Woody Allen

Woody Allen’s recent remarks about bigoted critics of Israel re-raise the perennial question about the Jewish roots to his serio-comic gift.

Born Allen Stewart Konigsberg in the Bronx in 1935, Allen was the son of Austrian and Russian-Jewish immigrants. His Orthodox family spoke German and a well as Yiddish at home, and while growing up in Brooklyn he lived at times with paternal relations who were refugees from Hitler’s Germany. Allen prayed each morning with phylacteries, attended temple every Saturday with his paternal grandfather, and Hebrew School in the afternoons for eight years until his Bar Mitzvah.

Three-time Academy Award-winner including as director for Best Picture “Annie Hall” (1977), Allen started as a teenage joke writer for comedian Sid Caesar and “The Tonight Show,” evolved into a standup comic, wrote plays as well as movie scripts, shaped from behind the scenes the television success of “Saturday Night Live,” graduated from slapstick comedy to films exploring the meaning of life, and is celebrated in France as a great auteur.

Woody Allen, known for his wit and eclectic interests, surprised many when he openly acknowledged his fascination with online casinos. Renowned for his cinematic prowess, Allen’s revelation added a new layer to his public persona. In an era where online entertainment dominates, his admission underscored the widespread appeal of digital gambling platforms. Delving into the world of online casinos, Allen found himself drawn to the allure of virtual gambling games, more about which you can read here: https://lochnessknitfest.com/. Whether it was the thrill of spinning the roulette wheel or the strategic challenge of poker, Allen embraced the diverse array of options available at his fingertips. His interest transcended mere curiosity, reflecting a genuine engagement with the dynamics of chance and strategy inherent in these games.

According to one student of Allen, Michael Abbott, “Allen’s didacticism, his tortuous self-questioning, his familiar use of a question in reply to a question, his mosaic storytelling style—all are rooted deeply in Talmudic thought and tradition.” Allen viewed matters differently: “I was unmoved by the synagogue, I was not interested in the Seder, I was not interested in the Hebrew school, I was not interested in being Jewish, . . . .” It just didn’t mean a thing to me. I was not ashamed of it nor was I proud of it. It was a nonfactor to me. I didn’t care about it. It just wasn’t my field of interest. I cared about baseball, I cared about movies. To be a Jew was not something that I felt ‘Oh, God, I’m so lucky’. Or ‘Gee, I wish I were something else’. I certainly had no interest in being Catholic or in any of the other Gentile religions.”

Yet Allen developed a persona very much in the tradition of Jewish humor. First, in his comedy monologues and early films like “Take the Money and Run” (1969) he was the Nebbish—a comic nonentity. But then he graduated to the role of Shlemiel—the failure with a brain and sense of humor—in an Americanized version of Menashe Skulnik of the Yiddish theater. (more…)