{{Short description|American-born Scottish comedian (born 1961)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}} {{Infobox person | image = Jerry Sadowitz at the Greenock Arts Guild cropped.jpg | name = Jerry Sadowitz | caption = Sadowitz in March 2011 | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1961|6}} | birth_place = [[New Jersey]], U.S. | occupation = Stand-up comedian, magician | website = {{url|jerrysadowitz.com}} }}
'''Jerry Sadowitz''' (born June 1961) is an American-born Scottish stand-up comedian and magician.
Notorious for his controversial brand of [[black comedy]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Logan |first=Brian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2007/aug/16/edinburghfestival2007.edinburghfestival5 |title=Edinburgh comedy review: Jerry Sadowitz / Udderbelly |work=The Guardian|date=16 August 2007|access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/comedy/jerry-sadowitz-brings-sick-humour-to-leicester-square-theatre-6803095.html |title=Jerry Sadowitz brings sick humour to Leicester Square Theatre |work=Standard|date=27 January 2010 |access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref> Sadowitz has said that audiences going to see a comedian should suspend their beliefs.<ref name="timeout1">{{cite web |url=http://www.timeout.com/london/comedy/jerry-sadowitz-interview |title=Jerry Sadowitz interview |publisher=Timeout.com |access-date=26 October 2016 |archive-date=7 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107200309/http://www.timeout.com/london/comedy/jerry-sadowitz-interview |url-status=dead }}</ref> He has influenced a generation of comedians, but states that "politically incorrect comedy: it's me, and it's been ripped off by loads and loads of comics".<ref name="timeout1"/> In 2007, he was voted the 15th-greatest stand-up comic on [[Channel 4]]'s ''100 Greatest Stand-Ups''. In the 2010 list, he was voted the 33rd-greatest stand-up comic.<ref>{{cite web|author=British Comedy Guide |url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/news/284/billy_connolly_channel_4_poll/ |title=Billy Connolly retains top spot in C4 poll – News – British Comedy Guide |publisher=Comedy.co.uk |date=11 April 2010 |access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref>
Sadowitz has also been described by some critics as a highly skilled close-up magician and practitioner of sleight of hand.<ref>{{cite news |first=Domonic |last=Maxwell |title=Jerry Sadowitz| work=The Times |date=15 August 2007 }}</ref> He has written several books on magic and developed several conjuring innovations.
==Early life== Sadowitz was born in June 1961<ref>{{cite web|url=https://companycheck.co.uk/director/920146320/MR-JERRY-SADOWITZ/summary|title=Mr. Jerry Sadowitz|publisher=Company Check|access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref> in [[New Jersey]], the son of a Scottish-Jewish mother named Roslyn and a Jewish-American father who worked as a scrap metal merchant.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/oct/31/euanferguson.theobserver | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Euan | last=Ferguson | title=Unspeakable rat is just a pussycat | date=31 October 1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/comedy-jerry-sadowitz-assembly-rooms-1.223587 |title=Comedy Jerry Sadowitz, Assembly Rooms |newspaper=Herald Scotland |date=10 August 2000 |access-date=27 August 2014}}</ref> His parents split up when he was three, and he moved with his mother back to her native [[Glasgow]] when he was seven.<ref>{{cite news|author=|url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/joking-apart-1-485335 |title=Joking apart |newspaper=The Scotsman |access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref><ref name="heraldscotland1">{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/11932503.No_laughing_matter_as_comics_pull_no_punchlines/ |title=No laughing matter as comics pull no punchlines|work=Heraldscotland.com |date=18 August 1989 |access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref> Sadowitz attended Calderwood Lodge Primary and then [[Shawlands Academy]]. He took an interest in magic at the age of nine, and by the age of 11 decided that he wanted to become a magician, acquiring books from Tam Shepherd's Magic and Joke Shop.<ref name=smoke>{{cite news|title=Smoke and mirrors|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/smoke_and_mirrors_1_1392485|access-date=14 February 2012|newspaper=The Scotsman|date=11 April 2004}}</ref><ref name="heraldscotland2">{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12250522.Face_of_the_Day/ |title=Face of the Day |work=Herald Scotland |date=5 November 1998|access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref> Sadowitz was encouraged by his mother to research magic at his local library, and he was once kicked out of a school exam after the examiner discovered his deck of cards and thought he was cheating.<ref name="thefreelibrary1">{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/I+meant+to+warn+Paul+Daniels+about+that+quicksand%3B+The+return+of...-a061003539 |title=I meant to warn Paul Daniels about that quicksand; The return of Jerry Sadowitz.|publisher=Thefreelibrary.com |access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref> He has suffered from [[ulcerative colitis]] since childhood.<ref name="scotsman1">{{cite news|author=|url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/smoke-and-mirrors-1-1392485 |title=Smoke and mirrors |newspaper=The Scotsman |date=11 April 2004 |access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref>
==Career== ===1980s=== Sadowitz made his comedy debut in 1983 at a Glasgow club and secured a regular stand-up slot at the Weavers Inn pub on London Road in Glasgow. The pub was run by future comedian [[Janey Godley]], and Sadowitz got the gig after her brother Jim begged her to put him on.<ref name="heraldscotland2"/><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Donaldson |first=Brian |url=https://www.list.co.uk/article/39446-janey-godley-my-comedy-hero-jerry-sadowitz/ |title=Janey Godley: My comedy hero – Jerry Sadowitz |magazine=The List |date=5 January 2012 |access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref> Sadowitz began travelling to London to perform at [[The Comedy Store (London)|The Comedy Store]] every two weeks for two years, making the 400-mile journey via [[Stagecoach Group|Stagecoach]] express coach. He moved to the city permanently in 1986, living with his mother in [[Hampstead]] until 2005.<ref name="thefreelibrary1"/><ref name="heraldscotland1"/><ref name="thefreelibrary2">{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/I'M+TOO+MAD+TO+GET+THERAPY%3B+Why+anger+management+is+out+for+Jerry...-a0130107519 |title=I'm Too Mad to Get Therapy – Why anger management is out for Jerry Sadowitz Exclusive |publisher=thefreelibrary.com |access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-interviews/2011/03/20/incendiary-comedian-jerry-sadowitz-lets-loose-on-fame-fortune-and-failure-86908-23003611/ |title=Incendiary comedian Jerry Sadowitz lets loose on fame, fortune and failure|date=20 March 2011 |access-date=26 October 2016 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110325200611/http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-interviews/2011/03/20/incendiary-comedian-jerry-sadowitz-lets-loose-on-fame-fortune-and-failure-86908-23003611/ |archive-date=25 March 2011 |work= The Daily Record }}</ref> There, he began his first job working in [[Selfridges]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60469322.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911025544/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60469322.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 September 2016|title=Uncovering the magic of Jerry.(Features)|date=12 February 1999|access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref>
In the early days, Sadowitz was managed by comedian and club proprietor [[Malcolm Hardee]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,,1405432,00.html|title= Obituary: Malcolm Hardee| work=The Guardian | location=London | first=William | last=Cook | date=4 February 2005 | access-date=14 August 2022}}</ref> As a bet with fellow comic [[Nick Revell]], he produced one of his most famous lines of that era: "[[Nelson Mandela]], what a cunt. [[Terry Waite]], fucking bastard. I dunno, you lend some people a fiver, you never see them again."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/comment/articles/2010-02/02/james-mullinger-jerry-sadowitz |title=The return of Jerry Sadowitz |first=James |last=Mullinger |work=GQ Magazine |date=2 February 2010 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001042829/http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/comment/articles/2010-02/02/james-mullinger-jerry-sadowitz |archive-date= 1 October 2011 }}</ref> For a time Sadowitz was considered part of the [[alternative comedy]] movement, but his act proved too objectionable with ''The Guardian'' stating that Sadowitz "shook up the right-on values of the 80s alternative comedy circuit with his willingness to say the unsayable".<ref name="kettle">{{cite news|last=Kettle|first=James |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/nov/09/jerry-sadowitz-interview |title=Jerry Sadowitz: his dark materials | Stage |work=The Guardian|access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref> Sadowitz has described [[Bernard Manning]] as "the good cop" to his bad.<ref>{{cite news|author=|url=http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/whats-on/nothing-sacred-1-3989818 |title=Nothing sacred |work=Blackpool Gazette|date=21 November 2011 |access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref>
Sadowitz's 1987 [[Edinburgh Fringe]] show ''Total Abuse'' was filmed at the Assembly Rooms and also released in audio as the album ''Gobshite''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Jerry-Sadowitz-Gobshite/release/2493434 |title=Jerry Sadowitz – Gobshite (Vinyl, LP) at Discogs |publisher=Discogs.com |date=19 December 2014 |access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref> The album was quickly withdrawn from sale due to fears of being sued for libel by [[Jimmy Savile]] as Sadowitz references rumours of the TV personality being a paedophile. Following Savile's death in 2011, [[Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal|hundreds of reports]] of sexual abuse by him became public.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anorak.co.uk/336013/celebrities/jerry-sadowitz-was-right-about-jimmy-savile.html|title=Jerry Sadowitz was right about Jimmy Savile|publisher=Anorak.co.uk|access-date=27 August 2014}}</ref>
After a brief run as a columnist for ''[[Time Out (company)|Time Out]]'' magazine, he embarked on the ''Lose Your Comic Virginity'' tour in 1989.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dDNAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RVkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3543,1483289&dq|title=No laughing matter as comics pull no punchlines|last=Young|first=Andrew|work=Glasgow Herald|date=18 August 1989}}</ref> At this time he was being managed by [[Jon Thoday]]'s fledgling Avalon Entertainment Ltd. The tour culminated in a show at the [[Dominion Theatre]] in London, at the end of which he appeared from the rear of the auditorium wearing a kilt and a huge plastic phallus from which he sprayed the audience.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/a-funny-thing-happened-at-the-fringe-festival-2040607.html|title=A funny thing happened at the Fringe Festival|date=31 July 2010|work=The Independent}}</ref>
===1990s=== In 1991, Sadowitz was knocked unconscious by an audience member during a performance at the [[Just for Laughs]] Comedy Festival in [[Montreal]], where he mocked [[French Canadians]], starting with the greeting "Hello moosefuckers! I tell you why I hate Canada, half of you speak French, and the other half let them."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mysticgames.com/famouspeople/JerrySadowitz.htm|title=Jerry Sadowitz|website=Mystic Games|access-date=10 September 2009}}</ref> The rarely quoted follow-up line, which Sadowitz claims is what actually led to him being attacked, was "Why don't you speak Indian? You might as well speak the language of the people you stole the country off of in the first place."<ref>{{cite news|last=Leachman |first=Gerard |url=http://www.nottinghampost.com/q-jerry-sadowitz/story-20823645-detail/story.html |title=Q&A: Jerry Sadowitz |work=Nottingham Post|date=18 March 2014 |access-date=26 October 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707152651/http://www.nottinghampost.com/Q-Jerry-Sadowitz/story-20823645-detail/story.html |archive-date=7 July 2015}}</ref>
In 1992, Sadowitz appeared in his own television show ''[[The Pall Bearer's Revue]]''. In the same year, he appeared in the [[music video]] of [[The Shamen]]'s UK number 1 hit "[[Ebeneezer Goode]]". Sadowitz later expressed regret over his appearance in the video, stating that "it shows how stupid I am. I didn't even know that song was about drugs. I don't take drugs and had I known I wouldn't have done it".<ref name="thefreelibrary2"/> He also befriended [[Derren Brown]], who he met while working the International Magic shop in [[Clerkenwell]], London.<ref name="scotsman1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timeout.com/london/comedy/learn-magic-with-jerry-sadowitz-new-classes-added|title=Learn magic with Jerry Sadowitz|website=Time Out|access-date=26 October 2016|archive-date=15 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915010917/http://www.timeout.com/london/comedy/learn-magic-with-jerry-sadowitz-new-classes-added|url-status=dead}}</ref> He helped Brown in his early career by putting him in touch with H&R publishers and [[Objective Productions]], a production company founded by the television magician [[Andrew O'Connor (actor)|Andrew O'Connor]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/drama/3591160/Can-this-man-read-minds.html|title=Can this man read minds?|first=John|last=Preston|access-date=26 October 2016|work=The Telegraph}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://derrenbrowninfo.co.uk/interviews/magic_cafe_interview/|title=TheMagicCafe.com Interview, September 2004 – Derren Brown|access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chortle.co.uk/interviews/2006/07/13/3542/not_up_to_his_old_tricks|title=Interviews 2006 |website=Chortle |access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref> which led to his breakthrough show ''Mind Control'' in 2000.
Between 1994 and 1998, Sadowitz performed as part of the double act ''Bib & Bob'' with [[Logan Murray]]. His work with Murray took the form of sketches aimed at alienating almost everyone, with the duo stamping on a blow-up doll of the recently deceased [[Linda McCartney]], and tipping Murray, dressed as [[Superman]], out of a wheelchair into the audience (a reference to the paralysis of [[Christopher Reeve]]). At one show, Sadowitz spat in the face of a drunken [[heckler]] who was constantly interrupting the show. His final act was to strip naked and run across the stage, prompting a mixture of disgust and hilarity from the audience.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/comedy--not-at-all-bad-gerry-sadowitz-has-been-lying-low-for-a-while-now-hes-back-quieter-than-ever-james-rampton-breathed-a-sigh-of-relief-1422766.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220608/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/comedy--not-at-all-bad-gerry-sadowitz-has-been-lying-low-for-a-while-now-hes-back-quieter-than-ever-james-rampton-breathed-a-sigh-of-relief-1422766.html |archive-date=8 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Not at all bad: Gerry Sadowitz has been lying low for a while. Now he's back, quieter than ever|first=James|last=Rampton|work=The Independent|date=15 June 1994|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4713452/The-filth-element.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160226164912/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4713452/The-filth-element.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 February 2016|title=The filth element|last=Bassett|first=Kate|work=The Telegraph|access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref> The ''Herald'' described the show as featuring "Pyrotechnical swearing. Lavatorial straining noises. Wanton foodstuff-smearing. Simulated sodomy. Gratuitous adoption of Indian accents, plus spitting, shouting, and penile dismemberment".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12039662.Bib_and_Bob__Assembly_Rooms/|title=Bib and Bob, Assembly Rooms|work=Herald Scotland|date=12 August 1996|access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref>
In 1998, Sadowitz joined the newly launched [[Channel 5 (UK)|Channel 5]] network, hosting his own [[panel show]], ''[[The People vs. Jerry Sadowitz]]''. The show featured Sadowitz sitting at a desk inviting members of the audience to join him and talk about a topic close to their heart and trying to get Sadowitz to agree with them. If they succeeded in winning Sadowitz over, they were invited back at the end of the show for a chance to compete for a £10,000 cash prize. If Sadowitz was not convinced or became bored during the audience member's time, he would ring a bell on the desk signalling for the show's resident bouncer [[Dave Courtney]] to escort them from the stage. Contestants on the show were regularly verbally abused by Sadowitz, and over the course of the series no one managed to win the cash prize. The show led to the channel being reprimanded by the [[Broadcasting Standards Commission]], after they concluded that the repeated use of the words "[[fuck]]" and "[[cunt]]" "had a cumulative effect that was both excessive and unnecessary".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12334919.Sadowitz_reprimand/|title=Sadowitz reprimand|work=Herald Scotland|date=24 September 1998|access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref> In the same year, a full-frontal nude shot of Sadowitz appeared in ''Esquire'' magazine as part of a 14-page "uncensored sex special".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/NAKED%20FURY;%20Row%20as%20X-rated%20pictures%20go%20on%20sale%20in%20Irish%20shops.-a060669033|title=Naked Fury – Row as X-rated pictures go on sale in Irish shops |last=Michael |first=Neil |work=The Mirror|date=16 July 1998 |via=The Free Library|access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref> Despite the reprimand, Sadowitz continued to work with Channel 5, co-presenting ''The Jerry Atrick Show'' between 2000 and 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b85978c09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915135557/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b85978c09|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 September 2016|title=The Jerry Atrick Show |date=17 December 2000 |access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref>
===2000–present===
In 2005, Sadowitz performed two separate shows at that year's Edinburgh Fringe: a stand-up comedy show (''Not For The Easily Offended'') at The Queens Hall, and ''Jerry Sadowitz – Card Tricks & Close Up Magic'' at The Assembly Rooms. The comedy show included a character named "Rabbi Burns", a cross between a Jew and [[Robert Burns|the famous Scottish poet]]. He performed a similar series of shows at the [[Soho Theatre]] in London between December 2006 and January 2007.
In 2006 he toured his "Equal Opportunities Offender" show<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/950289.Jerry_Sadowitz___Equal_Oportunities_Offender__Corn_Exchange__Brighton__Sunday__October_8/?ref=arc|title=Jerry Sadowitz – Equal Opportunities Offender, Corn Exchange, Brighton, Sunday, 8 October|date=3 October 2006 |access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref> and broke the Soho box office record for ticket sales when he performed his close up magic show at the [[Soho Theatre]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Domonic |last=Maxwell |title=Jerry Sadowitz|work=The Times |date=15 August 2007 }}</ref> In 2007, he performed his Edinburgh Festival show "Comedian, Magician, Psychopath" to a sold-out crowd at the Udderbelly.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2007/jerry-sadowitz-comedian-magician-psychopath-review-at-underbelly-udderbelly-edinburgh/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815001323/https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2007/jerry-sadowitz-comedian-magician-psychopath-review-at-underbelly-udderbelly-edinburgh/|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 August 2016|title=Jerry Sadowitz – Comedian, Magician, Psychopath review at Underbelly Udderbelly Edinburgh – Review – Theatre – The Stage|access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref>
In March 2008, as part of the [[Glasgow Comedy Festival]], Sadowitz sold out the [[Theatre Royal, Glasgow|Theatre Royal]]. He performed the show "Comedian, Magician, Psychopath 2: Because I Still Have to Pay the Rent" at the [[Edinburgh Comedy Festival]] in 2008. In this show he celebrated the [[2008 Sichuan earthquake]], making stereotypical references to Chinese people. In December 2008, Sadowitz sold out the [[Queen Elizabeth Hall]] on the Southbank, London.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/jerry-sadowitz--talking-through-his-hat-562890.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205081520/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/jerry-sadowitz--talking-through-his-hat-562890.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 December 2008|title=Jerry Sadowitz : Talking through his hat|last=Hall|first=Julian|date=11 May 2004|location=London|work=The Independent}}</ref>
In 2008, Sadowitz published an open letter to reviewers asking them not to quote his material stating that "a very important element of comedy is surprise, and it can often make the difference between a show that works and one that does not".<ref>{{cite news|author=|url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/jerry-sadowitz-plea-to-reporters-not-to-quote-his-material-1-1082620 |title=Jerry Sadowitz plea to reporters not to quote his material |newspaper=The Scotsman |access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref> He also protects his intellectual property, removing clips of himself from [[YouTube]] and torrent sites within hours of their appearance.<ref>{{cite news |last=Herring |first=Richard |url=http://www.richardherring.com/press/6286/interview_with_the_scotsman_about_jerry_sadowitz.html |title=Interview with the Scotsman about Jerry Sadowitz|publisher=RichardHerring.com |access-date=26 October 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914200743/http://www.richardherring.com/press/6286/interview_with_the_scotsman_about_jerry_sadowitz.html |archive-date=14 September 2016 }}</ref>
Since 2010, Sadowitz has performed several runs at the [[Leicester Square Theatre]] in London.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leicestersquaretheatre.com/lqt/show/S1259244921/Jerry+Sadowitz|title=Jerry Sadowitz is Back|publisher=The Leicester Square Theatre|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216024140/http://www.leicestersquaretheatre.com/lqt/show/S1259244921/Jerry+Sadowitz|archive-date=16 December 2010}}</ref> In April 2011, Sadowitz recorded two of these performances with the intention of releasing a DVD.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thebrokenbones.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/jerry-sadowitz-is-filming-a-dvd/|title=Jerry Sadowitz is filming a DVD|date=23 March 2011 |publisher=Broken Bones}}</ref> The release was shelved after he changed his mind about releasing anything, stating that "I don't want people looking at me on a DVD for the first time – and there are loads of people who haven't seen me – and thinking: "Oh, he's a bit like [[Frankie Boyle]]. Oh, he's a bit like [[Ricky Gervais]], he's a bit like [[Jimmy Carr]] or [[Chubby Brown]]. I've heard [[Doug Stanhope]] do that..." So I don't want people saying that about me."<ref name="timeout1"/>
Sadowitz appeared in the 2012 [[Kathy Burke]] comedy-drama ''Walking and Talking'' on [[Sky Atlantic]], playing the character Jimmy the Jew.
A stand up tour, "Comedian, Magician, Bawbag!", in February 2013<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/live/feature/jerry_sadowitz_2013_interview/|title=Jerry Sadowitz interview – British Comedy Guide|website=[[British Comedy Guide]] |date=26 January 2013|access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref> and close up magic and comedy "Comedian, Magician, Psychopath!" in early 2014,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/live/feature/jerry_sadowitz_angry_interview/|title=Jerry Sadowitz interview 2014 – British Comedy Guide|first=British Comedy|last=Guide|website=[[British Comedy Guide]] |date=19 February 2014|access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref> when Sadowitz was promoted by an unknown friend, seemed to put Sadowitz back on the circuit with several sold-out shows including Manchester, Leeds, Brighton, Glasgow and Inverness. Throughout this tour, Sadowitz played a video appeal at the beginning performances regarding the death of his friend [[Pete_Doherty#Death_of_Mark_Blanco|Mark Blanco]], who died in December 2006 after falling from the first-floor balcony of a flat in Whitechapel belonging to singer [[Pete Doherty]]'s friend and literary agent Paul Roundhill. The video included an appeal from Blanco's mother for the [[Crown Prosecution Service]] to reopen the case.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Logan |first=Brian |date=8 January 2014 |title=Jerry Sadowitz: my fight for my friend |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/jan/08/jerry-sadowitz-mark-blanco |access-date=23 November 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
In 2016, Sadowitz launched the "Trick of the Month Club" in which he teaches a new card trick every month to paying subscribers. In late 2016 Sadowitz tour "Comedian, Magician, Psychopath!" visited London, Glasgow, Manchester and Wolverhampton.
In 2019, Sadowitz toured the UK with his show "Make Comedy Grate Again" (a reference to Donald Trump's campaign slogan "[[Make America Great Again]]"). A gig in Liverpool during this run of shows was covered on comedy website [[Chortle]] after an audience member collapsed due to excessive laughter. Sadowitz also took his "Comedian, Magician, Psychopath 2019" show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Sadowitz's 2022 Edinburgh Fringe show was cancelled after one night because staff members—and, reportedly, audience members–at the Pleasance theatre found the material offensive.<ref>{{cite news|work=STV.com| url = https://news.stv.tv/entertainment/jerry-sadowitz-show-cancelled-as-venue-says-material-not-acceptable |title = Jerry Sadowitz show cancelled as venue says material 'not acceptable'|date=13 August 2022|access-date=14 August 2022}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite news|last=Rubin|first=Gareth|work=The Guardian|url = https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/aug/13/jerry-sadowitz-edinburgh-fringe-standup-show-axed-due-to-complaints |title = Jerry Sadowitz Edinburgh fringe standup show axed due to complaints|date=13 August 2022|access-date=14 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=BBC News|url =https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-62533592|title =Edinburgh Fringe: Jerry Sadowitz show cancelled by venue bosses|date=13 August 2022|access-date=14 August 2022}}</ref> The venue later clarified that this was due to "racism, sexism, homophobia and misogyny", that "the material presented at his first show is not acceptable and does not align with our values", and that he had exposed his penis to a member of the audience.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/62543162|title=Edinburgh Fringe: 'Extreme' racism behind Sadowitz scrapping – venue|date=14 August 2022|work=BBC News|access-date=15 August 2022}}</ref> Sadowitz defended himself against those who made the decision, accusing them of "cheapening and simplifying" his act.<ref>{{cite news|last=Brown|first=Mark|work=The Guardian|url = https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/aug/15/jerry-sadowitz-hits-back-after-show-cancelled-edinburgh-fringe |title = Jerry Sadowitz hits back after show cancelled: 'My act is being cheapened'|date=15 August 2022|access-date=15 August 2022}}</ref> In the aftermath of Sadowitz's show at the Fringe being cancelled, his tour of the UK saw increased ticket sales and a date being added at London's [[Hammersmith Apollo]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/live/fyi/38/sadowitz-at-the-apollo/|title=Jerry Sadowitz announces Apollo show|date=26 August 2022|access-date=30 August 2022}}</ref>
In 2025, along with fellow magician Caspar Thomas, Sadowitz began performing a weekly magic show at the Betsey Trotwood pub in London.
==Comedy style==
Commenting on his "imitators", he said that "I'm sorry I've given some very nasty people a good living."<ref name="kettle"/>
Outbursts of his savage comedy during his conjuring shows have sometimes alienated him from the more conservative magic community.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geniimagazine.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=122267|first=Richard|last=Kaufman|work=Genii Magazine|date=17 February 2008|title=The Crimp, Jerry Sadowitz|access-date=18 January 2011|archive-date=24 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724010321/http://www.geniimagazine.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=122267|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Television credits == [[File:Jerry Sadowitz appearing on The Greatest F*** Show on TV in 1994.jpg|right|thumb|Appearing on ''The Greatest F***ing Show on Earth'']] * ''[[Rab C. Nesbitt]]'', [[BBC]], 1988 * ''The Last Laugh with Jerry Sadowitz'', [[British Satellite Broadcasting]], 1990 * ''The Other Side of Gerry Sadowitz'', [[Channel 4]], 1990 * ''[[The Pall Bearer's Revue]]'', [[BBC Two]], 1992 * ''Without Walls: The Greatest F***ing Show on Earth'', [[Open Media]] for [[Channel 4]], 1994 (''[[The Times]]'' wrote "probably contains the greatest number of swear words ever uttered on TV"<ref>Peter Waymark, ''The Times'', 26 March 1994</ref>) * ''Stuff the White Rabbit'', [[BBC Two]], 1997 * ''[[The People vs. Jerry Sadowitz]]'', [[Five (TV)|Channel 5]], 1998–1999 * ''[[TFI Friday]]'', [[Channel 4]], 1998 * ''[[The 11 O'Clock Show]]'', [[Channel 4]], 2000 * ''[[The Panel (Australian TV series)|The Panel]]'', [[Network Ten]], 2000 * ''The Jerry Atrick Show'', 2000 * ''The People of New York vs Jerry Sadowitz'', [[Five (TV)|Channel 5]], 2001 * ''The Jerry Atrick Show'', [[Five (TV)|Channel 5]], 2000–2002 * ''100 Greatest Standups'', [[Channel 4]], 2007 * ''[[Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle]]'', BBC Two, 2009 (one episode) * ''Walking and Talking'', [[Sky Atlantic]], 2012 (four episodes)
== Filmography == * ''Malcolm Hardee: 25 Years in Showbiz'', 1990 * ''1 Giant Leap'', 2002
== Bibliography == * ''Alternative Card Magic: Jerry Sadowitz & Peter Duffie'' (1982) * ''Contemporary Card Magic: Jerry Sadowitz & Peter Duffie'' (1984) * ''Cards Hit'' (1984) * ''Inspirations: Jerry Sadowitz & Peter Duffie'' (1987) * ''Cards on the Table'' (1988) * ''Out of Sight'' (1993) * ''The Marenzal Reverse'' (1993) * ''Thanks to Zarrow'' (1997) * ''Cut Controls'' (2004) * ''Dr Norman Nutjobs 50 Close-Up Problems (2005)'' * ''The Crimp'' magazine (1992 – present) * ''Card Tricks for Beginners'' (1994) (Illustrations) {{ISBN|978-0-947533-33-5}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category}} * {{official|http://jerrysadowitz.com/}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadowitz, Jerry}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:1961 births]] [[Category:British people of American-Jewish descent]] [[Category:Scottish male comedians]] [[Category:Scottish magicians]] [[Category:Scottish people of Jewish descent]] [[Category:Edinburgh Comedy Festival]] [[Category:American emigrants to Scotland]] [[Category:People educated at Shawlands Academy]] [[Category:People associated with Glasgow]] [[Category:Comedians from New Jersey]] [[Category:20th-century Scottish comedians]] [[Category:21st-century Scottish comedians]] [[Category:Scottish people of American descent]] [[Category:Jewish Scottish comedians]] [[Category:People with ulcerative colitis]] [[Category:Comedians from Glasgow]] [[Category:American male comedians]] [[Category:American magicians]] [[Category:Jewish comedians]] [[Category:Jewish American comedians]] [[Category:American emigrants to the United Kingdom]] [[Category:People from Glasgow]] [[Category:People from New Jersey]] [[Category:British stand-up comedians]]