Jackie Mason was raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, surrounded by rabbis.

His three brothers are rabbis. His father was a rabbi, and so were his grandfather, his great-grandfather and his great-great grandfather, and he was all set to follow in their footsteps, being ordained at the age of 25.

Three years later, he quit his synagogue to become a comedian because, as he says, "Someone in the family had to make a living."