THE NEW TV SEASON : Being Jewish in Prime Time : Ethnically, American TV finally seems to be coming of age

Fact: Several years ago, director Lynne Littman sat in a meeting discussing whether her Oscar-winning documentary about old Jews in Venice could be turned into a fictional TV project. The network executive had only one question: “Do they have to be Jewish?”

Fact: Early last year, “Anything But Love” creator Wendy Kout told one network programming head that she wanted Richard Lewis for the male lead opposite Jamie Lee Curtis. “Too Jewish,” she was warned by the (Jewish) programmer. “They don’t like us out there.”

Fact: A few seasons back, the most prominent Jewish actor in prime time was Michael Landon. He played an angel.

Fact: Times are changing. Today, Littman probably wouldn’t be asked that question. Wendy Kout got Richard Lewis approved by another network, ABC, and “they” apparently do like him “out there.” And while prime time is Anything But Kosher, it is featuring an increasing number of Jewish characters in new and interesting ways.

No longer are they either silently Jewish (“Barney Miller”) or simply fodder for Archie Bunker’s intolerance. Now they are attractive and complex people, and their Jewishness is a viable and visible component.

“In the 13 years since I’ve been in television, this is the first time I’ve even heard discussed having Jewish characters in series,” says Lyttle, a producer who formerly was senior vice president of creative affairs at Warner Bros. Television. “Before now, if it came up, it was usually dismissed with, ‘That’s just not a “relatable” character.’ ”

There are some key reasons for the emergence of the prime-time Jew. First, Jews’ assimilation into mainstream life has lessened the antipathy to, and lack of understanding of, things Jewish. “For a long time, there was the feeling that Jews represented too urban a segment of the population,” says Paul Witt, co-executive producer of “The Golden Girls” and “Empty Nest.” “There was a general avoidance of any real ethnicity. Now old stereotypes seem to be disappearing.”

In addition, there is the Cosby Factor. Once programmers and advertisers saw viewers embrace the Huxtables as America’s prototypical family, “it seemed to make everyone in television ethnic-blind,” says Larry Lyttle.

Most important, there are now a substantial number of young Jewish men and women in the decision-making and top creative positions in television.

“People of this generation approach our work differently,” says Peter Noah, formerly co-executive producer of NBC’s “Dear John” and now co-executive producer of “Anything But Love.” “I think there was hypersensitivity among older Jewish writers and creators. They were afraid Jewish characters wouldn’t be related to, so they either didn’t write them or kept them bland. My generation feels it’s more important to be true to life and our characters than to get 100% of the audience.”

And so we have: Richard Lewis, whose Marty Gold character is as openly Jewish as the actor is; Ken Olin and Melanie Mayron of “thirtysomething”; Josh Saviano, who plays the close young friend on “The Wonder Years”; Michael Tucker as Stuart Markowitz on “L.A. Law.”

And now comes Jackie Mason starring in his own sitcom, “Chicken Soup,” which premieres Tuesday on ABC. No one is hiding anything here--as evidenced when the title was changed from the wildly innocuous “From This Moment On.”

Mason’s appearance in a prime-time series is probably the key test of Will They or Won’t They Accept Them “out there.” This is the most overtly Jewish show since Molly Goldberg and her clan of the ‘50s. Since Jews comprise less than 3% of the total population, “Chicken Soup” may seem more daring than soothing. But its creators, whose instincts paid off with “Cosby” and “Roseanne,” are confident that Mason’s humor transcends his religion.

“It’s risky whenever you have a show focused on one person who speaks with a different voice, who has a strong point of view,” says Stu Bloomberg, executive vice president of prime time at ABC. “But I don’t think everyone who went to see his show on Broadway was Jewish.”

So far such confidence seems warranted. “Chicken Soup” is already being talked about as a likely hit, thanks in part to its berth behind “Roseanne.” “We certainly have jumped in to buy time for our clients,” says John Sisk, a senior vice president at the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency. “Aside from its great time slot, we believe the show will appeal to more than a narrow audience.”

Prime-time series have sporadically featured Jewish characters, starting with “The Goldbergs,” which ran from 1949 to 1954. But they have been few and far between and often cloaked in Gentile-alia. There was CBS’ Rhoda, of course, played throughout the 1970s by (non-Jew) Valerie Harper. She was most successful as a sidekick, but she was never an easy sell, recalls co-creator Allan Burns:

“I remember a meeting with a bunch of network guys where one said, ‘There are four things people don’t want to see: divorcees, people from New York, Jews and men with mustaches.’ I guess that explains why ‘Rhoda’ and Tom Selleck didn’t succeed.”

Burns also remembers one episode in which Rhoda refused to see her mother because she resented growing up with a family that didn’t look like TV’s Andersons and Nelsons. “The network forbade us to do the show, saying it emphasized the ethnicity too much. We shot it anyway and Jim Brooks and I won an Emmy.”

“Bridget Loves Bernie” tried to tackle the inter-marriage issue in 1972 but failed dismally. There were occasional Jewish characters in other series but the Jewishness was left ambiguous at best. Judd Hirsch says it took a few seasons of “Taxi” before “they eventually--finally--let me refer to being Jewish, which everyone assumed anyway.”

Writer-producer Danny Arnold says he had a tough time selling Hal Linden to the network for “Barney Miller.” “They were very resistant to him as a leading man. There was supersensitivity at the time (1974) to anything ethnic. So we kept it very quiet once the show started. When people asked me if he was Jewish, I’d say, ‘You don’t have to think he is but don’t tell me he isn’t.’ ”

For a period, viewers could legitimately play “Saturday Night Live’s” game of “Jew or Not a Jew.” Peter Falk was Columbo, Jack Klugman was Quincy, Judd Hirsch was Delvecchio, Bea Arthur was Maude Findlay.

“When we wrote ‘Maude,’ we were told to write Jewish but think Gentile,” says Bob Schiller. Schiller was once asked to go to Israel to speak on “Jews in Sitcoms.” “I told them, ‘Forget it--that would take about two minutes,’ ” says Schiller. “ ‘If you want to talk about Jews running sitcoms, that could take two days.’ ”

Of course, there are those for whom even today’s promising land of prime time is not enough: “Jewish representation on series is still tangential,” claims Harvey Schechter, western director of the Anti-Defamation League. “I still hear that Jews only play well over the Coasts. And even though Jews supposedly run the business, I think in some ways they are a throwback to the Goldwyns and Warners of the movie business. Those guys ran away from their heritage by changing their names. These people change their characters’ names.”

They might better be called The New Assimilationists: those Jewish men and women who have made it up the ladder of network television. They must balance wanting to do stories that reflect their own identities and cultural influences with trying to reach the largest possible audience. “I’d like to think it’s been a marketing decision rather than any self-loathing or perception of anti-Semitism that has kept Jews off prime time for so long,” says Richard Lewis.

Today, a majority of the top programming positions at each network are held by Jews. Those executives claim their religious background has nothing to do with whether they choose, or support, the idea of Jewish characters in series. “I think we all start with what’s a good story and go from there,” says Stu Bloomberg. His network, ABC, has dealt most often with the issue in prime time recently. Ironically, CBS, the plaything of ardent Israel supporter Lawrence Tisch, has no major Jewish characters on prime time. (“It’s certainly not intentional,” says a CBS spokeswoman, who offered only Candy Bergen’s boss, Miles Silverberg, as their prime-time Jew.)

Even those who applaud the improving situation for Jews on prime-time series worry somewhat about the heavily assimilationist message coming through: “Virtually every Jew on prime time has a non-Jewish wife,” says Joseph Turow, associate professor at the Annenberg School of Communications. “The networks are still a bit wary and feel they have to make it palatable and non-threatening. So the higher numbers come at the cost of reinforcing the theme of assimilation, which is happening in our country, to be sure, but it’s not all that’s happening.”

Turow says the hope is not that all Jews on prime-time series wear yarmulkes, but that they at least occasionally partake in traditional Jewish habits or are allowed to question how much assimilation is too much. “The good news is that networks are allowing some producers, who have a track record of bringing in desirable audiences, to do pretty much what they want.”

One such innovative series is ABC’s “The Wonder Years,” which last season did a memorable episode wherein the main character, Kevin, is upset when his birthday coincides with the bar mitzvah of his best friend, Paul. Throughout the show, Paul’s religion is mocked by other kids but in the end, the two friends are closer than ever and Kevin admits that the bar mitzvah was a lot more fun than his party.

The show’s executive producer, Bob Brush, insists that “The Wonder Years” is in no way about issues, but admits that the bar mitzvah episode generated great response. “I hope what we did provided something true and meaningful without being didactic,” Brush says. “This is a coming of age show and that was a small part of Kevin’s coming of age. I think the fact we even did such a show proves TV has grown up over the last few years.”

Christmas and the holidays have proved a convenient way for some programs to try a little Jewishness. Even on “Murphy Brown” last season, Miles insisted, “I don’t have to feel Christmas spirit--I’m Jewish.” And he didn’t stop there. When he decorated for a party, a menorah made a very visible appearance.

“Thirtysomething” has done two Christmas shows in a row that have focused on Michael (Ken Olin) and his non-Jewish wife Hope (Mel Harris) coming to terms with their differences. More importantly, they have forced Michael to explore his own mixed feelings about his Judaism. Last season’s was the far more penetrating episode, ending with Michael in a synagogue.

“We realized when we looked at the second one, that it was an intensely Jewish episode,” says co-creator Marshall Herskovitz. “It really had to do with Michael’s feelings about growing up Jewish. It was an inconvenient time for him to be so overcome with religious feelings, but he was.”

Herskovitz and partner Ed Zwick very consciously created two Jewish characters in their cast: Michael and his cousin Melissa, portrayed by Melanie Mayron. “It came out of the fact that the impetus for the show was to deal with issues crucial in our lives,” says Herskovitz. “Hollywood has a long tradition of creating Jewish characters and then giving them non-Jewish names. But for people of this generation, the notion of hiding behind a cloak of WASPness makes no sense.”

“Thirtysomething” has taken some heat from Jewish groups but it makes no apologies. “These are highly assimilated Jews,” says Herskovitz. “They’re Americans first and their religion is not a matter of daily concern. But we feel we are contributing to the dialogue about how to deal with a very real issue today--intermarriage.”

Ken Olin feels his character is richer for his questioning his religious origins: “The self-exploration into his commitment to Judaism is what makes him complex,” Olin says. “Not just the fact that he’s Jewish. He struggles with a lot of other self-doubts too, but it does seem unique and dramatic to see a leading man wearing a yarmulke (which he did at the end of the holiday episode). Likewise, the difference in religion is just one source of conflict in our marriage but it’s one a lot of people can relate to.”

Like Michael, Stuart Markowitz of “L.A. Law” has gone through self-exploration about being Jewish. The issue came up most prominently when he had to deal with his wife’s mother. Her not-so-subtle anti-Semitism (“I love Jewish men because they put their women on pedestals”) prompted Markowitz to take some external and internal action.

Near the end of that episode, Markowitz finally asked the woman, “What has a Jew ever done to you?” When she said nothing, he knocked over a large piece of her furniture and replied, “Well, now one has.” The episode closed with him telling his wife, “This is who I am.” She basically said she wouldn’t be seeing her mother much anymore.

Tucker says he received more mail from the mother-in-law episode than for any other. And not all positive. “One rabbi said while he applauded my emotions, he deplored violence,” laughs Tucker. He’s proud of who he is and whom he plays: “Markowitz’s message is one of assimilation, which is pretty much my message. But neither does he hide from who he is, and we both become more religious than we thought we were when confronted by the other side.”

The creators of “L.A. Law” had Tucker in mind for his role from the outset, and Markowitz was a way of bringing all of the actor’s qualities to a prime-time audience. When Wendy Kout was given her first opportunity at a prime-time series, “Anything But Love,” she created the role of Marty and the actor came later.

“I wanted to create a fresh character I hadn’t grown up watching on TV,” says Kout.

Once Richard Lewis was cast as Marty, there was certainly no hiding the Jewish side of him. In the very first scene of the first episode, in fact, Marty told Jamie Lee Curtis that he could read upside down. “That’s how I learned Hebrew,” he said.

“I don’t make any attempt to hide who I am or to sound like Robert Merrill,” says Lewis. “But neither do I wake up, roll out of bed and do the hora. It’s part of who I am, and if it will sneak into people’s consciousness, great.”

Lewis, also a stand-up comic, comes from a long line of those who tried to preempt the pain with laughter. “We had to perform to express our Angst ,” he says. He shies away from seeing himself as a role model but admits, “I’m real proud to be Jewish in prime time. I feel I’m spreading some of the joys of being Jewish.”

Lewis may seem very Jewish for prime time but even he says, “I’m Bishop Fulton Sheen Lewis next to Jackie Mason.” And so here comes “Chicken Soup,” which its principals insist will appeal to a wide audience because it works and it’s real. “The bottom line is it’s funny,” says Caryn Mandabach, president of Carsey-Werner Co., which makes the show for ABC. “But it’s also about depicting similarities between us even while it appears to be about differences. People feel ennobled watching stories like that.”

The differences are played out between Mason’s character and that of Lynn Redgrave in the ultimate “opposites attract” story. “Redgrave is there for the audience to respond through,” says Stu Bloomberg of ABC.

As for Mason, he’s already filmed three episodes and basically is tired but happy. “At first I resisted the idea because I didn’t want to work that hard,” he says. “Especially since I finally felt like a vindicated hero after making it on Broadway. A sitcom is like prison. They told me I’d only have to work four days. I said no, they came back with 3 1/2, and that’s what we got. It’s far from fun.”

But Mason says they are letting him be himself and that the understanding of who he is is uncanny. “I don’t have artistic control but they respect my opinions. But I don’t have that much to disagree about. I feel like these people were in my bedroom all these years, they know me so well.”

As for his Jewishness, it is not being diluted in the least. “If anything, they’re accentuating it,” says Mason. “Ninety nine percent of people in this business would have tried to tone me down but not here. The theme is universal because it is about conflicts between people of different worlds. I’ve got a Jewish mother; (Redgrave’s character) has got a brother who hates Jews. I’m an old-style, unsophisticated New York Jew and she’s a cultured Gentile. It’s about trying to find a common ground.”

It’s still not a time of perfect clarity on prime time when it comes to Jews, however. Take “Dear John.” Its star, Judd Hirsch, who has never hidden his religion, says he presumes his character is Christian because one episode dealt with him and his ex-wife trying to get their child into a church school.

But that comes to a surprise to some of the writers of the show. “It’s odd Judd would say that,” says Peter Noah. “Around the writers’ tables, we always figured you can’t hide Judd’s Jewishness, so we made the wife the more emphatic one on that episode. That way we figured people would see it as a mixed marriage.”

Hirsch says he goes out of his way to mix things up in his career: “Like most actors, I don’t want to be typecast. And I have this second thing. I don’t want to be typecast as a Jew. On this show, it doesn’t matter. Would people watch if it were ‘Dear Yissel’? I don’t know.”

Such a show may very well happen if “Chicken Soup” clicks. After all, the bottom line in network television is the bottom line, and the industry rarely shies away from imitation. So stay tuned: You may soon be hearing, “Tonight . . . Shecky Greene joins the cast of ‘Dallas.’ ”