In Judaism we are encouraged to speak the truth about somebody when they have died. We shouldn't be mean, but we should be honest.
Jackie Mason was quite a well-known comedian in the US, whose humour was based on a sense of outrage. He came from a long line of rabbis - apparently his sermons were funny, and got funnier and funnier until they became a stand-up routine and he dropped the service part and went professional. My father knew him a little, because he was friends with one of Mason's rabbi brothers back in the day in Pennsylvania, and this brother took my dad to some of the early performances.
Several years later, I met Mr Mason in London. I went to his hotel with an appointment to take his photograph for the Jewish paper I worked for at that time. He was sitting with his entourage at a large round table in the hotel dining-room, and invited me to join them. After discovering that I was my father's daughter, he proceeded to tell a story to the group about the olden days that included rude comments about my father (I am blanking on the details. I only remember feeling humiliated). He then gave me 30 seconds to take a shot, and sent me packing.
He was clearly an intelligent and talented person. He was also full of rage. He may well have had good reason to be so angry, but I watched his act a few times over the years, and am sad that rather than working things out, he seemed to me to become more and more bitter. I wish he could have found a better way to use his gifts. May he rest in peace.
