Jack Gilford was born in Brooklyn, New York, as Yankel Gellman. He
began his career in the Amateur Nights of the 1930s moving on to
nightclubs as an innovative comedian doing satire and pantomime. He was
a regular at the Greenwich Village nightspot, Cafe Society and hosted
shows featuring
Zero Mostel,
Billie Holiday and jazz greats like
Hazel Scott. It is said that he
invented the expression, "The butler did it!", as part of one of his
movie satire routines. He also did a facial pantomime of "Pea Soup
Coming to a Boil". During the 1950s, he was a victim of the The House
Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) blacklisting which stalled his
TV career until the early 1960s. But after that, he became a regular
popular comic character actor on dozens of TV series and movies. He was
most recognized for being the rubber-faced guy on the "Cracker Jack"
commercials for a dozen years, from 1960-1972.
He was nominated for Tony awards on Broadway for best supporting actor
in the musical, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", and
"Cabaret". The song "Meeskite" was written for him by
John Kander &
Fred Ebb.
He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the
film,
Save the Tiger (1973),
starring opposite
Jack Lemmon, who won the
Best Actor Oscar for his performance.
Max(1976)
B.L. Stryker(1989)as Morrie Klein
Head of the Class(1986)as Wesley Winthrop
Thirtysomething(1987)as Old Gentleman
The Golden Girls(1985)as Max Weinstock
Cocoon: The Return(1988)as Bernie Lefkowitz
Five Corners(1987)
The 40th Annual Tony Awards(1986)
All in the Family(1971)
The Dean Martin Show(1965)
Enter Laughing(1967)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum(1966)
Reading Rainbow(1983)as Self
Parade of Stars(1983)as Charlie Dale
Tom Cottle: Up Close(1982)as Self
The Golden Girls: 40 Years of Laughter and Friendship - A Special Edition of 20/20(2025)as Self
Pioneers of Television(2008)as King Sextimus in Princess and the Pea
John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs(2017)as Phil Greene
Biography(1987)as Bernie Lefkowitz (Cocoon)
