Comedian Jackie Mason passed away yesterday on July 24th. He made me laugh like no other comedian ever did, perhaps because he was a visible Jew, but unlike some other Jewish comedians, he never apologized for his Jewishness; he bragged about it.
Born Yacov Moshe Hakohen Maza
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I see a contradiction here. If he was so proud of his Jewishness, then why the name change?
It's common for entertainers with unwieldy names to change to simpler names for the stage. It has nothing to do with be ashamed of one's heritage.
For example, we have Delcan McManus (Elvis Costello and Steveland Judkins (Stevie Wonder).
None of those original names exactly roll off the tongue.