kaye suffered from cardiovascular disease and hepatitis C, and died in 1987 at age 76.

Jackie Mason was born Yacov Moshe Maza in Wisconsin in 1928 into a strict Orthodox family, and came from a long line of rabbis. He grew up on New York City’s Lower East Side. A staunch supporter of Israel, he loved to make fun of his beloved Jewish community. Known for his delivery and voice, as well as his use of innuendo and pun, Mason’s humor was described as irreverent, and sometimes politically incorrect. Jackie Mason loved to make fun of his fellow Jews. One classic bit was when he would describe them at a restaurant ordering breakfast.

He wrote his own material, and his success increased as he aged, particularly with his one-man shows on Broadway, which were huge winners with the audiences and critics. He died in New York in 2021 at age 93.

Allan Sherman was born Allan Copelon to Jewish parents in Chicago in 1928. He was a musician, satirist and television producer who became known for his parodies of songs. He died while entertaining his friends one night in 1973, at his home in Los Angeles, just 10 days shy of what would have been his 49th birthday. His biggest hit was “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh”, a song in which a boy describes his summer camp experiences to the tune of Ponchielli’s Dance of the Hours.

Chico Marx was born as Leonard Joseph Marx in 1887 in New York City. He was the oldest brother among the Marx Brothers, whose character was that of a charming, uneducated but crafty con artist, who wore shabby clothes and sported a curly-haired wig and Tyrolean hat. Billing himself as Chico, he used an Italian persona for his onstage character, including his 15 movies.

Although he took lessons, Chico was a largely self-taught pianist. As a young boy, he picked-up jobs playing piano to earn money for the Marx family.  (way better word combo than “gained” jobs.”

Chico became the unofficial manager of the Marx Brothers after their mother, Minnie, died in 1929. As manager, he negotiated with the studios to get the brothers a percentage of a film’s gross receipts—the first deal of its kind in Hollywood, which has become common practice today. As well as being a compulsive womanizer, Chico had a lifelong gambling habit. He died at home in 1961 at age 74.

Jackie Gleason was born as Herbert Walker Gleason, Jr. in Brooklyn in 1916. His innumerable appearances on TV, including his own TV shows, his 27 movies, and his prolific recording discography made him one of the most well-known household names in the U.S. Gleason was best known for his TV series, The Honeymooners, where Gleason played his most famous character: the bus driver Ralph Kramden, drawn from his childhood in Brooklyn. The show was based on Ralph’s many get-rich-quick schemes, his ambition, his antics with his best friend and neighbor, Ed Norton, played by Art Carney, and clashes with his sensible wife, Alice, played by Audrey Meadows.

Gleason regularly smoked six packs of cigarettes a day, and struggled with his weight throughout much of his life, often weighing close to 300 pounds. His diet primarily consisted of red meat and rich desserts, with little to no vegetables. Gleason did not engage in regular exercise, and consumed alcohol excessively. He suffered from cardiovascular disease, cancer, phlebitis, and diabetes, and died at home in 1987 at age 71.

The composer, Peter Schickele was born in Ames, Iowa in 1935. He received his master’s degree in composition from the Juilliard School and was quite prolific. His serious music was overshadowed by the enormous popularity of the music he composed and attributed to P.D.Q. Bach, the fictitious youngest child of Johann Sebastian Bach, which Schickele created. He died at home in 2024 at age 88.

Louis Armstrong was not only a musical genius, he was also a civil rights pioneer who beat all the odds and became America’s ambassador of Goodwill. He was born in New Orleans in 1901, and only went as far as 5th grade. He was raised by a single mother with assistance from the Karnovsky’s, a Jewish family of Lithuanian immigrants.

Armstrong’s extraordinary influence on instrumentalists and singers throughout the 20th century is unique. Armstrong extended the range of the trumpet and popularized scat singing, using nonsense syllables.

He appeared in 35 movies, and made a seemingly innumerable number of recordings that continue to be re-released today! Armstrong died in his sleep in 1971 at age 70.

Jack Benny was born Benjamin Kubelsky in Chicago in 1894. A high school dropout, he had his own radio show for 23 years, and his own TV show for 15 years. He also made 45 movies, and raised nearly $6 million for various causes. He never charged a fee for his solo appearances as a comedic violinist with almost 100 symphony orchestras in the United States, Canada, England, and Israel. Benny died from pancreatic cancer at home in 1974 at age 80.

Victor Borge was born as Borge Rosenbaum in Copenhagen in 1909. A child prodigy, he began piano lessons at age 2, and made his debut at age 8. As a young man, he was successful as an actor, and especially in his stand-up comedy act, which included a blend of piano music and jokes.

Escaping the Nazis, he immigrated to the United States in 1940, where he was highly successful in radio, TV, and the movies. He was a very generous humanitarian.

Victor Borge enjoyed conducting many symphony orchestras, often as special benefit performances for the musicians.

He died in his sleep in 2000 at age 90.

Lucille Ball was born in Jamestown, NY in 1911. Her teachers at acting school told her that she would not be successful in the entertainment business! She died in 1989 at age 77, having appeared in 85 movies. Her TV show, I Love Lucy, was televised in the 1950s, and reruns of it have been broadcast around the world ever since!

One legendary scene was when Lucy and her best friend, Ethel Mertz, played by Vivian Vance, got hired to work the assembly line, wrapping chocolates in a candy factory!

Charlie Chaplin was born in London in 1889. He began performing on stage at age 5, and left school at age 13. His great ambition was to be an actor. The Buddhist philosopher, Daisaku Ikeda, wrote about Chaplin’s appreciation for his mother, who taught her son the art of pantomime. Ikeda wrote: “She played a major role in his becoming an actor and comedian. No matter how famous he became, Charlie always had a sense of appreciation toward his mother.”

Chaplin said: “If I have amounted to anything, or ever do amount to anything, it will be due to my mother.”

At 24, he was invited by Keystone Studios to make his first movies. He soon created the character of the little tramp, and began directing his own films. He went on to create 81 movies! Chaplin played the violin, piano and cello, and composed all the music for his films.

One of Charlie Chaplin’s unforgettable scenes is in his film, The Great Dictator, in which he plays the part of a barber who gives a shave to a customer, ingeniously choreographed to the music of Brahms’s 5th Hungarian Rhapsody.

Chaplin died in his sleep in his home in Switzerland in 1977. He was 88.