# Lee & Morty Kaufman- the couple in the Swiffer ads **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 25, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lee-morty-kaufman-the-couple-in-the-swiffer-ads/679691 "2014-01-25T16:01:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lee-morty-kaufman-the-couple-in-the-swiffer-ads/679691/1 "2014-01-25T16:01:03Z")
This is a sweet article\* about the [Kaufmans](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/garden/lee-and-morty-kaufman-cleaning-up-in-their-90s.html?partner=rss&emc=rss), the couple in the Swiffer ads. They’re real people and that’s really their house. It begins, > [@](#): > > Valley Stream, N.Y. — “I was retired for 30 years, until at the age of 90 I got swept up in this commercial bit,” Morty Kaufman said. > > He was referring to the popular TV spots for Swiffer, the maker of household cleaning products, which he stars in with his wife, Lee. In a series of unscripted 30-second ads, the couple discuss their blissful 44-year union and their division of household labor (Mrs. Kaufman does the cleaning; Mr. Kaufman the napping), and marvel at the Swiffer Sweeper and other supplies that have been left on their doorstep. > > … Both widowed, they married in their 40’s, and now in their 90’s, have been married 44 years. Their new celebrity leaves them a little bumfuzzled. They are still very much in love and readily compromise and give in to each other. “Each one at any given moment is willing to let the other one take the day,” said [Mrs. Kaufman’s daughter, age 62]. “I don’t think anyone has a vested interest in standing their ground.”They also have his-and-hers dens where each can indulge their own interests and levels of tidiness. In my next life, I hope to have a marriage like theirs. 🆒 \*_NYTimes_ article–may affect your quota if you’re not a subscriber. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lee-morty-kaufman-the-couple-in-the-swiffer-ads/679691/2 "2014-01-25T16:22:03Z")
Too bad it’s all for such a… contrived product. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lee-morty-kaufman-the-couple-in-the-swiffer-ads/679691/3 "2014-01-25T17:44:14Z")
They were recently on The Ellen Show, and they appeared to be exactly like the couple in the ads - no acting, just the real couple. When I first saw the ad, somehow I thought the two of them were really married - not sure why, but they just gave that vibe. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lee-morty-kaufman-the-couple-in-the-swiffer-ads/679691/4 "2014-01-25T20:27:50Z")
I like how he calls her “babe” in the commercial. I think it’s great that they’re raking in the big bucks at this time in their lives. I also like the Swiffer. I don’t know why a floor cleaning doo-dad would be “contrived.” 😕 One of the house cleaners I used to have always called it the “Swifter.” ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lee-morty-kaufman-the-couple-in-the-swiffer-ads/679691/5 "2014-01-26T03:43:06Z")
They’re a very sweet couple but the part where she wrings out the nasty wet mop w/ her bare hands makes me cringe. I bet she usually wears gloves when she does that, or uses the kind of mop that has a squeezer attachment of some kind. No way she’d put her bare hands on the mop head like that. That aside, they’re genuine and I totally buy that they’ve been married since before I was born. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lee-morty-kaufman-the-couple-in-the-swiffer-ads/679691/6 "2014-01-26T03:44:58Z")
I am so happy to hear they married later, because I’ve been married 42 years and they tell us on the commercial that they’ve been married for 44, and all I could think is, “Do I look that old?” They seem like a nice, sweet couple.