Illustrator Drew Friedman is well known to all those in the Classic Comedy Cult. As the title of one of his better known books reminds us, he’s the guy who draws all the Old Jewish Comedians, warts and all. For the record, though, he has been occasionally known to also draw the Young, the Gentile, and even the Serious. We’ve been excitedly following news of his latest two projects, and thought we’d share what’s afoot:
The long aborning documentary Drew Friedman: Vermeer of the Borscht Belt premiered at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research a few weeks back and will screen at the Society of Illustrators this coming Thursday, though that event is already sold out. Imagine my astonishment and delight when I learned that it was directed by a very old friend of mine, Kevin Dougherty. I’ve known Kevin for over 30 years. In fact, he acted in a couple of my student film and TV projects at NYU back in the day! Those films could absolutely be used to blackmail us both at this stage in our careers. Anyway, it makes perfect sense to me that he would take on Friedman and his obsessions as a documentary project. It’s got a killer roster of interviewees: R. Crumb, Mike Judge, Marc Maron, Patton Oswald, Richard Kind, Leonard Maltin, Eddie Gorodetsky, Scott Alexander, Kliph Nesteroff, Merill Markoe, and two folks who left us recently, Gilbert Gottfried, and Bruce Jay Friedman, Drew’s dad. I haven’t yet come across an official website, but the film has a social media presence, and that’s probably the best way to stay informed about future screenings or streaming shares.
Concurrently, there’s also this:
Friedman’s latest book, Schtick Figures officially drops on July 23! It features caricatures of such deverse figures as Gilbert Gottfried, Groucho Marx, Selma Diamond, Moms Mabley, Brother Theodore, Kurt Vonnegut, Alan Zweibel, Arnie Kogan, B.B. King, Bob Dylan, Sammy Davis, Jr., Weird Al Yankovic, Elaine May, Max and Bill Gaines, Buster Keaton, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, Jr, Rondo Hatton, Peter Falk, and…wait for it…our good friend and collaborator Bob Greenberg! Don’t believe me? Look next to the K on the book cover above! Preorder Schtick Figures here.
(Travalanche) 
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