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Comedian Freddie Roman, who brought the Borscht Belt to Broadway, dies at 85
(New York Jewish Week) — Freddie Roman wasn’t just a Catskills comic but a curator and preservationist of a comedy tradition born at the Jewish resorts in upstate New York’s Catskill Mountains.
For years he served as dean of the Friars Club, the New York city clubhouse of popular entertainment, where faded stars and up-and-comers gathered to puff on cigars, trade crude jokes and roast one another with, well, even cruder jokes.
In 1991, long after the Borscht Belt itself had faded as a popular tourist spot, he created “Catskills on Broadway,” a revue starring him and fellow tummlers Dick Capri, Marilyn Michaels and Mal Z. Lawrence. It ran for 453 performances.
“‘Catskills on Broadway,” the New York Times said in its upbeat review, “manages to reproduce the ambiance of the Catskills. The basic difference is that on Broadway there is not a nosh in sight. But there is a groaning board of jokes about eaters and stuffers.”
Roman died Saturday afternoon at Bethesda Hospital in Boynton Beach, Florida, his booking agent and friend Alison Chaplin told the A.P. Sunday. He was 85.
Born Fred Kirschenbaum on May 28, 1937 in Newark, New Jersey, and raised in Jamaica, Queens, Roman started emceeing at age 15 at the the Crystal Spring Hotel in the Catskills, which was owned by his uncle and grandfather. He soon was performing at hotels and resorts in the region for the largely Jewish crowd, and later played the “big rooms” in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. A highlight of his career was opening for Frank Sinatra.
Although never a crossover star like Alan King, Jackie Mason or Joan Rivers — three other Jewish comics with roots in the Catskills — he nonetheless stayed busy, most recently with a recurring role in the Amazon series “Red Oaks.”
But the comic’s comic was also credited with reviving the Friars Club, which had lost much of its luster when he first arrived in 1970. As its elected dean (“Every two years, they keep re-electing me,” Roman told a reporter in 2005. “No one seems to run against me. Maybe no one wants it.”), he experimented by admitting women and holding showcases for young comics. The changes worked, and younger comics like Susie Essman, Jeff Ross and Paul Reiser became regulars.
The younger comedians have “added a wonderful new vibrancy to the club,” Roman told the New York Jewish Week in 2000. “This is going to continue to be a wonderfully funny Friars Club.”
Reiser was one of the comedians remembering Roman on Twitter this week. “A great loss to the world of comedy,” he wrote. “He was such a huge supporter & mentor when I was starting out. A GREAT comic, the ultimate pro with the biggest heart. I will miss our phone calls and his big, beauty [sic] laugh.”
Ross, who earned the title of “Roastmaster General” at the Friars Club, remembered Roman with a quip about his booming voice: “They call him Freddie Roman because you can hear him in Italy.”
My very first Friars roast joke… “They call him Freddie Roman because you can hear him in Italy”.
— Jeff Ross (@realjeffreyross) November 26, 2022
After its Broadway run, “Catskills on Broadway” toured around the country, keeping the Borscht Belt flame burning. In his shtick, Roman commented about everything from his childhood in Queens to his “retirement” in Florida.
“I took a cholesterol test,” Roman quipped. “My number came back 911.”
For years his home base was a condo in Fort Lee, New Jersey, from which he would “commute” to the Friars Club on E. 55th St.
While Roman never got his own sitcom or became a household name, he appeared to have no regrets.
“I’ve met everyone and been a lot of places,” he told the New York Times. “Alan [his son, a TV producer] put me in one of his sitcoms once, playing myself. That’s the greatest honor. And his daughter, who is 4, laughs at my jokes. Who can beat that?”
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UN Rapporteur on Sexual Violence Denies Hamas Atrocities: ‘No Investigation Found That Rape Occurred’
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks to members of the Security Council during a meeting to address the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at UN headquarters in New York City, New York, US, April 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
i24 News – Reem Alsalem, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, sparked controversy over the weekend by publicly denying claims of sexual violence committed by Hamas during the October 7 massacre in Gaza.
In a statement shared on social media, Alsalem asserted, “No Palestinian cheered for rape in Gaza. No independent investigation has found that rape occurred on October 7.”
Her comments immediately drew strong criticism from Israeli officials. Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, called the statement “a moral disgrace” and accused Alsalem of insulting the victims and their families. “Any UN representative who denies rape by Hamas must be removed from her position. Period. This is a stain on the UN’s reputation,” Danon said.
He further condemned Alsalem for what he described as a violation of “every basic international standard.” Danon emphasized that Israel would not tolerate any attempt to downplay or cover up the atrocities committed by Hamas, saying, “This is an insult to the victims and their families, and a violation of every basic international standard. Israel will not allow the covering up of Hamas’s horrific crimes.”
Danon also directly addressed UN Secretary-General António Guterres, urging him to respond to what he characterized as a dangerous and misleading statement. “António Guterres, your silence is complicity,” he wrote, signaling that Israel expects the UN leadership to publicly reject Alsalem’s remarks.
The dispute underscores ongoing tensions between Israel and UN human rights officials, particularly regarding how allegations of atrocities in conflict zones are investigated and reported.
Critics of Alsalem argue that her denial undermines the credibility of international human rights mechanisms and diminishes the suffering of victims, while supporters may point to the lack of independent, verifiable evidence as a basis for caution in making public accusations.
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Netanyahu Faces Far-Right Backlash After US-Backed Statement on Palestinian State
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the plenum of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem, November 10, 2025. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday Israel remained opposed to a Palestinian state after protests by far-right coalition allies over a US-backed statement indicating support for a pathway to Palestinian independence.
Netanyahu spoke two days after Israel‘s key ally the United States and many Muslim-majority nations endorsed a draft U.N. resolution backing President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, saying the process offered a route to Palestinian statehood.
The 15-member U.N. Security Council began negotiations on Nov. 7 on the draft, which would mandate Trump’s proposal for a “Board of Peace” transitional administration in Gaza to address issues including post-war reconstruction and economic recovery.
Trump’s 20-point plan includes a clause saying that if there were reforms within the Palestinian Authority, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.”
That point infuriated Israeli far-right leaders who had opposed the Trump-brokered October ceasefire in Gaza, testing Netanyahu’s awkward governing coalition of conservatives and ultra-nationalists.
On Saturday far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich called on Netanyahu to denounce the idea of a Palestinian state. Ben-Gvir threatened to leave the governing coalition if the prime minister did not act.
‘OPPOSITION TO PALESTINIAN STATE NOT CHANGED’
Netanyahu said in a statement on Sunday: “Our opposition to a Palestinian state in any territory has not changed. Gaza will be demilitarized and Hamas will be disarmed, the easy way or the hard way. I do not need affirmations, tweets or lectures from anyone.”
A far-right walkout could bring down Netanyahu’s right-wing government well before the next election, which must be held by October 2026.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also issued statements on X against a Palestinian state on Sunday, without mentioning Netanyahu.
Trump’s Gaza plan ended major fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas after two years of war that devastated the Palestinian enclave and triggered spillover conflicts across the Middle East.
Netanyahu embraced Trump’s plan during a visit to the White House in September but until Sunday had made no new statement on the Palestinian statehood issue.
WESTERN MOVES TO RECOGNIZE PALESTINIAN STATE
Ahead of his White House visit, Netanyahu said he would respond to a number of major Western nations including France that formally recognized a Palestinian state in September, angering Israel, but has not followed up with any diplomatic actions.
Smotrich had on Saturday accused Netanyahu of failing to live up to his promise and called on him to formulate a response immediately: “Two months have passed in which you have chosen silence and political disgrace.”
He urged Netanyahu to “make clear to the entire world (that) a Palestinian state will never arise on the lands of our homeland.”
The ceasefire came into effect on October 10 although there have been repeated, though scattered, outbreaks of violence since then.
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Israeli Minister: Turkey Poses ‘Greatest Threat’ to Israel
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, Oct. 30, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas
i24 News – Israel’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, warned in an interview with the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation that Turkey currently represents “the greatest threat to the State of Israel.”
He specifically criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan for pursuing “a very aggressive foreign policy” in the region.
Chikli pointed to Turkey’s growing military presence in northern Syria, including the construction of bases supporting jihadist forces led by al-Julani, as a direct security concern for Israel. “Israel must realize that evil will come from the north,” he said, emphasizing the strategic risks posed by Ankara’s activities and influence.
The minister urged Israel to strengthen its political and economic ties with regional partners, highlighting Cyprus, Greece, and Italy as key allies.
He called for enhanced cooperation across the Eastern Mediterranean to counter regional threats and bolster Israel’s security and economic interests.
On defense matters, Chikli reaffirmed Israel’s opposition to selling F-35 fighter jets to countries in the region, stating that such deals could only be considered if linked to broader normalization agreements with Israel.
He also spoke on Israel’s firm stance on Palestinian statehood, saying that the creation of a new Palestinian state would not be accepted as part of any potential normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia.