Friday, Feb. 14, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
THE HARD WAY. ... "Triumph through adversity" is the legend that appears on the Delaney family crest in Ireland. ... It could apply equally well to the crest of Jackie Mason, born Jacob Maza, to a family of rabbis for the past 10 generations. ... Mason became a rabbi and remained a man of the cloth until the death of his father, when he opted for a show business career.
"Too Jewish" was the general advice given Mason when he started in comedy. ... He was an immediate hit in the Catskill Mountains resorts, working the full season, then catching an occasional bar mitzvah or a wedding until the start of the new season.
It was early in the 1960s and Jackie's first breakthrough in a major night club was not in New York City but in Los Angeles, at the Slate Brothers on La Cienega Boulevard. ... In 1964, the really big break came, a spot on the very strong "Ed Sullivan" Sunday TV show.
What happened
Sullivan's show that night was interrupted for a brief statement by then President Lyndon Johnson. ... It was only a few minutes, which meant the rest of the acts would each have to give up some of their allotted time. ... Sullivan was standing out of camera range but in full view of the audience. ... He was gesturing to Mason, holding up two fingers, meaning Jackie had two minutes left.
This threw Mason's timing off. ... He made the mistake of responding to Sullivan, pointing to him in return. ... Sullivan, a powerful figure, had a terrible temper.
Jackie was not only barred from the "Ed Sullivan Show" but Ed went out of his way to see that he didn't work in television at all. ... Instead of the hoped-for success, Mason was relegated to relative obscurity, a nationwide deep freeze that lasted two decades and a half.
25 years later
It was the end of the 1980s. ... Consecutive failures and disappointments had not diminished Mason's desire to be a success in show business. ... With a little backing, he leased a theater for a one-man show he called "The World According to Me." ... It was the start of a 10-year run of theater successes, setting box-office records, winning awards.
As a political and social commentator, iconoclast, impressionist and observer of the human comedy, Jackie Mason transcends categories, just as Bill Cosby has, in person and with his TV sitcoms. ... Genuinely funny, Mason does not get to play Las Vegas that often. ... Catch him before he closes at the Sahara on Feb. 26.
Producer-director Penny France will be the entertainment/celebrity guest for the UNLV Arnold Shaw Research Center for Popular Music taping session at 3 p.m. Thursday, Arizona Charlie's. ... It's free.
Friday addenda
Bally's premiers a new show concept, "CATagious," tonight at 10, in the Jubilee Theatre. ... It features the magic of Dirk Arthur, vocalist Dana Rogers, and comedian-juggler Charlie Frye & Co. ... Other Friday treats: Tammy Wynette (Buffalo Bill's) and Nancy Wilson (LV Hilton). ... Don't miss very versatile Roger Behr this weekend (MGM's Catch a Rising Star). ... See you next Thursday.
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