Geeks' Favorite Jewish Characters

The 2017 Jewish High Holy Days will begin this Wednesday at sunset.

To commemorate both Rosh Hashanah (The Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement), Geeks is revealing some its favorite Jewish characters that you might find attending a synagogue service, sounding the Shofar, having multiple portions of round challah and apples and honey at the dinner table.

The 2,000 Year Old Man

The legendary comedy team of Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner created this hysterical mensch over 56 years ago. The 2,000 Year Old Man (Mel Brooks) started during his iconic debut in 1961 when the interview between the two comedy icons was released on their first comedy album: 2000 Years with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks. While Reiner played the straight man, Brooks’ outlandish character revealed that it was beautiful women kept him alive for the past 2,000 years. The 2,000 Year Old Man made several appearances in two other Brooks and Reiner comedy albums before taking over in 1973’s 2000 and Thirteen and 1997’s The 2,000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000. In addition to winning a Grammy for Best Spoken Comedy Album, Brooks reprised the character on several different TV shows such as Art Fleming’s Jeopardy and The Simpsons.

Kitty Pryde

Kitty Pryde has played a significant role in the X-Men franchise since the iconic comic book creative team of Chris Claremont and John Byrne debuted this character in Uncanny X-Men issue 129. Since her debut, Kitty Pryde has grown from a Midwestern wannabe ballerina to an influential voice in mutant rights. One of her greatest moments was using her Star of David to hurt Dracula in issue 159 when the legendary Prince of Darkness threatened to bite her.

Krusty the Clown

Next to Mel Brooks’ 2,000 Year Old Man, Hershel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky is the second longest running fictional Jewish character on television. Known simply as Krusty the Clown (voiced by Dan Castellaneta), the Springfield television icon has talked about his Jewish heritage on the FOX animated series. His father, Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky (voiced by Jackie Mason), disproved his son’s show business career which was highlighted in “Like Father, Like Clown.” However, Bart and Lisa Simpson (voiced by Nancy Cartwright and Yeardley Smith) help the Krustofsky men’s feud which leads to reconciliation and Krusty’s eventual bar mitzvah in 2003’s “Today I Am a Clown.”

Fran Fine

Nearly 20 years after Rhoda Morgenstern (played by Valerie Harper) became the first female Jewish character to headline her show, CBS introduced the world to the fabulous Fran Fine (played by Fran Drescher) in The Nanny. Drescher and her former husband, Peter Marc Jacobson, created the show which followed Ms. Fine's journey in New York City. For six seasons, she turned New York City (and the Sheffield household) upside down with her infectious laugh, loud outfits, and helpful advice that won the hearts of Mr. Sheffield, Niles, Maggie, Brighton, Maggie, and millions of fans around the world.

Kyle Broflovski

For over 20 years, South Park’s Kyle Broflovski has provided countless hours of entertainment for the franchise's millions of fans as he, along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, and the cranky Eric Cartman’s hysterical misadventures leads them to fascinating commentary on society that occasionally gets them into trouble. While Kyle is the most leveled headed of the four lead characters, he also faces the most scrutiny from Cartman, who sometimes unleashes anti-Semitic remarks on his friend. However, Kyle is no punching bag as his witty commentary deflates Cartman’s giant ego with humorous results.

Grace Adler

For eight seasons, Debra Messing brought the incomparable Grace Adler to life for NBC’s game-changing sitcom, Will & Grace. The Jewish interior designer made fans laugh as the series’ straight woman to her friends’ outlandish antics and jokes. She even sang the first line of Passover’s “Four Questions” to calm down Jack when he was depressed. Hopefully, we will be able to see more of Grace’s Jewish heritage when the Emmy-winning actress reprises her role in the NBC sitcom when it returns for Season Nine on September 28.

Rachel Berry

Gleeks will never forget when they first heard Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) sing “On My Own” on the pilot episode of FOX’s musical dramedy Glee. Over the show’s six seasons, viewers saw Rachel evolve from self-centered co-captain of the New Directions Glee Club to winning a Best Actress Tony Award in the series finale. Along the way, Ms. Berry blew the audience away with impeccable performances such as “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” “Firework,” “Get It Right,” and “Make You Feel My Love.”

The Goldbergs

In 2013, television producer Adam Goldberg brought his childhood to life in ABC’s highly successful period sitcom, The Goldbergs. As Adult Adam (voiced by Patton Oswalt) narrates the episode, young Adam (Sean Giambrone) documents each of his family’s activities on a VHS camcorder. Young Adam lives with his overprotective helicopter mother, Beverly (Wendi McLendon-Covey), his gruff and realistic father, Murray (Jeff Garlin), his grandfather Pops (George Segal), and his siblings: Barry (Troy Gentile) and Erica (Hayley Orrantia). Their adventures blend both pop culture and life lessons that will make millennials and Generation X fondly remember the 1980s.

Who are your favorite Jewish characters?