Alf Fogel; Jewish comedian and songwriter who spent his life raising funds for charity
Hyfler/Rosner
October 15, 2008
Alf Fogel: Jewish comedian and songwriter
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article4943943.ece
Alf Fogel was the nearest thing that Britain had to a
Borscht Belt comedian. He wrote, produced and performed in a
whole swath of West End shows and told jokes he had written
himself that are still told years after he invented them.
He was, in some regards, Britain's Mel Brooks or Billy
Crystal. The difference was that he was an amateur - a
performer who many believed at one time raised more money
for Jewish and other charities than any other individual.
His shows raised hundreds of thousands of pounds and were
performed on the stages of West End theatres such as the
Criterion, the Prince of Wales and even the London
Palladium. They played on Sunday evenings, some of them for
as long as five years. They were very Jewish skits on
well-known productions, dating from Sauce Chutzpah (at the
time of the hit revue Sauce Tartar) in 1957, through Morrie
of Arabia, Mine Fair Sadie, The Teitelbaum File and East of
the Pump. For years he was identified with characters such
as Sinbad the Tailor and Reuben Hood.
Recently, he wrote and played in two more shows, Sherlock
Hyams in 2003 and The Strudel Prince two years later, both
only on CD and both for charity.
But for many people, it was the jokes that he wrote and the
way he told them that endeared him to audiences, mainly in
Jewish communities it has to be said, all over the country.
There was, for instance, the man found lying on a railway
line with a saltbeef sandwich in his hand. "What's
happened?" a friend asks. "My wife and children have left
me. My business has gone down the drain." "So," asks the
other man, "why the sandwich?" The reply was typical Fogel
answering a question with another question: "You know how
long you have to wait for a train these days?"
Or the West End tailor who put a sign in his window: "French
spoken, Chinese spoken, Russian spoken." "You speak all
those languages?" he was asked. "Nah," he replied. "So who
speaks them?" "The customers!"
He frequently broadcast, at one time telling the story of
the Jewish hunt. "You hunt foxes?" a reporter asks. "No.
What can you get from a fox? Chickens, that's what we hunt -
with them you can get a nice meal, lots of soup."
Alf Fogel was born in Stepney, East London, in 1926, one of
seven children of a manufacturer of children's clothes. He
was educated at the Church Street School in Stoke Newington,
and then went into the family business.
He was frequently asked to turn professional. One agent
almost begged him to go on his books, but he worried about
the risks involved, so he remained in the children's clothes
business. But he would always regret his decision. "You can
say I'm frustrated. Yes, frustrated."
He was a man of many talents. He wrote a number of songs for
Bud Flanagan and wrote a theme song for Morecambe and Wise.
"They told me they were going to use it," he said. "But then
came Bring Me Sunshine."
Morecambe and Wise would play a part in the family life. Alf's
brother, Maurice, was a top conjurer who starred in numerous
variety bills and later on television as the Amazing Fogel.
Alf was very proud of him - and always kept a variety
theatre poster with Maurice at the top of the bill and
Morecambe and Wise at the bottom.
He married his wife, Stephanie, in 1969. He is survived by
her and by their daughter and son.
Alf Fogel, comedian, was born on July 14, 1926. He died on
October 4, 2008, aged 82
Hyfler/Rosner
"Hyfler/Rosner" <rel...@rcn.com> wrote in message
news:gdbqv9$ce5$1...@reader1.panix.com...
> From Times Online
> October 15, 2008
>
> Alf Fogel: Jewish comedian and songwriter
>
>
> But for many people, it was the jokes that he wrote and
> the way he told them that endeared him to audiences,
> mainly in Jewish communities it has to be said, all over
> the country. There was, for instance, the man found lying
> on a railway line with a saltbeef sandwich in his hand.
> "What's happened?" a friend asks. "My wife and children
> have left me. My business has gone down the drain." "So,"
> asks the other man, "why the sandwich?" The reply was
> typical Fogel answering a question with another question:
> "You know how long you have to wait for a train these
> days?"
The old jokes, as they say, are the best jokes.