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CARL REINER
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe
Syosset, New York
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On stage or screen--and often behind the
scenes--Carl Reiner has shaped American
"komedye" (comedy) for half a century.
Shown below is a Yiddish guide to Mr. Reiner:
"alergye" (allergy)
"I once wrote that there are 15 things I know about God, and one is that
he is allergic to shellfish."
Quote by Carl Reiner
"bashafn" (to create)
Carl Reiner is best known as the creator of
TV's "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961-66),
in which he played Van Dyke's tyrannical
boss, Alan Brady.
"baterye" (battery)
At the beginning of the performance at the
Kennedy Center's concert hall, the sound
system failed and a man in the balcony
shouted, "Does anyone have four double-A
batteries?" The man in the balcony, Carl
Reiner, was there to get the Mark Twain
Prize for American humor and, not for the
first time, he got the first laugh before Jerry
Seinfeld, Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore,
and Steve Martin even had a chance to walk
onto the stage to honor him.
(from an article by Irvin Molotsky,
Oct. 26, 2000)
"blayer" (pencil)
"Comedians are really writers who don't
have pens and pencils about them, but
they riff."
Quote by Carl Reiner
"bukh" (book)
Reiner's latest book is titled, "Just Desserts," a 136-page "novellelah."
"dokter" (doctor)
Reiner accomplished so much, but never
fulfilled his father's "ambitsye" (ambition)
and become a doctor.
"durkhfaln" (fail/not to succeed)
"I think that comedy really tells you how it
is. The other thing about comedy is that -
you don't even know if you're failing in
drama, but you do know when you're failing in comedy. When you go to a comedy
and you don't hear laughing, you
know you've failed."
Quote by Carl Reiner
"emes" (truth)
"The absolute truth is the thing that makes
people laugh."
Quote by Carl Reiner
"eytse"(advice)
[commencement address for New England
Tech graduates]: "People who have gone
back to school really don't need advice. They know they're on a new, uncharted
adventure, and that you're never too old to
follow your dream, follow your heart. They're the ones who can give advice."
"fargenign" (pleasure)
Reiner got great pleasure when President
Obama said, "My wife is watching Dick Van
Dyke reruns."
"fayer" (fire)
Nearly all of Reiner's Emmy awards were
broken or damaged when his California
home was hit by the 1994 Northridge
earthquake.
"filosofye" (philosophy)
Reiner expressed his philosophy of writing
comedy as follows: "You have to imagine
yourself as not somebody very special
("spetsyel") but somebody very ordinary.
If you imagine yourself as somebody really
normal and if it makes you laugh, it's going
to make everybody laugh. If you think of
yourself as something very special, you'll
end up in a pendant and a bore."
"flek" (stain)
Reiner, on the No. 1 problem he faces being
an icon: "When you're a legend, you try not
to walk around with stains on your pants and tie."
"frayne" (friend)
Mel Brooks became Reiner's best friend.
Working together, they concocted a funny
stage act around a "2000 Year Old Man"
which became a comedy album in 1960.
"froy" (wife)
Reiner was married to his wife, Estelle Lebost, for 64 years. At the time of
the
marriage, he was 21 and she was 29. She
passed away at age 94. Estelle is best
remembered for her one line--"I'll have what she's having" in the
deli scene in the
movie, "When Harry Met Sally."
"geboyrn" (born)
Reiner was born in the Bronx, in 1922, the
son of Jewish immigrants.
"Got" (God)
Reiner, who was raised Jewish and remains
proud of his Jewish cultural heritage, has
described himself as a Jewish athiest. He
says that "man invented God, not the other
way around."
"heym"
Reiner's home is in Beverly Hills, CA.
"hor" (hair)
When Reiner played Alan Brady, he was the
tyrannical boss with a bad toupee.
"inspirasye" (inspiration)
Reiner enjoys those inspirational moments
when a "fremder" (stranger) comes up to
him and says, "I'm a writer because of you."
"kharakter" (character)
Reiner said that his character, Alan Brady,
was a composite of Milton Berle, Phil Silvers, and Jackie Gleason.
"khinukh" (education)
Reiner was educated at the School of Foreign Servcie at Georgetown University
and served in the Army during WWII.
"komish" (funny)
"If you start thinking about what's funny,
you won't be funny, actually it's like walking. How do you walk? If you start
thinking about it, you'll trip."
Quote by Carl Reiner
Jerry Seinfeld said, "I think that Carl Reiner
is funnier than Mark Twain."
"kopveytik" (headache)
"There's always something in my head, and I always say, 'It's got to get
out or it's going
to give me a headache."
Quote by Carl Reiner
"meshuge" (insane)
Mel Brooks said of Reiner: "He's a loving,
giving guy, to the point of insanity. If he
had hair, I'd marry him."
"mishpokhe" (family)
Reiner is the father of actor, Rob Reiner,
daughter, Sylvia Anne Reiner, and son,
Lucas Reiner, a film director. Reiner's father, Irving was a watchmaker/inventor.
His mother, Bessie, was a homemaker
"mitsve"/"gebot" (commandment)
"There are far too many commandments
and you really only need one: Do not hurt
anyone."
Quote by Carl Reiner
"nomen" (name)
"If you can get a laugh out of a name, you're ahead of the game."
Quote by Carl Reiner
"pakhdn" (coward)
"I'm a charming coward; I fight with words."
Quote by Carl Reiner
"redn" (talk)
Reiner hosted two game shows, "Keep
Talking" and "The Celebrity Game," where
he would ask "narish" (silly) questions and
milk funny answers from 9 guest stars,
Gypsy Rose Lee, Lee Marvin, and Sal Mineo
among them. The program was quickly
canceled.
"regn" (rain)
Reiner remembers a day when shooting [of
"The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are
Coming"] was delayed because of rain. He
said, "So, we were stuck in this little motel.
I remember everyone came to my room and
I said, 'Fellows, what's the last time you played a serious game of 'Ring Around
the
Rosy?' So we did it deadly serious, fell on
the floor and then we all laughed."
"shney" (snow)
"A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an
unnecessary freezing of water."
Quote by Carl Reiner
"shpiln" (to act/perform)
One of Reiner's most notable acting jobs was in "The Russians Are Coming,
The
Russians Are Coming," a 1966 film. It also
starred Alan Arkin, Jonathan Winters, and
Theodore Bikel.
"shtime" (voice)
Reiner lent his voice to the character of Santa Claus in the NBC Christmas
special,
"Merry Madagascar" in Nov. of 2009.
"tsdoke" (charity)
Over the years, Reiner has spent a great deal of time in charitable work, most
notably for Big Brothers of America and as an advocate for learning disabled
students.
"tsutroy" (confidence)
"You have to have confidence - If you're a
corny person with corny jokes, it's OK,
because your kids will still love you, because
you're a good father. So you better be a
good father. People are who they are; If
you need a job, here's one. 'He went
peacefully in his sleep, not like the passengers in his car, who were screaming
in terror.' That's got a funny edge on it."
Quote by Carl Reiner
"zogn" (to say)
Reiner actually lives by the old saying,
"If you can't say anything nice, don't say
anything at all."
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