Jackie Mason

American comedian known for his satiric wit. Shunned for many years by some in the television industry he went on to do his stand-up routines in night clubs and make some films. He finally found his niche, after 30 years, by doing one-man shows.

Born Jacob Maza, his dad, Eli, was a rabbi from Minsk. He has two younger sisters, Gail and Evelyn and three brothers, Joseph, Gabriel and Bernard. All three brothers followed the family tradition and became rabbis. Mason followed suit because it was unheard of to think of being anything else, but from the time he was 12, he knew that it was not his calling. When his father died in 1959, he ended his work as a rabbi and became a full-time comedian even though his dad wouldn't have approved. Serious as a kid, he developed his wit later in life.

During the late 1950s he took the name Jackie Mason and went to work in the Catskill Mountains borscht belt, the vineyard of Jewish comedy, as a waiter. In 1964, in his 30s, he stood on the verge of superstardom, but the ground gave way with the wiggle of a single finger. He was appearing on Ed Sullivan's TV show when, off-camera, Sullivan held up two fingers, a signal that Mason had two minutes to complete his stand-up routine. Mason responded with a finger signal of his own. Whether it was intended as obscene or funny, Sullivan took offense and Mason was branded as unreliable and vulgar. Though Mason denied disrespect, Sullivan cancelled a six-show contract worth $45,000.

Mason spent more than 20 years in a kind of show business wilderness. He was still able to make a comfortable living with shows in Miami, Las Vegas and Atlantic City, but he simply did not get into the big time.

He sank his savings into a play, "A Teaspoon Every Four Hours," which was a critical flop but popular with the audiences. He then financed his own movie, "The Stoolie," 1972, which was a commercial flop and critical success. In 1976 he staged a revue of burlesque skits, "Sex-a-Poppin'.