The Borscht Belt: Comedy in the Catskills

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Further Reading:
vikalinka.com/borscht-recipe/
www.hadassahmagazine.org/2018...
www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/...
dahp.wa.gov/historic-preserva...
untappedcities.com/2017/10/05...
archive.org/details/overfalls...
hvny.info/history/peg-leg-bat...
www.borschtbeltmuseum.org/
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[@geographicstravel]

Check out Squarespace: squarespace.com/geographics for 10% off on your first purchase of a website/domain using the code GEOGRAPHICS. Thanks to Squarespace for the sponsorship!

[@jackvos8047]

I have cousins who established a Mediterranean style resort in the Catskills around 1963 to cater to Italians and other Mediterranean people. It's still up and running today operating as Villa Vosilla.

[@JonathanMilletEsq]

Depreciating has a different meaning than deprecating.

[@rickhall1940]

yup,Englishmen eh? 🙂

[@charlieghostwolf6161]

Yeah it's kinda like aluminum vs aluminium

[@CastorAcer]

I’m British and wince whenever Karl uses “depreciate” whenever he means “deprecate”. He is an excellent presenter but has the odd interesting blind spot.

[@russelllomando8460]

growing-up in Brooklyn from the 50s to 2010, makes me want to watch...Dirty Dancing & Blazing Saddles. good job ks. LMAO .

[@adamredwine774]

Check out “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

[@johnlarson111]

In the early 70's I went to Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel for a singles weekend with a bunch of Jewish friends.

[@djtigerstripes]

Well-researched and delivered per usual. Too bad the original buildings weren't preserved bc there'd definitely be a market for tourists who appreciate mid-century resorts for their kitsch, history and charm.

[@manuelportilla6092]

Add a Chipotle peper to the Borscht pot. It gives it a smokey flavour. It makes it the best

[@erobinson55]

It's self-deprecating humor.

[@thehousedetective]

Great video, thanks! Very interesting to hear the background of how they were established and grew. Also I had no idea about them being the source of a specific type of comedy! How fascinating! I’ve been obsessed with these resorts at the Catskills since I saw a few urbex videos of people exploring the abandoned spaces. Thanks for the deep dive into their history! Oh and for the record I thought your first time jokes and the one making fun of you name were gold 😂

[@arrow1414]

"Take my wife please! I take her everywhere but she still finds her way back home!" -Henny Youngman in "Goodfellas".

[@ignitionfrn2223]

5:35 - Chapter 1 - Escape from new york 10:25 - Mid roll ads 12:25 - Chapter 2 - The fabulous 1950's 17:15 - Chapter 3 - The segregated resorts 19:20 - Chapter 4 - The borsch belt goes mainstream 26:45 - Conclusion

[@michaelpyatt831]

This man is about as funny as a burning orphanage on Christmas Eve

[@kennyhagan5781]

15 seconds in and Karl gives me a Beatles flashback..... I'm saying, dude's good at this job, takes a lot of effort to make these videos and the flashbacks are just a bonus.

[@chanashira8570]

My great grandfather was a tailor, but his passion was being a comedian and singer on the Borscht belt. He actually died in the mid 60s on stage in the borscht belt, he fell down after a finale, and people thought it was part of the act. He’d had a heart attack.

[@partyontheobjective]

I am Polish, thank you Karl for your kind words about our xmas food!

[@angeladelia7472]

Karl all dressed up!😊

[@shlomster6256]

I went to Grossinger's until age 20. Great time. Weird, of course, for those not from The Culture.I skated, skied, rode horses and snowmobiles, and gorged there. I get it's left the zeitgeist, but seeing Bennett and Berle was important for Jewish identity at the time. (Also, if you slipped the right bills, priority seating with folks you wanted to meet/date/whatever.) Good times, long ago... NEH-Veh-Lee. One of the Parker family scions went to grade school with me. It was a wonderful, 3-day graduation party was had... I can't imagine non-Jews (including African Americans) finding the place welcoming. All hail the cruddy past. Chicken dinner duly hailed.

[@jjsc4396]

Three meals that fairly uncommon in the US are Borscht, Goulash and Pumpkin soup. All great.

[@CrvrMb]

I did some urbexing at the Nevele a few years ago. Amazing looking place. Sad it’s going to be demolished soon. 😢

[@lorenzolbf927]

Oh yeah, Karl your doing an amazing job hosting!! Keep up the amazing work! For all the people who say "Where's Simon? , Bring back Simon and I'll subscribe again." Simon is gone. He chose to leave, he's not coming back. Simon(who i deeply love watching, and every time he starts a new channel ill subscribe!) has more than enough channels that he can sacrifice this, Biographics and TopTenz. If you are that unhappy that Simon isn't here, then go away and GO FIND HIM!!!!

[@TM-yn4iu]

Apologies, i see it clearly now, the jackrt/tie/subject. .always, Karl, great presentation and video. Enjoyed from across the pond, TX. I do have a life, but enjoy these. Thanks. Hope you were able to arrive as scheduled.

[@georgeosborn3223]

Self deprecating, not self depreciating!

[@Bowlymania]

I went to the concord every year for my grandfather to do a knights of Columbus meeting as their grand knight. Never appreciated the history of the borscht belt as a kid.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Love your content karl! Keep up the good work 😊😊😊❤❤❤

[@deniseroe5891]

I have heard of this and had a general idea, but this was great. Thank you Karl, very informative. My mum, God rest her sainted soul used to fix beets. Can’t do them, to me they taste like dirt. Had to laugh at the humor, back in 1989 we took our first cruise, out of Florida. The entire ship was full of Jewish couples from New York, it was interesting for sure. Lots of Yiddish and complaining.

[@Chuck-PK]

23:00 my sweet summer child, I'm so sorry.

[@derekmccoy2799]

That is a pretty good joke. Lol

[@ee.gg.]

Hi Karl, thanks for the episode 😊

[@resileaf9501]

Thanks Karl and writer. That video was a lot of fun. :D

[@bigman13031]

A building at the Nevelle just burned down a couple weeks ago. Not the tower.

[@DFSJR1203]

Karl, loved your sex jokes. You do such a great job on the channels you host. I hope they keep you as the permanent host.

[@13minutestomidnight]

Really entertaining and interesting. Great delivery (just remember deprecating not depreciating hehe). Great work by both Karl and the writer.

[@conductor637]

Business Anteater's been usurped! Justice for Business Anteater!

[@greyfriars6540]

One of my favorite movie intros is Broadway Danny Rose. A bunch of old style jewish comedienes sitting in a diner talking about the Catskills comedy circuit in the old days. How they all stole each other's jokes and the weird acts that would tour the hotels.

[@WaddedBliss]

Really interesting. Thanks.

[@ravensdotter6843]

As a Botsct Belt baby, Grossinger's is pronounced with a hard G. The Nevele is pronounced "nev-uh-lee". Cheers!

[@Lorkdemper]

This was super interesting.

[@wendycolflesh]

Fascinating!

[@thomasbrewer4564]

Great jokes Karl

[@thatbberg]

Actually speaking of the Green Book, its author was inspired by the Jewish Travel Guide that already existed for Jewish American immigrants. It was often published in Yiddish.

[@thehomeschoolinglibrarian]

As a fan of the film Dirty Dancing this video gave some great insight to a lot of the Jewishness in the film that went over my head as a kid. It is sad that the area is now in decline as it looks beautiful.

[@user-fx3ys1zo8t]

hey larry, tnx for the vid, takes me back to childhood... Green Book there's a movie called Green Book (2018); well worth a watch. great soundtrack...

[@f.n.schlub2269]

@Geographics -- deprecate verb (NOT APPROVE) ... deh preh KAY t depreciate verb (TO LOWER IN VALUE) ... dee PREE shee ay t The phrase is "self - deh preh KAY ting humour" There is no colloquial phrase using "self-depreciate" or "self-depreciating"

[@mattyt1961]

it could be argued that self-deprecating humour is self-depreciating :)

[@-handala-]

Nobody puts baby in the corner.

[@pinkace]

It's 'self-deprecating', not 'self-depreciating'. You're seeing an imaginary "i" in the prompter haha :-P

[@olga138]

Nev-ah-lee, not Ne-vell. Awl-ban-ee, not Al-ban-ee. Gen-tile, not Gen-teel. Self-dep-ri-kating, not Self-de-pre-ci-a-ting

[@blackgirlcouchreviews]

Love Karl ❤ You had the joke until you doubled down 😂

[@grimace4257]

Fat comedian in the borscht belt: When they told me I was coming to the borscht belt I thought; BORSCHT! Belt…

[@bradlevantis913]

I was I. High school in the late 80’s. Much of the humor from then would be way offside today. It’s understandable to read something from the past and say “what were they thinking?”

[@user-li7ec3fg6h]

Great video report and presenter(!)!

[@Ubique2927]

Ilocos Norte soup in the Philippines is very similar except it is spicy.

[@lorenzolbf927]

So i want to know, how many people out there checked their phone for a notification, like i did, when Karl's phone went off? I know it can't be just me lol.

[@adamredwine774]

Samy Davis Junior was black, but he was also Jewish FWIW.

[@bradbrandon2506]

It's alright. I found you funny. And don't feel bad. I'm so corny, I have ears! Really. Almost all my jokes are corny and if i hosted a comedy venue, I would probably have more people crying as opposed to laughing.

[@aceundead4750]

Your jokes were good, a little clunky and long, but i laughed.

[@georgeosborn3223]

Who's Henry Youngman?

[@andrewfelsher7872]

Genuinely can't tell to what degree this is the writing, the reading, Britishisms/pronunciations, or simple misunderstanding... "Self-depreciating" vs "self-deprecating" humor "Genteel" vs "gentile"

[@HarryWessex]

What team does Green Day definitely not support? Liverpool.

[@CoreyCantwell-jv4be]

It's "self-deprecating", not "self-depreciating". Sorry to be a pedant, but that bugged me.

[@annefriendly4437]

Grossinger...hard G, please.

[@dansharpe2364]

If you had less teeth and had the whiskey and the cigarette you would look remarkably like Shane MacGowan, RIP.

[@Aboz]

Now we know why you're no longer doing stand-up.

[@CC-gg4oj]

Well, that joke crashed... as did something on Karl's set. Must have been a Cat, maybe it needs new Skills. (Badoom tish...)

[@whatinthefudge5346]

God that first joke was terrible

[@mrbigfish6951]

I'm glad you don't tell jokes now

[@Klipschrf35]

Where's simon

[@Hanloss]

He stopped narrating the channel months ago

[@WaddedBliss]

He died in a terrible dogging accident.

[@paulherman5822]

Wasn't his channel, and he and the owner separated ways months ago. Where have you been, or are you just a troll?

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

Where the hell have you been 😂😂😂

[@dj_genrefluid]

He's doing 'places' now 😊

[@rickhall1940]

You seem to be uncomfortable with the content of quite a few of these scripts. Maybe this is not your thing. Revisionist history is a lie and is accepted at our peril.

[@Talisguy]

What exactly do you mean?

[@toeknee1938]

I don’t understand what your issue is. Karl read this is a great way and had personal experience in the topic. Revolutionist history as learning from the past and accepting that the perspective of history is constantly evolving. There is no point in this video that he didn’t seem confident, but if your issue is content… that is on the writer. Please explain your issue further.

[@michaelallain7706]

Discomfort with inhuman behaviour is little more than a testament to his humanity. There was good in the old days but like current times, they had their shadow.

[@adamredwine774]

@@TalisguyIt’s a bot

[@archstanton6102]

If you actually said what was revisionist and gave evidence to support your claim you might be taken seriously.

[@markthemovieman]

This presenter is deeply annoying. Get someone else and I'll subscribe.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

Your comment is deeply annoying. Find another channel and I'll like.

[@archstanton6102]

If you are that upset, don't watch.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

Cause the whole of KZbin revolves around you 😂 Get over yourself. We as individuals don't matter. As a whole we matter and the majority of the whole disagrees with you. That's the part that matters