Beyond Seinfeld: 5 Jewish Comedians Who Ruled the ’90s

The 1990’s provided a major shift in the tone and style of comedy in America. Observational humor took the place of the simple set up/punchline. The classic sitcom evolved from the traditional escapades of mistaken identities and tired tropes that dated back to the 50s. Even sketch comedy took a bold, experimental approach that embraced mind-bending randomness.

At the core of all the innovations were Jewish comedians. Obviously, Jerry Seinfeld's iconic show Seinfeld would be top of the list. So in the spirit of subverting expectations, here are five great Jewish comedians of the 1990s that aren’t Jerry Seinfeld.

1. Adam Sandler

During his time at SNL, Sandler never had any stand-out characters (unless you wanna call Opera Man or Canteen Boy stand-out) and was fired after a few seasons. But before he left, during the Weekend Update segment on December 3, 1994 he debuted a song that Jews around the world fondly remember.

The Hanukkah Song not only made every Jewish kid feel connected to their favorite Jewish celebrities, it made them laugh till it hurt. From there, Sandler would star in a string of goofball comedy feature films, usually about screw ups and rejects who finally get it right. Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy, and Big Daddy were all successes and they were all in the 90s! It would be a mere prelude to what was to come in the following decades.

If that weren’t enough, he also released comedy music albums and played live concerts. Not bad for a guy who got fired from SNL.

Weekend Update: Adam Sandler on Hanukkah - SNL

2. Fran Drescher

Fran Drescher is now the acting national president of SAG-AFTRA and the author of Cancer Schmancer where she detailed her struggles with battling uterine cancer. But she first became known for her iconic cosmetics-saleswoman-turned-nanny, Fran Fine in the long running sitcom, The Nanny.

Fun fact, early in her career a vocal coach for Drescher insisted she fix her voice if she ever wanted to work in showbiz. Shows what he knew. The Nanny premiered in 1993 and allowed Drescher to take her nasally thick Noo-Yawk accent and infuse it into the charming, flamboyant, and confident leading lady in a way television hadn’t seen before. Particularly, a Jewish working-class woman from Flushing, Queens.

The role would arguably pave the way for such Jewish leading ladies as Midge in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Ilana Wexler & Abbi Abrams from Broad City, and Rebecca Bunch from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

Frans Voice Changes After She Eats Wasabi! | The Nanny

3. Paul Reiser

A man of many talents, Paul Reiser is a comedian, writer, and an actor who has starred in dramatic roles (Whiplash) and sci-fi horror (Aliens and Stranger Things.) But Reiser will be most fondly remembered for his marriage-centered sitcom Mad About You. Starring opposite Helen Hunt, the series was unusual in that it focused not on a group of friends or a nuclear family, but a young newlywed, childless (at first) couple.

Where most romance comedies end with a wedding, that’s where Mad About You began by exploring the humor and eccentricities of married life. As leading actor and co-creator, Reiser was nominated for multiple Emmy, Golden Globes, Screen Actor Guild Award, an American Comedy Award and more. Mad About You was memorable because it made honest and relatable comedy out of the minutiae of marriage. Though the 2019 reboot didn’t last long, Paul Reiser’s work resonated with audiences in a way that hadn’t been explored by the sitcom genre up until that point.

Paul Reiser - Stand-Up Comedy (1993) - MDA Telethon

4. Sarah Silverman

Though she’d receive notoriety as the voice of Vanellope von Schweetz in Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph, Sarah Silverman took a long time to break through and not without controversy. Her fiery and unflappable opinions lead her to drop out of NYU in 1993 and hit the stand-up comedy scene hard.

At the age of 22 she became both a performer and writer on SNL, but due to unapproving NBC censors, her “nonconformist” comedy meant she didn’t last long. She’d have a slew of guest appearances in such varied shows and films including Seinfeld, Star Trek Voyager, There’s Something About Mary, Mr. Show, JAG, The Larry Sanders Show and more. But she never stopped doing stand-up, putting the most effort into her own voice, saying, “I'd rather do stand-up than say this [bad] exposition for bad writing…Good writing doesn't need some Greek chorus in the form of a sassy friend.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzxSYZqhodg

5. Larry David

I said I wasn’t going to do Jerry Seinfeld, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t feature his famous writing partner and Seinfeld co-creator Larry David. Like almost all comedians, David started out in stand-up, briefly he wrote for Saturday Night Live (where he only got one sketch on the air), and followed that up with work on a Lifetime channel variety show, Way Off Broadway.

Then came Seinfeld and the American sitcom changed forever. The character of George Castanza was clearly David’s avatar, but actor Jason Alexander didn’t realize that until, “I went to Larry and I said, ‘We both know [this scene] would not happen in real life. Even if it did, no one would react like this.’ and [Larry responded], ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, this happened to me and this is exactly what I did.’”

Despite David’s eccentric neuroticism and bombastic anger, ironically, it was his contribution to the stories that actually grounded the show. After David departed after the 7th season, the sitcom became goofier, more extreme, and George was far less robust.

But Larry David’s voice was always darker and more cynical than Seinfeld and as the show became a massive sensation, that darkness was bound to turn off some viewers. During the 90s, most people wouldn’t recognize Larry David while Jerry became one of the most famous celebrities of all time.

But it wouldn’t be long before David’s own show Curb Your Enthusiasm would bring him to more acclaim and celebrity status. By the end of the series (along with a spot on impersonation of Bernie Sanders on recent years of SNL) he reached the heights of popularity of his former writing partner. Regardless of his level of fame, there’s no question, comedy in the 1990s would have been very different if not for Larry David.

Larry David accepts Emmy Award for "The Contest" in 1993