History Main / BorschtBelt

The Jewish comedians who performed at these resorts developed a style of humor that became very popular in the entertainment industry. Borscht Belt humor is characterized by stereotypical Jewish traits, such as SelfDeprecation, [[JewsLoveToArgue insults]], [[JewishComplaining complaints]], [[AwfulWeddedLife marital bickering]], hypochondria, wordplay and liberal use of [[YiddishAsASecondLanguage Yiddish]]. The AlterKocker character type was developed here as well.

The Jewish comedians who performed at these resorts developed a style of humor that became very popular in the entertainment industry. Borscht Belt humor is characterized by stereotypical Jewish traits, such as SelfDeprecation, [[JewsLoveToArgue insults]], [[JewishComplaining complaints]], marital bickering, hypochondria, wordplay and liberal use of [[YiddishAsASecondLanguage Yiddish]]. The AlterKocker character type was developed here as well.

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[[AC:Live Action Television]]

[[AC:{{Theatre}}]]

[[AC:Video Games]]

[[AC: Web Original]]
* ''WebVideo/GameGrumps'''s [[ThePornomancer Danny]] will invoke this at times and will often tell stories of his FishOutOfWater father which can resemble this.

[[AC:Western Animation]]

* Alan interviewed a Borscht Belt style comedian in the Las Vegas episode of ''KnowingMeKnowingYouWithAlanPartridge''. This being Alan, he failed to get most of the comedian's humor and then told an offensive Jewish joke.

* Mel Brook's ''Film/HistoryOfTheWorldPartI'' features a lot of borscht belt style comedy, including a sequence where Brooks plays a stand-up comedian in ancient Rome. There are cameos by a number of borscht belt comedians, including Sid Caesar, Jackie Mason and Henny Youngman.

* Alan interviewed Borscht Belt style comedian in the Las Vegas episode of ''KnowingMeKnowingYouWithAlanPartridge''. This being Alan, he failed to get most of the comedian's humor and then told an offensive Jewish joke.

* Catskill from ''{{Film/Heartbeeps}}'' is a standup comedian robot modeled after a bad Borcht Belt comedian, complete with a database full of horrible Henny Youngman style jokes.

"Borscht Belt" is a style of Jewish comedy. The actual Borscht Belt is a region in the Catskill Mountains of [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkState upstate New York]] that was a popular resort destination in the 1920s through the 1970s for Jews who were excluded from other resorts. Due to the heavily Ashkenazi ancestry of New York Jews, the area is named for borscht, a type of beet soup popular in Central and Eastern Europe.

The Jewish comedians who performed at these resorts developed a style of humor that became very popular in the entertainment industry. Borscht Belt humor is characterized by stereotypical Jewish traits, such as SelfDeprecation, [[JewsLoveToArgue insults]], [[JewishComplaining complaints]], marital bickering, hypochondria, wordplay and liberal use of [[YiddishAsASecondLanguage Yiddish]]. The AlterKocker character type was developed here as well (a GrumpyOldMan who takes all the preceding traits UpToEleven).

* Mel Brook's ''Film/HistoryOfTheWorldPartOne'' features a lot of borscht belt style comedy, including a sequence where Brooks plays a stand-up comedian in ancient Rome. There are cameos by a number of borscht belt comedians, including Sid Caesar, Jackie Mason and Henny Youngman.

* Henny Youngman ("Take my wife...please.")

The Jewish comedians who performed at these resorts developed a style of humor that became very popular in the entertainment industry. Borscht Belt humor is characterized by stereotypical Jewish traits, such as SelfDeprecation, [[JewsLoveToArgue insults]], [[JewishComplaining complaints]], marital bickering, hypochondria, wordplay and liberal use of [[YiddishAsASecondLanguage Yiddish]].

* Creator/SidCeasar

"Borscht Belt" is a style of Jewish comedy. The actual Borscht Belt is a region in the Catskill Mountains of [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkState upstate New York]] that was a popular resort destination for Jews who were excluded from other resorts. Due to the heavily Ashkenazi ancestry of New York Jews, the area is named for borscht, a type of beet soup popular in Central and Eastern Europe.

* Creator/PeterSellers

* Jackie Mason
* George Burns

* Rodney Dangerfield

* BuddyHackett
* Carl Reiner

* MelBlanc
* Phyllis Diller
* JerryLewis
* Estelle Getty
* Lainie Kazan
* PeterSellers

* ''ComingToAmerica'' features Eddie Murphy performing as an old New York Jew who tells a classic Borscht Belt joke: An old Jew asks a waiter to taste his soup, refusing to elaborate further. The waiter finally agrees to taste it and asks where the spoon is. The Jew smiles and says, "Ah ''ha!''"
* In ''{{Goodfellas}}'', Henry and Karen watch Henny Youngman after their famous [[TheOner steady-cam walk]] into the theater. He tells the classic joke, "I take my wife everywhere, but she finds her way home!" Youngman's trouble with his lines was the biggest obstacle to getting the shot.

* ''DirtyDancing'' is set at a Borscht Belt resort, though Borscht Belt comedy does not play a major role in the movie.

* Buddy on ''TheDickVanDykeShow'' is a former Borscht Belt comedian turned comedy scriptwriter.

* Any role played by Creator/MelBrooks in his own movies is most likely an example. Most notable though is the Rabbi in ''RobinHoodMenInTights''.
* In ''ThePrincessBride'', Miracle Max and his wife are borscht belt-style characters, with their shrill bickering, haggling over money, complaining, and Yiddish accents.

* DonRickles

* LennyBruce