Like Father, Like Clown

"Like Father, Like Clown"
The Simpsons episode
Krusty's show
Episode no.	41
Directed by	Jeffrey Lynch with Brad Bird
Written by	Jay Kogen Wallace Wolodarsky
Showrunner(s)	Al Jean & Mike Reiss
Production code	8F05
Original air date	October 24, 1991
Chalkboard gag	"I will finish what I sta" (stops before finishing writing "started")
Couch gag	Bart leaps into everybody's lap, annoying Homer.
Commentary	Matt Groening Al Jean Dan Castellaneta Julie Kavner Jay Kogen Wallace Wolodarsky Brad Bird
Guest appearance(s)
Jackie Mason as Rabbi Krustofski
Season 3 episodes September 19, 1991 – August 27, 1992 "Stark Raving Dad" "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" "When Flanders Failed" "Bart the Murderer" "Homer Defined" "Like Father, Like Clown" "Treehouse of Horror II" "Lisa's Pony" "Saturdays of Thunder" "Flaming Moe's" "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk" "I Married Marge" "Radio Bart" "Lisa the Greek" "Homer Alone" "Bart the Lover" "Homer at the Bat" "Separate Vocations" "Dog of Death" "Colonel Homer" "Black Widower" "The Otto Show" "Bart's Friend Falls in Love" "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?"
Seasons
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Jackie Mason as Rabbi Krustofski

"Like Father, Like Clown" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons' third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 24, 1991. In the episode, after recalling a traumatic memory, Krusty the Clown reveals to the Simpson family that he is of Jewish heritage, and that his father, Rabbi Hyman Krustofski, disowned him for pursuing a career in comedy. Krusty is emotionally upset and Bart and Lisa decide to try to reunite Krusty with his long-estranged father.

"Like Father, Like Clown" was written by the duo of Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky. Krusty's religion had not been part of the original concept of the character, so Kogen and Wolodarsky decided to parody the 1927 film The Jazz Singer and establish that Krusty is Jewish. The episode was carefully researched and two rabbis, Lavi Meier and Harold M. Schulweis, were credited as "special technical consultants". It was directed by Jeffrey Lynch and Brad Bird; as it was Lynch's first credit as a director, Bird was assigned to help him. Comedian Jackie Mason, who had once been an ordained rabbi, provided the voice of Rabbi Krustofski. The rabbi later became an infrequently recurring character voiced by Dan Castellaneta. Mason returned to voice the character in several later episodes.

In its original broadcast, "Like Father, Like Clown" finished 34th in ratings with a Nielsen rating of 12.7. Jackie Mason won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1992 for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for his performance as Rabbi Krustofski.