Old Jewish Comedians: A BLAB! Storybook Hardcover – October 17, 2006

I am neither a believer in the Hebraic religion, nor do I make my living telling jokes in public venues. I am, however, old. Old enough, at least, to remember these Old Jewish Comedians before they weren't quite as old as they appear in this book.The portraits in this slim volume hark back to an earlier era. The heyday of these comedians was back during the 20th century. Drew Friedman illustrates them all during the Autumn of their years. Some are depicted at such an elderly age I could not even recognize them until after reading the caption telling me their names, and then, yes-- the person shown is, in fact, that person, visually immortalized at an age somewhere past his prime, past his years of fame, past his actual expiration date. For example, Phil Silvers is so old here he barely resembles what he looked like when he was Sergeant Bilko, but it definitely is him at a very advanced age.If you already are a Drew Friedman fan, then you know he is a remarkable talent. He is an innovator who combined realistic illustration with caricature to create a unique, singular visual style similar to that of no other illustrator in history.I give this phenomenal book only four stars because, like each of the successor books in this series, the book doesn't have that many pages. All of them combined into one volume would still be an average-sized art book. If an omnibus edition were to appear with the same high-quality reproduction and quality slick paper, that one would merit six stars. eight stars, ten stars, or more. Well, it would be FULL of stars: Stars, near-stars, and obscure other comedic performers of yesteryear immortalized in their senior citizen phase.

Drew Friedman's work falls into that category of "you either get it or you don't." For those of us who get it, this is pure gold. Besides being the state of the art in contemporary caricature, Drew puts a particular spin on everything he does. There's a lot of love in these portraits of aging comics, but there's still this warts-and-all approach that separates them from pure hero worship. Drew casts his Jewish comedians as wonderful funnymen to be admired, while still keeping them human (or perhaps even more than human). If the Everyman is covered in wrinkles and liver spots, then these larger-than-life Supermen have even more!With today's comics almost always working blue, and the average comedy club or HBO special containing more four-letter words than a dockworkers convention, it's refreshing to see these old-timers (accent on the old) who were funny without being foul-mouthed. The days of these old-skool comedians is past, but their faces will live on thanks to Drew.Like Levy's rye bread, you don't have to be Jewish to love this book.

I bought this for my Jewish grandmother as a lighthearted gift. She loved it. I too found it to be a great coffee-table book, despite only being familiar with maybe 1/3 of the comedians. The art is excellent, and I could easily spend 5 or 10 minutes studying each portrait. There's a simple honesty in Friedman's work which makes it both funny and refreshing. As other reviewers have mentioned, there is absolutely no text in this book, so be aware that what you're getting is a book of portraits, nothing more. If you want more info on the comedians shown, you'll have to use the googles.

He has caught the personalities well. The subjects are all comedians but many of the portraits are thoughtful and dignified.

If you grew up in the 50's and 60's watching TV, having this short but sweet book on your coffee table to thumb through will bring a smile to you over and over. Being Jewish not required.

didn't like this book very much. but that's just me

Book is primarily photos, with very little text. Somewhat disappointed. Guess I should have paid more attention to the product description.

Drew Friedman is one of the best humorous illustrators working today. His art straddles the line between portraiture and caricature, capturing his subjects with wit and personality. This and his other "Old Jewish Comedians" collections are fantastic examples of a master at the hieght of his powers.

love this guy's work