Our national shortage of Old Jewish Comedians worsens with news that Jan Murray has passed away at the age of 89. Mr. Murray had been in poor health for some time — too ill to even host the annual Chabad Telethon for many years.
But when he did, he was wonderful at it. If you never saw him preside over that ritual, you missed some truly great television. Every twenty minutes or so — more often as they near the conclusion — they go to the tote board to see how much money has been pledged and when they do, all the men on stage link hands and dance in celebration. When their number included Murray, it was hilarious to watch as he'd get wearier and wearier throughout the show. I think he was in his early eighties the last time he did it…and he did it with an attitude of, "Oh, no! I have to dance again." I'm confident some people were calling up to donate money just so they'd do another tote and see if they could kill Jan Murray.
Well, I hope you're happy, people. You finally got your wish.
And I write that with only admiration for his performances. Murray played his mounting fatigue for every bit of comedy he could wring out of it and he was very funny. Others have hosted the telethon since he retired and they've all been terrible. It's never been the same since he left it. (This year's is September 10 and Shelley Berman will be taking a spin at filling Jan Murray's dancing shoes. If anybody can…)
Most of Jan Murray's career in television was spent hosting game shows. One of these days, I need to tell the story of when the youthful me met him in the corridor outside where they taped Treasure Hunt and he impressed the heck out of me.
I only met him twice after our 1959 encounter in the halls of NBC. Once was at the Friars Club and once was on the set of the Chabad Telethon. Both times, he struck me as the same guy I'd met as a kid: Funny, polite, charming and very much in control. I don't think I ever saw him actually do anything you'd call an act…but when I think of Jan Murray, I think of a guy who sure knew how to work an audience. And whose career was a matter of dancing 'til he dropped…which, sadly, he just did.