He should try listening to this
I never read anything about MTM being too Jewish. Dick van Dyke pioneered that level of integration (not counting the Goldbergs). Though the percentage of Gentiles on that writing staff was much higher than what it was based on (Your Show of Shows) Morey Amsterdam’s Buddy was very Jewish, even getting bar mitzvahed on one show. Rose Marie I’m not sure of.
I could imagine everybody on that show other than the Petries being Jewish. And even Rob apparently had enough Yiddish in him to write a song called “Bupkis.”
You’re correct, I can’t remember him ever being racist. I just lumped the two together unfairly.
Could be we’re all reading too much into this. Maybe it’s just that the network was concerned that because Asner was Jewish, he’d play the character as Jewish.
Of course they must not have been watching when Murray Slaughter turned into the reincarnation of Buddy Sorrell.
Good; for a moment I thought I’d missed something thru lusting after the 70s-era Mary Tyler Moore. 
Lou’s sexism was fairly benign, as I recall; more in teh vein of “We must take care of the poor little woman” than “We can’t let this bitch interfere in men’s business.” And I’m not sure even about that, as his patronizing tendencies can be explained by his being in love with Mary. (Of course, Murray and Ted were in love with Mary too, but only halfway.)
The menorah on the credenza by the front door wasn’t a giveaway?
Seinfeld ate at the diner, which served cheeseburgers, and worked Saturday nights. How Jewish could he have been?
I think he found his long-lost cousin in Tuscany.
You’ve forgotten the episode where Murray realized that he was so much in love with Mary that he confessed to Marie?
More importantly, he worked Friday nights. Observant Jews can’t work from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. Working Saturday night, while possibly inconvenient, wouldn’t be a violation of the Sabbath.
Oh, plenty. Not keeping kosher or observing the Sabbath (which is Friday night through Saturday at sundown, not Saturday night) doesn’t mean he’s not Jewish – I’m pretty sure a majority of us modern Jews enjoy cheeseburgers and never bencht licht. It’s about culture and heritage/tradition as well as a religion. Jerry certainly identified as a Jew, he was just a highly secular one. Manhattan is chock-a-block with us.
Drat, for some reason I thought Frank Costanza was Sicilian. But he certainly wasn’t a New York Jew like Jerry Stiller. (In fact, he was a member of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic organization, in at least one episode).
I’ve never seen the Seinfeld show, so I’m not sure how Jewish the character is, but I have met several people who are from Jewish families, believe strongly in the existence and benevolence of G-d, AND are the least observant, hatless, shrimp-eating, Saturday-working Jews ever. Failure to observe the rules of your religion only makes you a bad exemplar of your religion; it does not nullify your self-identification and belief system.
I have a faint memory of the MTM show being mentioned, along with Quincy and Gabe in Welcome Back Kotter, as shows that had to hide the jewishness of the characters back in the 1970s. IIRC, Seinfeld, Joel the doctor from Northern Exposure and the short, nervous producer from Murphy Brown were examples of out-of-the-closet Jewish characters when the discussion was taking place (maybe the early 90s?)
Quincy???
Yeah, I thought “Quincy???” too, but it was one of the examples brought up. I watched a lot of Quincy, and can’t remember the slightest clue that he was Jewish. And I think it might have come up a couple of times when murder victims were Jews who’s families wanted to get them buried speedily.
The writers of Qunicy didn’t shy away from Sam’s being Japanese, and even had him speak a little Japanese in one episode so it’s a bit mind boggling why Quincy’s ethnicity would have been hidden.
The NY show business world is even more chock-a-block with us. I grew up in Queens, and 40 years and 4 moves later I have a hard time really believing we aren’t actually the majority religion.
I don’t know if this is true, but I read once that Reuben Kincaid (David Madden), the band manager on The Partridge Family, even though he was single and always around, was considered unacceptable as even a potential love-interest for single mom Shirley Partridge, because he was Jewish. (Even though “Kincaid” is not a Jewish name – is it?)
From his site
Sounds like a successful businessman to me, nein, bubuleh? 
Aha! That was not a menorah, but a fancy candle holder. It had 9 places for candles, not 8. I know this because a Jewish (what is with the JEwish stuff?) friend and I counted them one episode, to settle this matter between us.
I can’t believe (finally) something I know about is useful to the Dope.
I also don’t see a Jewish influence on MTM. I see humor. Rhoda was Jewish and somewhat exotic to Ms Richards Wonderbread personality, but that was about it. Murray might have been Jewish, but as was said upthread, he was definitely closeted.
Re Dick van Dyke:
I don’t see Milly and Jerry Helper as Jewish (no reason not to, just don’t). With the exception of Buddy, I thought that the humor was slanted to NYC style stuff.
Jewish humor is some of the best humor going. What’s not to love? If I had to choose between Jeff Foxworthy or Jeffy Seinfeld, it’s Seinfeld all the way. About the only non Jewish comedians I like are Bob Newhart, Carol Burnett, Dick van Dyke (show) and Stephen Colbert.
Probably not in the case of this sitcom character from the same era.