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Borscht Belt is an informal term for the summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in Sullivan and Ulster Counties in upstate New York which were frequented by Ashkenazi Jews. Borscht is a kind of beet soup popular with people of Eastern European origin. The term Borscht Belt can also refer to the Catskill region itself.
History
Borscht Belt hotels, bungalow colonies, summer camps, and kuchaleyns (a Yiddish name for self-catered boarding houses) were frequented by Jewish New Yorkers, particularly in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Because of this, this area was also nicknamed the Jewish Alps and Solomon County, by the many people who visited there. Well-known resorts of the area included Brickman's, Brown's, The Concord, Grossinger's, Granit, Kutshers, the Nevele, The Pines, Raleigh and the Windsor.
The tradition of Borscht Belt entertainment started in the early 20th century with the indoor and outdoor theaters constructed on a 40 acre (16 hectare) tract in Hunter, New York by Yiddish theater star Boris Thomashefsky.
Comedians who got their start or regularly performed in Borscht Belt resorts include: Joey Adams, Woody Allen, Morey Amsterdam, Milton Berle, Shelley Berman, Al Bernie, Mel Brooks, Lenny Bruce, George Burns, Red Buttons, Sid Caesar, Jack Carter, Myron Cohen, Norm Crosby, Bill Dana, Rodney Dangerfield, Phyllis Diller, Shecky Greene, Buddy Hackett, Mickey Katz, Danny Kaye, Alan King, Robert Klein, Jack E. Leonard, Jerry Lewis, Jackie Mason, Jan Murray, Carl Reiner, Don Rickles, Joan Rivers, Freddie Roman, Jackie Vernon, Jackie Wakefield, Jonathan Winters, and Henny Youngman.
With changes in demographic and travel patterns, caused partially by the wide-spread adoption of air conditioning that made the cities less unpleasant in the summer, the area has declined as a major vacation destination. Perhaps the single biggest factor was the decline of discrimination or "restriction" in the hotel and travel industry by the 1960s. Prior to that time, many resorts and hotels, implicitly or otherwise, did not welcome Jews. The replacement of old travel routes such as old New York State Highway 17 (superseded by an express highway of the same name, now in the midst of an upgrade to Interstate 86), has left the area with a veritable museum of abandoned or decaying travel-related businesses from the Borscht Belt's heyday.
Comedic legacy
"Borscht Belt humor" refers to the rapid-fire, often self-deprecating style common to many of these performers and writers. Typical themes include:
- Bad luck: "When I was a kid, I was breast-fed by my father." (Dangerfield)
- Puns: "Sire, the peasants are revolting!" "You said it. They stink on ice." (Harvey Korman as Count de Money (Monet) and Mel Brooks as King Louis XVI, in History of the World Part I)
- Physical complaints and ailments (often relating to bowels and cramping): "My doctor said I was in terrible shape. I told him, 'I want a second opinion.' He said, 'All right, you're ugly too!'" "I told my doctor, 'This morning when I got up and saw myself in the mirror, I looked awful! What's wrong with me?' He replied, 'I don't know, but your eyesight is perfect!'" (Dangerfield)
- Aggravating relatives and nagging wives: "My wife and I were happy for twenty years. Then we met." (Dangerfield). "Take my wife - please!" (Henny Youngman); "My wife drowned in the pool because she was wearing so much jewelry." (Rickles); "My wife ain't too bright. One day our car got stolen. I said to her, 'Did you get a look at the guy?' She said, 'No, but I got the license number.' " (Dangerfield)
Some but not all of the modern "Borscht Belt" comedians, such as Don Rickles, referred openly to Jews and anti-Semitism; others, such as Rodney Dangerfield, simply borrowed from the general style.
See also Jewish humor.
Popular culture
These resorts have been the setting for movies such as Dirty Dancing, Sweet Lorraine and A Walk on the Moon.
Characters inspired by Borscht Belt comics include Billy Crystal's Mr. Saturday Night and Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog.
While not a part of the true Borscht Belt legacy, perhaps the best known entertainment event to take place in the region was the 1969 Woodstock Festival, which took place on the land of Jewish farmer Max Yasgur.
See also
External links
- Brown University's Catskills Institute
- Online Guide to the Catskill Mountains
- Borscht Belt on the St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture.
Geography of New York | Jewish American history | Jewish film and theatre
"Borscht Belt"