arts&life
comedy
Ye Gad
France’s funniest guy is a Moroccan
Jew in pursuit of the American laugh.
G
ad Elmaleh’s mom might not think
her son is all that funny, but audi-
ences will disagree after watching
the French comedian’s new Netflix special,
American Dream.
“I think the phrase, ‘My dad was a Jewish
mime in Morocco’ is very funny,”
Elmaleh said, referring to his upbring-
ing. “It has all the complexities.”
Elmaleh is currently promoting his
new English-language Netflix special,
Gad Elmaleh: American Dream. He
also will be appearing at the Royal Oak
Music Theatre on Oct. 18 — his “Dream
Tour” has sold out in New York, Chicago,
Boston, London, Singapore and more.
Elmaleh’s new show is full of musings on
starting afresh in the land of possibility.
Though considered to be the “Jerry
Seinfeld of France,” the 46-year-old was
virtually unknown when he moved to
New York to pursue an American
comedy career in 2015.
“I’m sure you’ve heard this story about the
man who moved to America with one dollar in
his pocket and he worked so hard and he made
a fortune … I moved here with a fortune,” he
says.
Born in Casablanca, Elmaleh grew up intro-
ducing his father (the mime) with a placard.
By age 4, he had his own shtick, pulling on an
imaginary rope as Chopin played in the back-
ground. After a childhood filled with slapstick
humor and impressions of his grandmother’s
neighbors, Elmaleh moved to Paris at age 21 to
pursue a career in drama following a stint at a
university in Montreal.
Elmaleh eventually reached stardom
in France for playing characters such as
Chouchou, a North African transvestite, and
Coco, a Sephardic businessman who alienates
his family while planning his son’s bar mitzvah
celebration. Elmaleh also played Jerry Seinfeld’s
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character in the French version of Bee Movie. In
2011, he had a small role in Woody Allen’s film,
Midnight in Paris.
Raised in a traditional Sephardic home,
Elmaleh went to Jewish day school and Chabad
summer camp in Morocco. In the early 1990s,
Elmaleh visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi
Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who gave him
a crisp dollar bill along with a blessing as per
the rabbi’s weekly Sunday ritual.
“I believe,” said Elmaleh during a 2017 char-
ity performance at a Chabad house in Quebec,
“that it was the Rebbe’s blessing at that time that
may very well have helped me achieve what I
have in my life.”
In 2016, Elmaleh appeared on Netflix for the
first time with his French special, Gad Gone
Wild. But his first introduction to American
audiences in English was on Jerry Seinfeld’s
show Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, where
Seinfeld and Elmaleh drove around in a
1950 Citroën while pounding down French
baguettes like they were Big Macs.
Elmaleh’s most recent Netflix special is his
first major attempt at English comedy.
But his language isn’t all verbal. In American
Dream, Elmaleh uses his entire body to tell his
jokes, which are accompanied by exaggerated
facial expressions that contribute just as much
to the punchlines as his spoken word.
While Elmaleh officially resides in New York,
he still often flies to Paris to visit his family —
including two children, ages 4 and 17. Here,
our conversation with Elmaleh:
Tracy Frydberg: You have been voted
the “funniest person in France.” Why learn
English and start over in the U.S.?
Gad Elmaleh: This is the title of the show,
but the whole “American dream” thing is a real
thing for me. Today in America, unfortunately,
it sounds almost ironic or sarcastic or [an out-
dated concept.] As a kid in Morocco — more in
Morocco than in France — America was really
something that we would dream about. There
was a mystery and a fantasy to it. I’ve always
been impressed and fascinated by American
comedians, actors. I discovered this world
through a Charlie Chaplin movie my father
took me to when I was 5 in Morocco.
It’s [also a new] personal journey. Two years
ago, I didn’t speak English like I do right now
with you. I think it is a great thing in a career
to step out of the comfortable situation you
have. I’m in Paris now and it’s great, and I’m
THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN THE TIMES OF ISRAEL AND IS REPUBLISHED WITH PERMISSION.
TRACY FRYDBERG TIMES OF ISRAEL