{"id":64053,"date":"2021-10-27T10:56:02","date_gmt":"2021-10-27T15:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=64053"},"modified":"2021-10-29T13:15:37","modified_gmt":"2021-10-29T18:15:37","slug":"mort-sahl-jewish-comedian-who-fused-stand-up-with-political-satire-and-inspired-the-likes-of-lenny-bruce-dies-at-94","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/mort-sahl-jewish-comedian-who-fused-stand-up-with-political-satire-and-inspired-the-likes-of-lenny-bruce-dies-at-94\/","title":{"rendered":"Mort Sahl, Jewish comedian who fused stand-up with political satire and inspired the likes of Lenny Bruce, dies at 94"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By SHIRA HANAU<\/p>\n<p>(JTA) \u2014 Mort Sahl, a Jewish satirist who was credited with making caustic political and social satire popular in stand-up comedy, died Tuesday at 94.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_64054\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/10-27-21-Mort-Sahl.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-64054\" class=\"wp-image-64054 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/10-27-21-Mort-Sahl-300x167.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"167\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/10-27-21-Mort-Sahl-300x167.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/10-27-21-Mort-Sahl-1024x569.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/10-27-21-Mort-Sahl-768x427.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/10-27-21-Mort-Sahl-1536x853.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/10-27-21-Mort-Sahl-2048x1138.jpg 2048w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/167;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-64054\" class=\"wp-image-64054 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/10-27-21-Mort-Sahl-300x167.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"167\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/10-27-21-Mort-Sahl-300x167.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/10-27-21-Mort-Sahl-1024x569.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/10-27-21-Mort-Sahl-768x427.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/10-27-21-Mort-Sahl-1536x853.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/10-27-21-Mort-Sahl-2048x1138.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-64054\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mort Sahl in 1960. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Often walking on stage holding just a rolled up newspaper, Sahl liked to riff on the headlines of the day in extended improvised monologues. At a time when comedians tended to steer clear of politics, Sahl took aim at politicians and was known to end his sets with the line: \u201cAre there any groups I haven\u2019t offended?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Steve Allen, the first host of \u201cThe Tonight Show,\u201d once introduced Sahl as \u201cprobably the only real political philosopher we have in modern comedy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Though Sahl was not religious and did not discuss his Jewishness in routines or often in public, he inspired a wave of fellow Jewish stand-ups. Woody Allen named him as a major influence and commented in interviews how Sahl also influenced the fellow Jewish pioneer Lenny Bruce \u2014 who would take Sahl\u2019s freeform style and cutting satire to crude new heights.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tqiJhxzV_LI<\/p>\n<p>Sahl was born in Montreal in 1927 to Jewish parents from New York\u2019s Lower East Side and eventually moved to Los Angeles. As a teenager, Sahl dropped out of high school there and tried to enroll in the ROTC program by lying about his age, but his mother found him out after two weeks and brought him home. Sahl was married three times and a had a son, Mort Jr., with his second wife. Mort Jr., died of a drug overdose at age 19 in 1996.<\/p>\n<p>The elder Sahl got his break performing in San Francisco years after graduating from college, performing sets at a club known for attracting an intellectual crowd. His jokes about national politics eventually earned him a following and he started appearing on late night shows and performing in clubs across the country.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_64055\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Mort_SahlLP.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-64055\" class=\"wp-image-64055 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Mort_SahlLP-300x298.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"298\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Mort_SahlLP-300x298.png 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Mort_SahlLP-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Mort_SahlLP.png 366w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/298;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-64055\" class=\"wp-image-64055 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Mort_SahlLP-300x298.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"298\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Mort_SahlLP-300x298.png 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Mort_SahlLP-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Mort_SahlLP.png 366w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-64055\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mort Sahl comedy album.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>After appearing in several movies in the 1950s and early \u201960s, his career took a dive after the assassination of &nbsp;John F. Kennedy in 1963, which Sahl came to believe had been orchestrated by the CIA. But he continued to act and perform stand-up into his 90s.<\/p>\n<p>In 1982, Sahl played the role of Werner Finck, a German-Jewish satirist, in a 5-hour TV special. In 2003, the National Foundation for Jewish Culture honored Sahl with the&nbsp;Alan King Award in American Jewish Humor.<\/p>\n<p>But Sahl explained to J. The Jewish News of Northern California in 2004 that he never emphasized his Jewishness on stage because it wasn\u2019t a major part of his upbringing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never stressed it,\u201d he says, \u201cbecause I didn\u2019t have those kinds of parents. I grew up in a homogenized neighborhood, and was a kind of a mail-order, cardboard Jew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Speaking with the paper not long after the premiere of Mel Gibson\u2019s \u201cPassion of the Christ,\u201d Sahl opined on the movie and antisemitism.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTerrible movie,\u201d he said. \u201cTwo hours of unrelieved sadism. But the Romans are nice! I think everyone\u2019s second nature is anti-Semitism, so all the anxiety [over the film] is justified.\u201d<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Mort%20Sahl%2C%20Jewish%20comedian%20who%20fused%20stand-up%20with%20political%20satire%20and%20inspired%20the%20likes%20of%20Lenny%20Bruce%2C%20dies%20at%2094\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":64054,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7139,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64053"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64053"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64058,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64053\/revisions\/64058"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}