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"Borscht Belt" is a style of Jewish comedy. The actual '''Borscht Belt''' is a region in the Catskill Mountains of [[New York State|upstate New York]] that was a popular resort destination from 1920s to the 1960s for Jews who were excluded from other resorts. Due to the heavily Ashkenazi ancestry of New York Jews, the area
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
▲"Borscht Belt" is a style of Jewish comedy. The actual Borscht Belt is a region in the Catskill Mountains of [[New York State|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.
Ironically, Bethel Woods, the site of [[Woodstock]], is right smack in the middle of the region.
▲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 [[Self Deprecation]], [[Jews Love to Argue|insults]], [[Jewish Complaining|complaints]], hypochondria, wordplay and liberal use of [[Yiddish As a Second Language|Yiddish]].
Comedians who have worked in the Borscht Belt or have used the style of comedy include:
* Jackie Mason▼
* [[Benny Bell]]
* [[Mel Blanc]]
* [[Mel Brooks]]
* Rodney Dangerfield▼
* [[Don Rickles]] ▼
▲* [[Woody Allen]]
* [[Buddy Hackett]]▼
* Carl Reiner▼
* [[Lenny Bruce]]
* [[
▲* [[Rodney Dangerfield]]
* [[Phyllis Diller]]
* [[Estelle Getty]]▼
▲* [[Buddy Hackett]]
* [[Mickey Katz]]
* [[Jerry Lewis]]
▲* [[Jackie Mason]]
▲* Estelle Getty
▲* [[Carl Reiner]]
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== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[Coming to America]]'' 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 [[The Oner|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.
* Any role played by [[Mel Brooks]] in his own movies is most likely an example. Most notable though is the Rabbi in ''[[Robin Hood: Men in Tights]]''.
* In ''[[The Princess Bride]]'', Miracle Max and his wife are borscht belt-style characters, with their shrill bickering, haggling over money, complaining, and Yiddish accents.
* ''[[Dirty Dancing]]'' is set in the Borscht Belt during the 1960s, and over the course of the film we get brief glimpses of Borscht Belt comedy in its native habitat.
== [[Live
* Alan interviewed a Borscht Belt
* Buddy on ''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]'' is a former Borscht Belt comedian turned comedy scriptwriter.
== [[Video Games]] ==
* ''[[Fallout
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Dr. Zoidberg in ''[[Futurama]]'' is a thinly-veiled [[Space Jews|Space Jew]] of a Borscht Belt-style mooch.
* Boris and Minka, Tommy's maternal grandparents in ''[[Rugrats]]''.
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[[Call Back|"Ah ''ha!''"]]
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]
[[Category:Recorded and Stand Up Comedy]]
[[Category:A Nice Jewish Index]]
[[Category:
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