The Greatest Jewish TV Cartoon Characters of All Time

Krusty the Clown (L) with his father, Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky

From the beginning of animated films, or cartoons, Jews have been involved in either drawing the illustrations, writing the copy, or producing the cartoons. However, Jewish cartoon characters have never had a profound impact on the world of comics until the modern era.

But, that was then, and this is now. Thanks to the minds of today’s cartoon creators, Jewish characters abound on our television screens for better…and for worse. Here’s a look at the most popular animated Jews.

Mort & Neil Goldman (Family Guy) – Mort and Neil Goldman are the most noticeably Jewish characters on Family Guy. Mort, the father, is a widower who owns Goldman’s Pharmacy. Mort has been one of the strongest side characters in Family Guy, having appeared in dozens of episodes throughout the years, with many memorable appearances and quotes.

Neil goes to school with and is in love with Meg Griffin, Peter and Lois’ daughter. Neil, the biggest nerd on the show, finally gets to kiss Meg in “The Kiss Seen Around the World” but proceeds to destroy any hope of a relationship by exploiting the kiss and printing t-shirts for all the school kids with the image on it.

Little known fact: Jennifer Love Hewitt is Mort’s niece and Neil’s cousin.

Another fact: Neil is named after early Family Guy writer Neil Goldman.

Famous Mort Quote: “Please flush the toilet twice – once for the bulk, again for the remainder, thank you!”

Lois Griffin (Family Guy) – Lois is the wife of Peter Griffin and the mother of Meg, Chris and Stewie, the main characters in Family Guy. While Lois was raised Protestant, it is reveled in the episode “Famliy Goy” that her mother, Barbara “Babs” Pewterschmidt, is a Holocaust survivor who concealed her Judaism after the war.

Unlike Peter, Lois was raised in an extremely wealthy household with her sister, Carol and her brother Partick. Lois’ father, Carter, can’t stand her husband, mostly due to his social standings and lack of wealth.

Unlike most wives in sitcoms, Lois is an alpha female, and the queen of the home. She was sexually liberated before meeting Peter, having had relationships with Bill Clinton, Gene Simmons, Darryl Hall and several other 80s rock stars. She also had a bi-sexual affair in college.

Famous Quote: “I’ve seen that crappy Julia Roberst movie 47 times. Have you seen the lips on that woman? Like a baboon’s ass on her face.”

Krusty the Clown (The Simpsons) - Born Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofski, and better known by his stage name, Krusty the Clown, Krusty is the most notable Jewish character in cartoon history.

Krusty’s father, Hyman Krustofsky, is a Rabbi who comes from a lineage of Rabbis. Hyman expected his son to become a Rabbi too and heavily criticized his career choice as a comedian. At one point in their lives, Krusty and his father weren’t talking to each other for many years.

Bart and Lisa Simpson eventually managed to convince Hyman to reunite with his son, first by trying to quote passages of Jewish scripture, with no success, and later convincing him by quoting Sammy Davis Jr.

Krusty has been married 15 times, and has several illegitimate children, one with actress Mia Farrow.

Little known fact: Krusty is an older half-brother to actor Luke Perry.

Click on the link on the right to see the rest of the list.

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