To Be or
Not T• Be
A look at some
favorite TV
characters.
LYNNE MEREDITH COHN STAFF WRITER
A Warner Brothers spokesperson re-
vealed that "the religion of the characters
on 'Friends' has never been established, but
viewers can make the educated guess that
Monica and Ross are half-Jewish and that
Rachel and her ex-fiance Barry are Jew-
ish."
"But," she added, "the 'Friends' produc-
ers have never come out and established
their characters' religion in an overt way."
(In real life, David Schwimmer and Lisa
Kudrow, who plays Phoebe on the show,
are Jewish.)
The there's "Seinfeld." Everybody knows
Jerry Seinfeld is Jewish — on the tube and
off. But what about the rest of the gang—
Kramer, Elaine and George?
No, no and no — and no to George's par-
ents, as well.
"The religion of the characters on 'Friends' has never been established, but viewers can make the
educated guess that Monica and Ross are half-Jewish and that Rachel and her ex-fiance Barry are
Jewish," says an NBC spokeswoman.
PHOTO COU RTESY O F FOX BROADCASTI NG CO.
y
ou may think they're Jew-
ish. But those in the know say
some of those prime-time TV
characters you're sure are Jew-
ish are not necessarily "members
of the tribe." And, except for a few
strongly identifying individuals
—some of 4m bordering on stereotypes
— the majorii-yvi.)f TV Jewish characters
have a schizophrenic religiosity: marginal-
ly Jewish but blending well into the gentile
mainstream.
Take Paul Reiser's character and his ex-
tended family on "Mad About You." Reiser
plays Paul Buchman, his parents are
named Bert and Sylvia, he's best buds with
his cousin Ira, and he's got a dog named
Murray. The very Jewish Mel Brooks plays
Paul's Uncle Phil, and Sid Caesar is Uncle
Harold. Think they're Jewish? Think again.
Reiser says religion has never been dis-
cussed "on that show and probably never
will be," according to an NBC spokes-
woman. Religion, he says, is "an issue that
he doesn't get into comedically."
The same air of nebulousness is true for
other NBC shows.
For example, on NBC's hit show "ER,"
Dr. Mark Greene acknowledged his Jew-
ish father — and Christian mother — but
considers himself to be "nothing." None of
the characters on the show is Jewish, says
the NBC spokeswoman (although two ac-
tors, Juliana Margulies and Noah Wyle,
each have one Jewish parent, just like Dr.
Greene).
Although Vicki (Kathy Griffin), the red-
head on NBC's "Suddenly Susan," may
seem to be Jewish, a spokeswoman says
her religious identity hasn't been defined.
`The actress is Catholic. I thought she made
jokes about not being Jewish," she says.
Two popular NBC sitcoms — "Friends"
and "Seinfeld" — have a hard time defin-
ing their characters' religious identity.
On "Friends," some of the names sound
Jewish: Monica and Ross Geller, Rachel
Green (Jennifer Aniston). And of course,
don't forget Rachel's ex-fiance, Barry, who
married Rachel's best friend. The wedding
was typical Long Island Jewish — as is
Chandler's girlfriend, Janice.
While Rachel's father appears to be Jew-
ish, her mother, played by Marlo Thomas,
has never been pegged for a Jew. In fact,
Thomas' father, Danny Thomas, was of
Lebanese descent.
Two Christmases ago, a "Friends"
episode featured Ross (David Schwimmer)
cleaning the wax out of a Chanukah meno-
rah while his on-screen sister, Monica
(Courtney Cox), baked Christmas cookies
and opened a package of Christmas lights
sent by their mother. The very Jewish El-
liott Gould plays the part of the siblings' fa-
ther.
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"The Simpson's" Krusty the Clown (real name Herschel Krustofsky) was disowned by his father, Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky, until Bart and Lisa stepped in.