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| An observant Jew, Elon Gold says much of his humour is powered by his Judaism. |
Jewish comedian says he has a
secular act and an act “for my people.”
By Matthew Horwood
Elon
Gold says he is looking forward to performing at the Jewish Federation of
Ottawa Annual Campaign Kickoff 2020 on Tuesday, September 10, 7 pm at the
Algonquin Commons Theatre.
Gold
is a comedian and actor who has starred in several TV series, including
“Stacked” and “In-Laws,” has appeared on “The Tonight Show” and “The Late Late
Show with James Cordon,” and has a Netflix special, “Elon Gold: Chosen and
Taken.”
The
Ottawa Jewish Bulletin reached Gold in Toronto late last month where he was on
location for an upcoming movie, “The Broken Heart Gallery.”
Gold
said he enjoys coming to Canada, where he has performed frequently at the Just
for Laughs Festival in Montreal and at Jewish federation events in Vancouver
and Winnipeg. But the kickoff will mark his first visit to Ottawa.
“It’s
time to fall in love with Ottawa,” he said, adding that he is looking forward
to visiting “another chill Canadian city.”
Evelyn
Silverman, co-chair of the Annual Campaign Kickoff 2020 with her husband
Howard, said Gold was chosen to perform because organizers wanted the event to
be “light, fun and a great evening of entertainment for the community,” and
felt a comedian would be the best choice.
An
observant Jew, Gold says much of his humour is powered by his Judaism.
“Just
because I live such a Jewish life, doesn’t mean I turn off my eye for all
things funny. That is all the more reason to do so,” he said.
Gold
said he has two different types of comedy performances: his secular act, and an
act “for my people,” adding that he finds there is something about the shared
experience of Judaism that “allows me and my Jewish audiences to vibe on a much
deeper level.”
For
example, Gold said his jokes about certain Jewish holidays “would just fall
flat during my secular act,” that “non-Jewish audiences would have no idea what
I am talking about. It’s a unique experience that anybody outside of our little
world would be unable to relate to.”
Gold
said he doesn’t come at his Jewish act “from a negative perspective,” he is
simply poking fun. “There are oddities that are worthy of a bit of fun-poking,
and that is my job as a comedian.”
E
Gold
said he believes it’s important to keep a sense of humour in life about
everything, including antisemitism, which Gold experienced directly in 2014
while walking home from a Shabbat dinner in Los Angeles.
“One
way to sort of fight back – for me at least – is by making fun of it,” Gold
said. “[Comedians] talk about what’s going on and what’s relevant to us, and
antisemitism falls under those things.”
With
tongue firmly in cheek, Gold encourages the community to get their Kickoff
tickets now, as “Jews are such last-minute, procrastinating people.”
“Just
try to let go of any problems or issues you have and have a fun time, despite
how difficult that is for our people,” he joked.
“We
have enough problems already in the world and in our lives, so this is an
opportunity to forget about it all and have some laughs. It’s going to be a fun
affair,” Gold said.
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