Joseph Dorinson

l/ \^/nen Winston Churchill referred to Soviet Russia as a "riddle wrapped in an enigma," he could have applied this striking image to that equally elusive big bear: Orson Welles. Now, thanks to Simon Callow's brilliant biography, Orson Welles: The Road to Xanadu, we can solve the rosebud riddle that encapsulates this protean figure. Before Callow addressed such a herculean task, no one-critic, biographer, associate-had adequately decoded the erstwhile "boy-genius." What went wrong after Citizen Kane? Why did Welles fail to fulfill his enormous potential?

A funny thing happened on the way to this coda. A dear friend sent me a collection of Jewish themed cartoons selected by Bob Mankoff, cartoon editor at New Yorker. Here, minus the graphics are the punch-lines of each. An enormous whale lies on a long strip of sand, probably Coney Island, and spouts: “I’m not beached. I just don’t swim on Saturdays.” In another by J.B. Handeisman, a religious patriarch who reflects a modern entrepreneurial spirit while adhering to tradition, ignites Chanukah candles with an updated exegesis of the miracle of lights while his wife and two children listen intently to his sage words: “The Internet startup had only enough cash for one more day. But, miraculously, the money lasted for eight days, until more venture capital could be raised.” Paul Noth captured many a Jewish child’s wish for Christmas gifts as a yarmulke clad lad sitting on Santa’s lap, as many did years ago at Macy’s Department Store, tells the venerable bearded benefactor: “First of all, this conversation never happened.” Eric Lewis depicts a Carousel in a resort area manned by a rabbinical figure selling tickets to a merry-go-round with chairs, some elevated, minus horses for a Have Nagila Go-Round. I particularly like Mankoff’s depiction of a bearded businessman smartly attired in black holding an attaché in one hand and a cell phone in the other discoursing with a client with these reassuring words: “And remember if you need anything I’m available 24:6.” Finally, a boat christening featuring a bottle smash on the bow is contrasted with a Boat Bris, in which the Mohel removes several inches from the tail.  These comic riffs reinforce the interplay among God, Jews, and jokes—happily minus the mendacious mass murderer with that signature moustache.
Thus, Jewish humor endures in jokelore, folklore, and graphics. It is firmly rooted in our cultural DNA and surfaces, as we have tried to affirm, when Jews are threatened with destruction. Clearly, a shield against an often hostile world, where race bigots and anti-Semites slither up from their rocks as in Charlottesville, Virginia recently, our humor, unzer shtick, also serves as our weapon of cultural affirmation: against which insults and clubs will not stand.

The French love Jerry Lewis because he fused hysteria, regression, and physical comedy on both stage and screen while American audiences were more ambivalent in response to our “sacred monster.” This revisionist study attempts to show Mr. Lewis in a more positive light as modern Renaissance Man—actor, comedian, auteur, director, teacher, philanthropist-- who wrestled with knotty issues of cultural identity, physical pain, family dysfunction, and a roller-coaster career in comedy. Rediscovering his Jewish roots, Jerry Lewis found inner-peace, fruition in creativity, and that the French were right after all.

l/ \^/nen Winston Churchill referred to Soviet Russia as a "riddle wrapped in an enigma," he could have applied this striking image to that equally elusive big bear: Orson Welles. Now, thanks to Simon Callow's brilliant biography, Orson Welles: The Road to Xanadu, we can solve the rosebud riddle that encapsulates this protean figure. Before Callow addressed such a herculean task, no one-critic, biographer, associate-had adequately decoded the erstwhile "boy-genius." What went wrong after Citizen Kane? Why did Welles fail to fulfill his enormous potential?

The present work is a reprint of the illustrated case bound edition o/Paul Robeson: Essays on His Life and Legacy, first published in 2002 by McFarland. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Haul Kobeson : essays on his life and legacy / ...

Page 1. ETHNICITY AND SPORT IN NORTH AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE George Eisen, David K. Wiggins Greenwood PUBLISHING GROUP Page 2. Ethnicity and Sport in North American History and Culture Page 3. This page intentionally left blank Page 4. ...

I propose a paper titled " Bye Bye Yankees; Hello Mets: My Conversion and Confession " for " The 50 th Anniversary of the New York Mets " that charts a personal switch from ardent Yankee fan to a loyal if disappointed Mets' supporter. In this odyssey, I will build on a paper delivered at the Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture: my critical portrait of George Steinbrenner. Infuriated by the " Boss " with his plantation mentality and sadistic manipulation of players, coaches, and managers, I sought sanctuary with more enlightened ownership and fewer steroid driven athletes. And found a new home at Shea Stadium, later CITI Field; though I would have preferred a different name: Jackie Robinson Stadium. In addition, my narrative will touch on two pivotal World Series triumphs in 1969 and 1986 juxtaposed to two disheartening defeats: one in the quest for a National League pennant in 1988; the other, a loss to the Yankees in 2000: the first subway series since 1956. Clearly, the 1986 classic was the most exciting with the electrifying comeback in game six. After first baseman Keith Hernandez flied out to left for out two, I went to bed. Awakened by an alarm clock radio, I thought that the final score in favor of our Mets was a Freudian dream. Happily, the score reflected reality. Down 3 to 0 in game seven, I chanted the mantra of Tug McGraw: " You gotta' believe! " Success rewarded belief. I was unspeakably happy for years. More recently, I had the privilege to share a podium with Met star Mookie Wilson at Cyclone Stadium in Brooklyn. My talk centered on the legacy of Jackie Robinson in celebration of Black History Month. After Mookie described his less than happy experience as the first African-American baseball player at the University of South Carolina, I addressed racism in American society and the vital contributions of minority athletes (Italian, Jewish, Black, Hispanic, Asian) to attaining what poet Langston Hughes elegantly phrased: " Let America Be America Again. " I pointed out, at that time; the Mets represented the best and brightest in our nation's mosaic with a Jewish owner, a Hispanic General Manager, and an African-American Manager. As I tried to recapture that moment of glory in 1986, I delineated what happened during that miraculous tenth inning. Finally, I got to Mookie's at bat. Suddenly, without warning, I turned to Mookie and said: " This is your story. So pick up the thread, Mookie please. " He gallantly accepted the challenge and thrilled everyone in attendance with a stirring account of his brief encounter with baseball immortality. My presentation will weave anecdotal evidence, recent scholarship, economic underpinnings, and political commentary into what I hope will be a colorful as well as substantive tapestry. In my last appearance at Hofstra, celebrating your 75 th Anniversary, I delivered a paper on " Breaking the Slump: Laughing Your Trouble s Away. " I also added a touch of humor. If invited to participate in 2012, I will try to set the bar even higher. As a kid from Brooklyn, many years prior, I can do no less.

... Press, 1971), 261-83. "Joseph Boskin, "The Life and Death of Sambo: Overview of an Historical Hang-Up," Journal of Popular Culture, 4 (1971), 649. Page 13. Ethnic Humor 93 objectified the distance between social norms and man's instincts. ...

HOFSTRA  MET  PROPOSAL

I propose a paper titled “Bye Bye Yankees; Hello Mets: My Conversion and Confession” for “The 50th Anniversary of the New York Mets” that charts a personal switch from ardent Yankee fan to a loyal if disappointed Mets’ supporter. In this odyssey, I will build on a paper delivered at the Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture: my critical portrait of George Steinbrenner. Infuriated by the “Boss” with his plantation mentality and sadistic manipulation of players, coaches, and managers, I sought sanctuary with more enlightened ownership and fewer steroid driven athletes. And found a new home at Shea Stadium, later CITI Field; though I would have preferred a different name: Jackie Robinson Stadium.
In addition, my narrative will touch on two pivotal World  Series triumphs in 1969 and 1986 juxtaposed to two disheartening defeats: one in the quest for a National League pennant in 1988; the other, a loss to the Yankees in 2000: the first subway series since 1956. Clearly, the 1986 classic was the most exciting with the electrifying comeback in game six. After first baseman Keith Hernandez flied out to left for out two, I went to bed. Awakened by an alarm clock radio, I thought that the final score in favor of our Mets was a Freudian dream. Happily, the score reflected reality. Down 3 to 0 in game seven, I chanted the mantra of Tug McGraw: “You gotta’ believe!” Success rewarded belief. I was unspeakably happy for years.
More recently, I had the privilege to share a podium with Met star Mookie Wilson at Cyclone Stadium in Brooklyn. My talk centered on the legacy of Jackie Robinson in celebration of Black History Month. After Mookie described his less than happy experience as the first African-American baseball player at the University of South Carolina, I addressed racism in American society and the vital contributions of minority athletes (Italian, Jewish, Black, Hispanic, Asian) to attaining what poet Langston Hughes elegantly phrased: “Let America Be America Again.” I pointed out, at that time; the Mets represented the best and brightest in our nation’s mosaic with a Jewish owner, a Hispanic General Manager, and an African-American Manager. As I tried to recapture that moment of glory in 1986, I delineated what happened during that miraculous tenth inning. Finally, I got to Mookie’s at bat. Suddenly, without warning, I turned to Mookie and said: “This is your story. So pick up the thread, Mookie please.” He gallantly accepted the challenge and thrilled everyone in attendance with a stirring account of his brief encounter with baseball immortality.
My presentation will weave anecdotal evidence, recent scholarship, economic underpinnings, and political commentary into what I hope will be a colorful as well as substantive tapestry. In my last appearance at Hofstra, celebrating your 75th Anniversary, I delivered a paper on “Breaking the Slump:  Laughing Your Trouble s Away.” I also added a touch of humor. If invited to participate in 2012, I will try to set the bar even higher. As a kid from Brooklyn, many years prior, I can do no less.

                                                          Respectfully submitted,
   
      Professor Joseph Dorinson
      Department of History
      LIU-Brooklyn