Last Thursday afternoon I met illustrator Drew Friedman at the Society of Illustrators to talk with him about his book trilogy, Old Jewish Comedians, and his two-floor show filled with portraits of every old Jewish comedian you can imagine. We sat on the showroom floor steps, right in between a bunch of 7th graders on a school trip who came to view Friedman’s amazing portraiture. While they probably knew very little about the characters lining the walls, Friedman knows everything about old, comedic Jews. In fact, he’s a master.

Friedman grew up in New York City and was born into a prominent artistic family. His father, satirist and writer, Bruce Jay Friedman, opened many doors for Drew to pursue his drawing, professionally. Friedman, who burst on the scene in the 1980s, is most well known for his impeccable ability to portray realistic parodies of public figures and personalities.

That day, Drew was gearing up for a panel exhibit, “From the Borscht Belt to Seinfeld,” which was inspired by his walls of drawings and sponsored by the New York Council for the Humanities. Comedians Larry Storch, Bill Persky, and Tom Leopold would all attend later that evening to celebrate Jewish comedy and its impact on our Jewish identity. I spoke with Drew about his impressive career, pissing off Woody Allen, and meeting his childhood idols.

How did you get into drawing and portraiture?

I’m from a creative family. My father is a creative writer, a humorist, a playwright, so there was always that creative thing going on, but I didn’t want to be a writer. I didn’t want to compete with him; he was very funny. I loved comic books and MAD Magazine, so early on I wanted to be a contributor to MAD. That was my goal, and eventually I became one of the usual gang. I was obsessively drawing from early on. I was always hunched over my desk, just drawing. I drew all over desks, books, notebook; I couldn’t get enough. I was also always interested in old comedy and stuff I’d see on T.V. It wasn’t like I grew up thinking, ‘oh what do I want to do someday?’ All I wanted to do was draw. I was obsessed. I wasn’t fit for anything else.

As you got older and started portraying all these public figures, was it propelled by an interest in exploring the human experience coupled with fame?

No, basically just an interest I had when I was a kid. I loved the Three Stooges, Jerry Lewis, and The Marx Brothers, and I still love them. I love the same things I loved when I was a kid, nothing changed. And that’s what this show represents. I love these comedians’ faces. My little secret is that I’m not crazy about all the comedians in the show. Some of them I don’t think are very funny. But most of them I do love.

Depending on if you like someone or not, do you think that comes out in your representation of them?

It shouldn’t, but it probably does. It does when I draw politicians; Dick Cheney, how could I not? Or George W. Bush or Sarah Palin. If I go overboard with liver spots or what not, it’s not meant to be mean, it’s just trying to be as honest as possible.

Several years ago you drew Woody Allen for the New York Observer and he was not happy with the portrayal. Part of me understood why he got a bit upset. While being an unbelievable and very funny photo, it almost looked like he had a disease or something, with all of the marks on his head.

You’re right. Well, sometimes I go overboard, I admit it.

But at the same time, it seems like some comedians can’t take it when people actually poke fun at them.

Well some of them are very touchy. Woody especially. When I heard Woody was upset, I was upset, because I loved the old Woody Allen movies back when he was funny. I’m not so crazy about him anymore. I don’t know if he was naughty lately or what, but I’m more offended by his lousy movies. So yes, of course I felt bad when I heard he didn’t like the picture. He was hired by the NY Observer to write an article, and they thought he was going to be a regular, but when he saw my drawing, his assistant said, “he’s never going to work for you guys again.” But the editor was so cool, he said “fuck it, it’s a great drawing.” But usually it’s the opposite, where they fully embrace the picture. Like, Jerry Lewis, he loved his. 

I read somewhere that someone compared your skill to an X-ray machine, which is a pretty cool compliment. Your ability to really see through people and show those qualities on their face is amazing.

Somebody else said that what Drew does is tough love. Even Robert Klein, when he came to the opening of this show, looked at his portrait and said, “that’s kind of brutal.” I said, “are you upset?” And he said, “No, I’m upset because it’s downstairs!” The layout of the show is in deference to the older comedians. The older comedians are upstairs, so I told him that since he’s one of the younger-older comedians, he’s downstairs. He was cool with it.

How long does a portrait take you?

Three to four days. I was doing these portraits in between assignments, so I wasn’t under pressure or under a deadline so I could take my time. But I had a whole year to do the first book before it was due to the publisher.

What are you working on now?

I have a book coming out in July on comic book heroes, specifically the men and women who drew comic books from the 30s to the 50s. I tried to get away from the Jews, but I got sucked back in, because most of them turned out to be Jewish. The most talented people are Jewish, right?

What can we say?

We just can’t avoid it! We know that. I was like, ok, I guess I’ll draw the people who drew comic books. I have a past with a lot of them because when my father was a magazine editor, he sat right next to Stan Lee. So he knew him pretty well and I got to know him when I was a kid. Then I had guys like Harvey Kurtzman and Will Eisner who were legendary comic book guys as teachers at The School of Visual Arts. The book is called Heroes of the Comics.

I think it would be funny if you did portraits of all the crazy pop stars today, like Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry.

It would be funny if I aged them. I’ve gotten a lot of ideas people think I should do. For example, imagine what middle-aged comedians like Adam Sandler would look like when they’re older. Or wives of Jewish comedians, or old Italian and black comedians. But yours is good. The thing about it is that it would do well, and I don’t want mine to do well. Why would you do books of old Jewish comedians? I don’t want to pander to the kids, though lots of young kids liked this trilogy. The books have been embraced by all ages, which is nice. 

You worked for legendary magazine, MAD and manufacturing company, Topps. To me, they represent this time period filled with specific, boyish goods that no longer appear relevant to our society. Little boys don’t really trade cards anymore. Do you think that technology has aided in the withdrawal of these interests?

I could speak for myself; I don’t know any kids who read MAD anymore. It’s just a different world now where everything is on the Internet. So trading cards, are being aimed more towards collectors, rather than the general public. I don’t really pay attention to it too much–I just do what I do–but yes, it’s a different world. In the old days MAD was my bible, I could not miss an issue. But you’ll never hear from me, “oh it used to be so great then.” I’m sure it’s great today in a different way. I’ll die out with the old ways, I don’t mind.

I know you’ve met so many of your idols, but who are three that you were extremely excited about or who surprised you?

I’ve met and drawn a lot of people and most of them have been happy with the results. The biggest surprise for me, were guys who you hear have a horrible reputation and ego, like Jerry Lewis. And he’s been incredibly sweet with me on the phone. He calls and inquires what I’m doing and working on. I don’t hear any ego from him. He’s very sweet and low key. We have great conversations. Another guy is Howard Stern. You hear things about him, but he’s been incredibly nice to me and supportive. He hired me to illustrate two of his books. He still hasn’t made it over to the show yet. He’s so busy with American Idol or whatever he does, but he’s trying to get over here. I’ve had a great experience with him. When people meet me, they’re interested in what I do, so it’s not like I’m a fan approaching them. I wait for people to approach me, because you can get disappointed when you seek out your idols. Another guy is Robert Crumb, who’s not the most sociable guy. Fan boys come up to him and he can’t be bothered. But he’s another guy who has been very supportive to me over the years and seems to love what I do. He’s my favorite artist, so it’s mutual admiration.

Are you into any younger artists today that channel your style?

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I see artwork and I hear from other people, “this guy is drawing like you,” and I’m fine with it. I don’t see any direct rip-off’s, maybe the stipple stuff that I used to do. I tell people, don’t do it. It’s highly time consuming and affects your eyesight. I had to give it up because I was doing more and more assignments and it was just slowing me up to much. I didn’t want to turn things down, so I gave it up 20 years ago. I was stippling for Spy Magazine in the 80s, and after that my work started appearing there, and the New York Times and Rolling Stone were constantly calling.  I had to figure out how I would be able to make deadlines.

Do people commission you do to themselves or their family members?

I get that occasionally, but I don’t really like doing that. Some people ask, “can you draw my husband or my kids?” It’s not really my thing. I’ve rarely done it, so people don’t assume I do regular people, whereas other artists do. I haven’t done that yet because I like drawing interesting faces, and the most painful thing to do is draw someone with a blank expression. When I used to do a lot of assignments, art directors would send photographs of the celebrity or politician, and occasionally they’d send just a blank smiling face looking straight at the camera. That’s of no help to me.

I’m drawing Kevin Spacey next week for the New York Observer cover, and I told the art director not to send me anything because I can just come up with the stuff myself. And I did. I found the right angle I wanted to use on him and that’s it.

Do you study these people the way you would study someone you’re interviewing?

No, I like to just approach it as I’m starting it. Even when I’m illustrating for Entertainment Weekly for TV show characters like, Friends, they told me they’d send tapes of episodes. I told them not to, because then I wouldn’t want to draw them, because I know I’m going to hate that show. Just send me the assignment, but don’t ask me to watch the show, or a movie. I don’t want to go there.

What is your favorite movie?

My wife asks me sometimes, what’s your favorite movie? Your favorite song? I don’t have a favorite song or movie, but I have a favorite wife and a favorite artist, Robert Crumb. Oh, favorite movie, I don’t know. I guess Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. I’ll go on the record. Oh look, I just scared the kids away.

Doubt it. They’re just confused and on a school trip.

I was at Marywood University in Pennsylvania recently and gave a talk–hopefully some of the stuff I’ll talk about tonight–and these kids just sat there with their blank faces, staring at me. I was like Milton Berle, anything? Jerry Lewis, nothing? They had no reaction. They were looking at their computer screens and looking up at me with no expression. I was like, should I push the envelope and talk about Milton Berle? And my wife was looking at me, like don’t do it. Marywood is a Catholic university, so I had to hold off on it. And for this talk, I’m going to have to hold off on certain things too, because it’s sponsored by the Department of Humanities, so all these humanities people are going to be here. I have to behave myself, which is going to be hard. I hope people are fighting and screaming and throwing punches. I hope there’s some chaos.

(Image credit: Kipp Friedman)

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Just two months after his recent YouTube pitch for Yeshiva University, actor Zach Braff, who had a “strong Conservative/Orthodox upbringing,” is entering the big league of Jewish theater: Woody Allen on Broadway.

On April 10, the former Scrubs star will make his Broadway debut in “Bullets Over Broadway” as David Shayne, a struggling writer who casts a mobster’s ditsy girlfriend in one of his plays in order to get his show produced. The musical adaptation of the 1994 Oscar-nominated film is not Braff’s first experience acting in a Woody Allen production: at 18, his first movie role was as Woody Allen and Diane Keaton’s son in “Manhattan Murder Mystery.”

In a recent essay in The New York Times, Braff reflected on his journey to acting, highlighting his theater bona fides and emotionally taxing childhood:

I was a melancholic child. Worried, anxious. I never felt as if I belonged anywhere, as if I were a foreign exchange student living among the other kids, who seemed predestined to love sports. Add to that alienation the fact that my parents were going through a divorce, and I was truly treading water. But in that junior high school auditorium, I felt like I’d discovered a secret I didn’t even know was being whispered. There was a place where I might belong: It was the Theater, and I was sold.

Best known for nine seasons as Dr J.D. Dorian on Scrubs, Braff is also famous for writing, directing, producing, and starring in “Garden State,” the 2004 movie set in his home state of New Jersey. His upcoming April premiere brings a new kind of Jersey Boy to Broadway–the Jewish kind.

Related: Zach Braff’s New Movie, “Wish I Was Here,” Has A Release Date!

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Last night a pants-suit clad Diane Keaton waltzed on and off the (in that way she does) at the 71st annual Golden Globes to accept the Cecil B. Demille lifetime achievement award on behalf of recipient and long time friend, Woody Allen.

Among her praise, Keaton noted that women love to be cast in Woody’s movies because, as she said, “Woody’s women can’t be compartmentalized.”

She also said, “They struggle, they love, they fall apart, they dominate, they’re flawed. They are, in fact, the hallmark of Woody’s work.” She finished her tribute to Allen by singing an a capella version of the Girl Scout’s song, “Make New Friends,” which made me think less of the awkward nature of the song choice, and more of the scene in Annie Hall where she sweetly sings karaoke to a room of indifferent bar-goers.

I don’t know if Diane took into consideration the nature of her song choice, or if she really just wanted to cutely express the nature of her and Woody’s relationship, but maybe she should have thought twice?

Woody’s relations with the adoptive daughter of Mia Farrow, and his sexual abuse allegations of their adopted daughter Dylan, make it impossible to honor Allen without a flood of Twitter backlash.

Mia Farrow took to Twitter to express her feelings on Keaton and Allen:

“Time to grab some icecream & switch over to #GIRLS”

“A woman has publicly detailed Woody Allen’s molestation of her at age 7. GoldenGlobe tribute showed contempt for her & all abuse survivors”

–Mia Farrow (@miafarrow) January 13, 2014

Her son, Ronan, also took to Twitter:

“Missed the Woody Allen tribute – did they put the part where a woman publicly confirmed he molested her at age 7 before or after Annie Hall?”

-Ronan Farrow (@ronanfarrow) January 12, 2014

It’s weird. And it’s difficult for many to view Allen’s personal life inextricable from his art, which is what Matt Soller Seitz addresses in a recent piece asking, “Can you separate an artist’s behavior from his or her art- and should you?”

It’s tricky. But I still love me some Woody Allen–and some “la-di-da” from Diane Keaton.

(Getty Images)

(Photo by Getty)

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It’s not everyday we get to hear Woody Allen casually muse on the production, story line, and thematic nature of his films.

Then consider us LUCKY that three film critics were invited to Allen’s Park Avenue editing suite for an exclusive sit-down with the renown director to chat about his latest movie, Blue Jasmine, which opened to rave reviews this past July.

The film focuses on the emotional and financial unraveling of a Manhattan socialite, played by Cate Blanchett, who is coming to terms with her husband’s “Madoff-like” investment scandal and his subsequent suicide.

In this in-depth interview, the 78-year-old film guru discusses the genius acting of Cate Blanchett, the woes of the wealthy American elite, and as always, reminds us that his characters are deeply flawed, deeply human, and painstakingly relatable.

Although I highly recommend you listen to Woody’s voice on the sound clips, here are a few highlights from the interview:

Woody’s response when asked if Blue Jasmine was specifically an American story:

“It feels like an American story. I just know these women from this neighborhood we’re sitting in now, who get up in the morning and they’re rich. They go to The Hamptons, to the Christie’s auction, and shopping. And they’re nice people. They do a lot of fundraising for good causes that contribute significant money to hospitals and school things, and they’re decent people. But if the bottom dropped out from them, it would not be easy for them. They’re addicted to a certain lifestyle–it isn’t just having a chauffeur. It’s who your friends are, your embarrassment of it; it felt very American to me. Of course in this country every week you pick up a newspaper, there’s another bank fraud or stock fraud, it is such a common theme.”

When asked if he identified with Jasmine as a character:

“I identify with her problem. I could understand that there are people who would say “I couldn’t careless about her–what did she lose her credit cards, who cares?” It’s deeper than that for me. I feel she’s a human being who made some mistakes and had some tragic flaws in her personality, and because of that it’s sad for her. Yes she deserved to get her comeuppance, but that was too severe. I felt she deserved to be straightened out and get a severe talking to, but I didn’t feel she deserved to bring so much tragedy onto herself. I felt sorry for her. She was a basically decent person who wasn’t looking for trouble, and had some human weakness, and everybody has a certain amount of human weakness.”

When asked if Jasmine’s addiction to medication and alcohol post-bankruptcy were substitutes for her addiction to money:

“Well, money’s a very tricky thing. Money’s addictive and people don’t know how to handle it very often. It’s not often that people come into gigantic sums of money and handle it gracefully. I know many rich people, and it affects their life, not always in a sinister or cruel way–in fact usually not–but it does affect their expectations and their perspectives on things. I don’t know how many of them could take it if they suddenly had to downsize radically. I know during the depression it was a common joke that people were jumping out windows; committing suicide from losing their fortunes. Max Gordon, the great Broadway producer, lost two fortunes and tried to jump out the window. He was friendly with Groucho Marx, and Groucho lost a fortune, and so did Max. The sudden downsizing was a very troubling thing.

I always think that I could handle it. If I wasn’t earning a reasonable salary-which I do-then I always feel, ‘Don’t worry I could go right back to living the way I did in Brooklyn.’ I’d be fine. I’d just have my shower, and you know…but I wonder, I think I could, but I wonder.”

(Photo by Getty)

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To “make love” is basically the worst euphemism there is for sex, and how it got a foothold in the mainstream vernacular is beyond even the wisest of sages. Why do we use this icky term when there are so many that are better suited for sex? Here’s our little list. These sexy sex euphemisms work every time:

Doing it
Face-making
Tympanic tickle
Rock the Casbah

But Woody Allen seems to love “make love.” From the looks of a new video, produced by Official Comedy, Allen might just be the creepy phrase’s biggest perpetuator. From What’s New Pussycat to Husbands and Wives all the way to Midnight in Paris, Allen’s characters are droppin’ the “make love” bomb all too often. Nice and creepy.

Good morning.

SUPERCUT: Woody Allen loves to say “make love” [Film Drunk]

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You’ve spent months, no, weeks, OK fine, a couple of minutes thinking of the perfect Halloween costume for this year. But it’s too bad your efforts are for naught because Woody Allen went to a Halloween party as Woody Allen. If you were planning on going to a party as Woody Allen this year, you’re screwed because you can’t beat Allen’s firsthand portrayal. If you were planning on going to a party this year as an elephant (like me), you’re screwed as well. Why? Because Woody Allen went to a Halloween party as Woody Allen, and that’s a better costume than whatever you’ve come up with. Come to think of it, the best reason to become rich and famous and noticeable is so that you never have to dress up for Halloween again.

It seems Allen wasn’t the only celeb without a costume, Page Six reports.

Said a spy, “Woody was the only person at the party not in costume besides Valentino, who was in a sharp suit. When people saw Woody was there, they started all taking pictures with him.” But when too much attention was on the director, he decided to make a break for it.

Trick or treat, super famous people.

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Woody Allen stuck up for his fellow Jews this week while promoting his latest film, Blue Jasmine, in France, the Times of Israel reports.

On Monday, Israel’s Channel 2 asked him if it is harder to be a Jew in America today, to which Allen said, “No, I don’t think so. By the low standards of tolerance for Jews all over the world, America’s been a very tolerant country.” But, he added, “I do feel there are many people that disguise their negative feelings toward Jews, disguise it as anti-Israel criticism, political criticism, when in fact what they really mean is that they don’t like Jews.”

Though the iconic filmmaker has never visited the Holy Land, when interviewed by Yedioth Ahronoth (translated by The Forward) last year, Allen surprised us all by expressing a deep appreciation for the nation of Israel and sympathy for its struggles.

What do you think? Is anti-Israel criticism a cover for Jew hatred? More importantly, when is Woody gonna prove his love of Israel and film a movie there?

Previous: How Much Would You Pay Woody Allen to Film a Movie in Israel?

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Back in 2012, the world, or at least most of us, became deeply excited for John Turturro’s Fading Gigolo, starring Woody Allen as the film’s pimp. Allen sets up clients for Turturro’s character, including Sharon Stone and Sofia Vergara, under the alias Dan Bungle. Well, the trailer is out and Allen is hustling like you thought he would.

Enjoy, everyone.

The post Watch the Trailer for ‘Fading Gigolo’ Starring Woody Allen appeared first on Jewcy.

Zach Braff, who made a post-Garden State splash in April when he announced plans to fund a sequel to his 2004 coming-of-age-for-real-this-time epic via Kickstarter (it was successful), is headed to Broadway, Vulture reports. And not just any old Broadway show—a musical, directed by Woody Allen, adapted from his 1994 film Bullets Over Broadway.

Here’s the film’s trailer. Just picture Cusack as Braff, and you’re all set.

(Photo credit: CARL COURT/AFP/Getty Images)

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If Woody Allen was a rapper obsessed with masturbation, he’d be Lil Dicky. “In an era where rap is dominated by racial, social, and economic minorities,” Dicky’s website bio reads, “LD decided to put the upper-middle class on his frail, Jewish shoulders.”

It’s not a joke, though; he’s totally serious. And not everyone’s happy about this career turn—namely, his parents:

“Honestly, I never thought I’d be a rapper. Just saying that out loud sounds weird to me. I’m a rapper. Who grows up to become a rapper? That’s just not really a respected career path in my neck of the woods. My mom’s not thrilled, for example.”

Dicky’s a different kind of rapper: the lanky white guy who is fully aware of and embraces his privileged life, his lack of game, and his enduring insecurity. Unlike Drake, who keeps telling us how he started from nothing (we get it, Drizzy), Dicky pulls no punches about his comfortable upbringing in suburban Philadelphia (“With outstanding parents, and a great backyard for grilling, wiffle ball, and tanning”) and not-so-hardcore musical beginnings (“When he was 14, he opened up for the R&B group 112 at his overnight camp. He’s been rapping ever since”).

The craziest part is that he’s actually talented. He has a smooth voice, good timing, and clever lines. Sure, most of them are completely offensive and so gross I’d never want my mom to listen to them, but objectively speaking, he’s a pretty good rapper.

For Dicky, Jewishness is a badge of honor (and cover art), a schtick that’s so much a part of his act it’s almost hard to call it schtick. What it definitely is, though, is provocative and attention-getting: In the very NSFW “Jewish Flow,” he says his rhymes are “sicker than the Holocaust” (“Jewish Flow” was removed from YouTube, but Dicky won an appeal):

 
The also NSFW “Ham,” meanwhile, has lines about college and his synagogue. Dicky jarringly refers to himself using an anti-Semitic slur, defending its use by comparing it to black rappers using the N-word. Whether for Dicky it’s artistic reappropriation or something less sincere will likely be debated by commenters (and the ADL) internet-wide.

But he’s sharp, and doesn’t shy away from commenting on his strange, privileged vantage point in the music scene (and in life more generally). In the video for “White Dude,” released online yesterday, Dicky points out the absurdity of life as a white male.  

What do you think of Dicky? Let us know in the comments.

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