Jackie Mason, the Equal Opportunity Offender

 

"I have nothing but love in my heart and everything I say is just an instrument for laughs."

Jackie Mason was born Yaakov Moshe Maza in Sheboygan, Wisconsin (really) on June 9, 1931.  He was the fourth of six children and came from a long line of rabbis, going back four generations.  

He graduated from the City College of New York in 1953 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Sociology.  He followed in the family tradition and was ordained as a rabbi, leading congregations in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.  His sermons often included the humor that he'd become famous for, and he later quipped that even the gentiles were attending.  Taking this cue, he resigned his position in 1962 and became a professional comedian, saying "someone in the family had to make a living."

Mason made several appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show throughout the 1960s, but was banned by the host after appearing to give him the middle finger on air.  Mason vehemently denied the allegations and even filed a defamation lawsuit.  Although it initially hurt his career for a few years, he made his Broadway debut in 1969, playing a Jewish widower in the comedy A Teaspoon Every Four Hours.  He'd return to the stage in 1986, headlining The World According to Me!, the first of several successful one-man shows.

Mason was no stranger to the silver screen either, with memorable appearances in The Jerk (1979) and History of the World, Part 1 (1981).  He'd probably rather you forget however, that he also headlined 1988's Caddyshack 2, one of the most poorly received films of the decade.  Mibikh!

In July 2021, Mason was admitted to Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, where he was treated for inflammation of the lungs.  It ultimately took his life two weeks later on July 24th at the age of 91.  He was laid to rest at Beth David Cemetery in Elmont, New York.  His headstone is taller than most people I know.

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Jackie Mason, take a voyage to your public library, or Amazon.  Its all in books.
  
  
• The inscription on the main headstone reads "My precious angel.  For 46 years you have given me so much love, affection, strength, joy & laughter.  I have loved you every moment of it.  I miss you so much.  It broke my heart to lose you, but you didn't go alone.  A part of me went with you the day G-D took you home.  Even though you have left life's stage, you will live in my heart forever.  Sleep peacefully my darling little bubbala until we are together again."  It is accompanied by Hebrew text that reads Jacob Moshe, the Priest of Zea.  The smaller headstone reads "No one spread more laughter and happiness in one lifetime and now its SRO in Heaven.  It's the world's loss and G-D's gain.  Blessed are those who walked in the light of your presence."  In both cases, the word "God" is abbreviated on the headstones, not by this blogger.  "SRO" is most likely short for standing room only, meaning that Mason's heavenly concerts are all sold out.
  
  
• You can find memorabilia from Mason's career at the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York as well as the National Comedy Hall of Fame in Holiday, Florida.
  
  
• In 2001, Mason co-founded an organization called One Jerusalem, an educational foundation. Per its mission statement, its purpose is to maintain a united Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel. Growing increasingly frustrated with Democratic policies towards Israel, Mason officially left the party in 2007, registered as a Republican, and later publicly supported President Donald J. Trump.
  
  
• Other notable Beth David interments include Martin Landau, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Andy Kaufman and Mad Magazine artist Al Jaffee.

Harvey Pekar - American Splendor

 

"I very frequently get letters from people that say, 'yea, I went through that myself, and I really got a lot of comfort from your story.'  That makes me feel good.  People who've had lousy experiences like to read about somebody else going through the same crap, so they find out they're not the only ones.  Misery loves company.  There's a lot to that."

Harvey Pekar was born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 8, 1939.  He was the oldest of two sons born to Polish immigrants Saul and Dora, who owned a local grocery store.  Although the family lived right upstairs, Pekar would state that he seldom ever saw his parents, due to their hectic work schedules.

After high school, Pekar did a short stint with the Navy before enrolling at Case Western Reserve University.  College life wasn't for him however, and he dropped out after one year.  He was hired by the Veterans Administration as a file clerk in 1965, a job he would hold until his retirement in 2001.

In the 1960s, Pekar became good friends with artist Robert Crumb.  It rekindled in him a long-held desire to draw comic books.  That dream came to fruition in 1972, when the two collaborated on their first project together, Crazy Ed, which was published in Crumb's comic book series The People's Comics.  They'd continue working together over the next few years before launching the series American Splendor, for which they are best known.

Rather than focusing on traditional comic book tropes, such as heroes and villains, the series was an autobiographical peek into Pekar's life as a file clerk, with a focus on the mundane.  It proved extraordinarily popular, with Amazon later declaring it "one of the first and most groundbreaking literary memoirs in comic history."  It ran for 32 years, ending its run in 2008.

In 1990, Pekar was diagnosed with lymphoma, the first of several cancer diagnoses he'd receive over the next two decades.  He ultimately passed away on July 12, 2010, but it wasn't cancer that ended his life. An autopsy revealed he'd died of a drug overdose at the age of 70.  Doh!

Harvey Pekar was cremated.  His ashes were interred at Lake View Cemetery in his hometown of Cleveland.  To date, it is the most decorated grave this blogger has ever visited, even surpassing PBS artist and host Bob Ross.

Location: Section #7, Lot #9, Grave #1
Inscription #1: Beloved Husband and Guardian
Inscription #2: Life is About Women, Gigs, An' Bein' Creative

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Harvey Pekar, take a voyage to your public library or Amazon.  It's all in books.
  
  
• Pekar was a recurring guest on The Late Show with David Letterman, for which he was paid peanuts.  For his final appearance in 1994, he received a paltry $600.  Somebody with too much time on their hands compiled all of those interviews into this YouTube clip.
  
  
• In 2003, HBO produced the biopic American Splendor, featuring Paul Giamatti as Pekar.  Check out the trailer on YouTube.
  
  
• One year after his passing, Pekar was inducted into the Will Eisner Comics Hall of Fame.  Check out his profile here.
  
  
• Other notable Lake View internments include our 20th president James Garfield, business magnate John D. Rockefeller, and "the father of Rock and Roll," DJ Alan Freed.  Pekar's headstone is right next door to famed federal law enforcement officer Eliot Ness.

Dear Abby

 

Dear Abby was born Pauline Esther Freedman in Sioux City, Iowa on July 4, 1918.  She was the daughter of Jewish immigrants who owned a chain of movie theatres in the Hawkeye state.  

She attended Morningside College, where she studied journalism and psychology, coursework that would define her adult career.  It was here that she had her first advice column, which she co-wrote with her twin sister Esther (see Trivia below).  

In 1956, she moved to San Francisco.  Looking for work, she called the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, stating that she could write a better advice column than what they were running at the time.  Impressed by her boldness, the editor gave her a trial run and soon put her on staff.  It was during this time that she adopted her pen name of Abigail Van Buren (see Trivia below) and the column that would become synonymous with her - Dear Abby.

Her column proved incredibly popular and was syndicated later that year, eventually appearing in more than 1,400 newspapers worldwide.  In 1987, daughter Jeanne began co-writing the column with her mother, eventually joining the byline in 2000.  Two years later, she assumed full responsibility for "Dear Abby," which she still runs to this day.

In the early 2000s, Phillips was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, which ultimately took her life on January 16, 2013.  She was 94 years old.  She was laid to rest in the Minneapolis Jewish Cemetery in her home state of Minnesota.

Location: Section #3, Block #17, Lot #2, Grave #6

Rest in peace.

Trivia

• If you want to learn more about Dear Abby, aka Abigail Van Buren, aka Pauline Esther Phillips, take a voyage to your public library, or Amazon.  It's all in books.
  
  
• The headstone, which she shares with her husband, contains three sets of Hebrew text:
    * Pasha, Daughter of Abraham and Rebecca, Nephi, 5th Shevat, 5773 
    * Moshe Aril, Son of Yitzhak and Rachel, Deceased, Menachem Av 5777 
    * May his/her soul be bound up in the bond of life 
  
  
• As mentioned above, Phillips was the identical twin sister of fellow advice columnist Ann Landers, aka Esther Pauline Lederer.  Ann was the older of the two siblings by 17 minutes, and she preceded Abby in death by 11 years.  Upon her death, she was cremated and her ashes were scattered in Lake Michigan.
  
  
• Phillips chose the name "Abigail" from the Old Testament and "Van Buren" after our eighth president, Martin Van Buren.
  
  
• In 1964, Abby appeared as herself on an episode of the curiously popular sit-com Mister Ed.  You know, the show about a talking horse.  The plot has Ed moving out on his own and leaving his owner Wilbur behind, following bad advice from Abby herself.  Hilarity ensues.
  
  
• In 1999, Hollywood produced a made-for-TV movie about the twins, entitled Take My Advice: The Ann and Abby Story, starring Wendie Malick in a dual role.  You can rent or buy the film from YouTube.