Jokes That Nourish
Actor-comedian Kevin Pollak headlines Forgotten Harvest fund-raiser.
SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to the Jewish News
hicken soup, often called the Jewish peni-
cillin, has another important benefit,
according to comedian-actor Kevin Pollak.
Asked if there was something in the Jewish cul-
ture that lends itself to producing so many suc-
cessful comedians and informal ethnic humor,
Pollak did not hesitate in coming up with an
answer.
"It's the soup," he quips, "and a combina-
tion of the loving support and tsuris (trou-
bles) in Jewish families."
Pollak will joke about his outlook on rela-
tives and other subjects when he performs at
the Forgotten Harvest 2004 Comedy Night,
which begins 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, at the
Royal Oak Musk Theatre.
Providing soup and other nourishing foods
is the serious objective of the fund-raising
program. Forgotten Harvest's mission is to
rescue prepared and fresh perishable food
that would otherwise be wasted at restaurants
and related businesses and deliver it all, free
of charge, to emergency food providers in
metro Detroit. Funds raised by Forgotten
Harvest in 2003-04 helped provide 4.7 mil-
lion pounds of food to those in need.
"I talk about the whole mishpachah (fami-
ly) and the mishegas (craziness)," says
Pollack, 46, who has toured comedy clubs
around the country, appeared in some 50
feature films and will follow local comedian
Jeff Dwoskin. "I'll also being doing some
impersonations, such as Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Jack Nicholson and -
Christopher Walken.
"I try to personalize my act a little bit
according to where I am. I've been doing
standup for 25 years, so I've faced just about
every situation. I've also worked really hard
on the material that I perform. I tell a lot of
true-life experiences from working on movies and
meeting some of my heroes."
Although Pollak has nurtured his career in
California, he has strong feelings for Michigan,
particularly Mark Ridley's Comedy Castle in
Royal Oak, where the humorist has performed
many times. He also has worked in cinema with
former Detroiters and producers-directors-writers
Sam Raimi and Mike Binder, who now are very
close friends.
"In the act, I say my family is a group of
Reform Jews; we're so reformed, we're what you
call Catholics," Pollak explains, and then moves
into reality.
"We had a Chanukah tree when I was young
because my parents didn't want me to feel left out
"Our mission is so vital and so simple as we
serve the most basic needs people have," Cohen
explains. "Most of our board members have
worked on the vans, picking up and delivering
food. It's been very moving to see how apprecia-
tive people are."
Robert Olender of Royal Oak is a more recent
member of the organization. He was looking for
volunteer opportunities when he finished his term
on the executive board of Temple Emanu-El in
Oak Park, and a friend recommended Forgotten
Men.
Harvest. He subsequently was asked to help
select the Comedy Night talent by listening
to tapes of entertainers interested in appear-
Kevin Pollak:
ing.
"We wanted acts suitable for our audience,"
`My sense of
Olender says, "and I think we found people
humor onstage
who are very funny."
Forgotten Harvest members didn't have to
much
is
go very far to book Dwoskin, a West
the same as my sense Bloomfield resident who has been active with
the organization for several years. This will be
of humor offitage.
his third opening act for the annual evening
of entertainment, previously headlined by
Bobby Collins and George Wallace.
"I talk a lot about my family," says
Jeff Dwoskin:
Dwoskin, 34, who keeps his day job in prod-
uct promotion. "My idea is to set a story up
`My idea is
one way and twist it another way. Standup
comedy was always something I wanted to
to set a story up
do. It's a great feeling to get up in front of a
group of people and make them laugh."
one way
Dwoskin, who also has performed at Mark
Ridley's Comedy Castle, had been working in
and twist it
marketing and graphic design when he found
another way.
some free time a couple of years ago and
signed up for a class at Ridley's club. The
instruction inspired him to write and try out
routines, and he has taken them to many ven-
ues, from Joey's Comedy Club in Livonia to
the Holly Hotel, winning competitive per-
formance awards along the way.
The local comic, who has served on the
board of Temple Israel, is married with two
More recent projects include the just-completed
daughters, and he likes to kibitz with his children,
Hostage, a suspense drama with Bruce Willis due
as he always has liked to kibitz with friends. He
out in February, and Niagara Hotel, an interweav-
also enjoys teaching the girls little jokes to tell
ing of six stories being filmed in Canada.
their young pals.
"My sense of humor onstage is pretty much the
"I just lost 20 pounds," he explains to the two,
same as my sense of humor offstage," says Pollak,
"but
I can't find them anywhere." ❑
who also operates a production company with his
wife, Lucy Webb. "I started out as a ham — for
lack of a better Jewish word — and was the cutup
Forgotten Harvest 2004 begins 7 p.m.
in the family. After I chose my profession, my
Saturday, Oct. 9, at the Royal Oak Music
sense of humor evolved and became a focal point
Theatre, 318 W. Fourth St., in Royal Oak.
because it's part of my livelihood."
$45-$150. Top price includes an afterglow
Robert Cohen of Bloomfield Hills, one of three
with the entertainers. (248) 350-3663.
co-chairs for the event, has been working with
Forgotten Harvest for 10 years, helping people
unable to secure an independent livelihood.
in school. It was a loose environment, but I went
to temple and religious school and was bar mitz-
vahed. I take tremendous pride in that aspect of
my life."
Pollak, who started out as a comedian, left the
comedy clubs behind for about 10 years as films
and TV shows claimed his time. His film credits
include Indian Summer, a project with Raimi and
Binder, as well as The Whole Nine Yards, The
Usual Suspects, Santa Claus 2 and A Few Good
pretty
10/ 1
2004
53