Jay Jason
| Jay Jason | |
|---|---|
Jay Jason
|
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| Birth name | Jonas Levy |
| Born | Rochester, New York, U.S. |
| Medium |
Stand-up Catskills Mountains Night clubs |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1933–2000 |
| Genres |
Impersonations/Political satire Ventriloquest Improvisational comedy |
| Subject(s) |
American politics International relations race relations Ethnic Jokes Jewish culture |
| Spouse | Lynn Jason (two children Diana Allen and Leonard A Jason) |
| Notable works and roles | Entertained for over 65 years in top night clubs across the US, and spent most of his career in the Catskills Mountains. Appeared on television shows including The Ed Sullivan show. |
Jay Jason (1915 – 2001) was an American stand-up comedian who continuously performed in the show-business industry from 1933 to 2000.
Jay Jason's grandparents were from Eastern Europe and Russia. His parents, Lina and Ben, had six children. Jay Jason's interest in show business began when he would imitate the dialects of some of the residents from different countries who lived in boarding houses his parents owned. Born in Rochester, NY, Jay Jason attended the University of Rochester where he majored in languages. He traveled to Buffalo for amateur shows, and success in these comedy contests led him to pursue a career as an entertainer.
Barely 19 years of age, he left the University of Rochester after two years for his first major club date, and changed his name from Jonas Levy to Jay Jason (sometimes in the media his last name was spelled Jayson). It was a common practice in those days for Jewish entertainers to change their names, to be more accepted. He performed throughout the Midwest during the 1930s. During World War Two, he entertained for the USO, and during one show, he performed in front of hundreds of Hollywood and night club personalities including Red Skelton and Mickey Rooney.
After the war, he continued to entertain in the Midwest. In a 1950 Columbus, Ohio, newspaper article, reporter Herb Christopher calls Jay Jason "a rising star," and as “the current Palm Garden Headliner… (he) finds many calls for guest appearances, benefit performances. Local television guest shows also come all too easy…” There are many other media reports of Jason performing such as a 1951 article in the Toledo Blade: “JAY JASON. This well known comedian, who has played many engagements in Toledo and has one of the largest night club followings…"
From the 1950s to the late 1990s, Jason was one of the most enduring and recognized performers at Catskill Mountains' resorts. He played frequently at the Granit, Concord, Kutsher's Hotel, the Nevele, The Laurels Hotel and Country Club, The Pines Resort, Raleigh, the Overlook, the Tamarack Lodge, Stevensville, the Windsor, and Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel.
As mentioned by Grosswirth, "Jay's name will be familiar to those of you who used to frequent what was commonly referred to as 'The Borscht Belt'". In a Newsday magazine article in 1992, reporter Stuart Vincent mentioned that Jay “is the consummate Catskills comic... You’ve probably seen him if you’ve been to one of the Borscht Belt hotels in the Catskills with your temple, your church, your parents, your cousins. A funny man. A comic’s comic. An entertainer for 60 years—impressionist, singer, even has a few dance steps in him…he’s played the Las Vegas hotels and Manhattan night clubs, appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” three times.”
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