Adam Sandler is Jewish. Adam Richard Sandler was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Stanley, an electrical engineer, and Judy Sandler, a nursery school teacher. His parents both descended from immigrants from Russia on both sides. He attended Manchester Central High School and graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 1988.
Adam Sandler married actress Jacqueline Samantha Titone on June 22, 2003. She converted to Judaism, in 2000. Sandler and Titone have two daughters: Sadie Madison Sandler (born 2006) and Sunny Madeline Sandler (born 2008). Sandler lives with his family in Los Angeles, but also owns homes in New York City and Florida.
In addition to an animated movie about Hanukkah called "8 Crazy Nights", Sandler also wrote and has performed several versions of "The Chanukah Song", a humorous song written by comedian Adam Sandler with Saturday Night Live writers Lewis Morton and Ian Maxtone-Graham and originally performed by Sandler on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update on December 3, 1994. Sandler subsequently performed the song as part of his stand-up act, later updating it with new lyrics. All variations center on the theme of Jewish children feeling alienated during the Christmas season, and Sandler's listing of Jewish celebrities (both real and fictional) as a way of sympathizing with their situation.
The song begins with a few lines that rhyme with Harmonica and Hanukkah, and just before the listing begins a repeated theme of the song says: "Instead of one day of presents, we get eight crazy nights!". The end of that sentence - "eight crazy nights" is shouted together with the crowd.
Jewish Celebrities referenced in the versions of "The Chanukah Song":
Original Song:
David Lee Roth
James Caan
Kirk Douglas
Dinah Shore (replaced in some performances with Pauly Shore)
The Carnegie Deli (noted for traditional Jewish fare)
Bowzer (Jon Bauman) from Sha Na Na
Arthur Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler)
Paul Newman (half-Jewish)
Goldie Hawn (half-Jewish)
Captain Kirk (William Shatner)
Spock (Leonard Nimoy)
The owner of the Seattle SuperSonics (Barry Ackerley)
O. J. Simpson described as "not a Jew!" to great applause from the audience.
Rod Carew (He converted) (*This is an error; Carew married a Jewish woman, but he did not convert to Judaism).
Ann Landers
"Dear Abby" (Pauline Phillips at the time.)
Harrison Ford (quarter-Jewish) (This is an error; Ford's mother is actually fully Jewish).[3]
Ebenezer Scrooge, described as not Jewish.
The Three Stooges
Tom Cruise's agent (Cruise is not Jewish).
During the final verse, performed originally on Saturday Night Live and on a radio cut, Sandler sings the line "Drink your gin and tonic-ah, but don't smoke marijuan-icah". On the uncut album version, and during various concert appearances, the line was changed to "Drink your gin and tonic-ah, and smoke your marijuan-icah". The uncut version, despite the reference to marijuana, receives most radio airplay today; another radio edit skips completely over the gin and tonic/marijuana line altogether.
Part II (1999)
The "The Chanukah Song, Part II" was recorded live at Brandeis University for Sandler's 1999 album Stan and Judy's Kid.
Persons referenced in "The Chanukah Song, Part II":
Winona Ryder (whose father is Jewish)
Ralph Lauren
Calvin Klein
Louise Post and Nina Gordon of Veruca Salt
Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch, and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz of the Beastie Boys (Diamond and Yauch are Jewish, and Horovitz's father was Jewish)
Lenny Kravitz (half-Jewish)
Courtney Love (half-Jewish) (an error; neither of her parents was Jewish).
Harvey Keitel
Jennifer Beals (an error; Beals says she once wanted to be Jewish, but is not).[4]
Yasmine Bleeth (her father was Jewish)
Dustin Hoffman (referred to as Dustin Hoffmanica)
O.J. Simpson, "still not a Jew"
Don Messick, voice actor of Scooby Doo (This is an error; Messick was not Jewish)
Bob Dylan, "was born a jew then he wasn't but now he's back"
Robert Levine, husband of Mary Tyler Moore
Tiger Woods ("No, I'm not talkin' 'bout Tiger Woods".)
Happy Gilmore, Sandler's title character in the 1996 film
Bruce Springsteen, who "isn't Jewish", but "[Sandler's] mother thinks he is".
Other pop culture references include: Manischewitz wine, Hooked on Phonics and Tijuana, Mexico.
Part III (2002)
Included on the Eight Crazy Nights soundtrack featuring vocals from actor Rob Schneider and the children's choir The Drei-Dels.
Persons referenced in "The Chanukah Song, Part III":
Ross (David Schwimmer) and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) from Friends
David Lander (Squiggy) of Laverne & Shirley
Debra Messing
Melissa Gilbert (was adopted by a Jewish mother and raised in her faith)
Michael Landon (Landon's father was Jewish).
Jerry Lewis
Ben Stiller (Stiller's dad Jerry Stiller is Jewish, and mom Anne Meara, who is of Irish Catholic background, converted to Reform Judaism).
Jack Black (dad converted to Judaism, mom was born Jewish.)
Tom Arnold ("converted to Judaism, but you guys can have him back!")
Deuce Bigalow, Rob Schneider's title character of the 1999 film (Schneider is half-Jewish) he comes on stage an states I'm Jewish, stays for the chorus then sings- Mickey Raphael ("The guy in Willie Nelson's band who plays harmonica celebrates Hanukkah!") then Sandler says, "tiny Elvis, ladies and gentlemen tiny Elvis." Turning to Schneider, he says, "Schneider, I did not even know you were Jewish. He responds, "I'm a Filipino Jew; in fact, I got to run home and light the first pig," to which Sandler replies, "get going," and then continues the song.
Osama bin Laden, who is "not a big fan of the Jews".
Sarah Hughes (half-Jewish; "her mama's Jewish")
Harry Houdini
David Blaine (his mother was Jewish)
Gwyneth Paltrow (half-Jewish)
Jennifer Connelly (half-Jewish)
Lou Reed
Perry Farrell
Beck (maternal great-grandmother was Jewish)
Paula Abdul
Joey Ramone
Natalie Portman (as "Natalie Portmanika")
Adam Sandler married actress Jacqueline Samantha Titone on June 22, 2003. She converted to Judaism, in 2000. Sandler and Titone have two daughters: Sadie Madison Sandler (born 2006) and Sunny Madeline Sandler (born 2008). Sandler lives with his family in Los Angeles, but also owns homes in New York City and Florida.
In addition to an animated movie about Hanukkah called "8 Crazy Nights", Sandler also wrote and has performed several versions of "The Chanukah Song", a humorous song written by comedian Adam Sandler with Saturday Night Live writers Lewis Morton and Ian Maxtone-Graham and originally performed by Sandler on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update on December 3, 1994. Sandler subsequently performed the song as part of his stand-up act, later updating it with new lyrics. All variations center on the theme of Jewish children feeling alienated during the Christmas season, and Sandler's listing of Jewish celebrities (both real and fictional) as a way of sympathizing with their situation.
The song begins with a few lines that rhyme with Harmonica and Hanukkah, and just before the listing begins a repeated theme of the song says: "Instead of one day of presents, we get eight crazy nights!". The end of that sentence - "eight crazy nights" is shouted together with the crowd.
Jewish Celebrities referenced in the versions of "The Chanukah Song":
Original Song:
David Lee Roth
James Caan
Kirk Douglas
Dinah Shore (replaced in some performances with Pauly Shore)
The Carnegie Deli (noted for traditional Jewish fare)
Bowzer (Jon Bauman) from Sha Na Na
Arthur Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler)
Paul Newman (half-Jewish)
Goldie Hawn (half-Jewish)
Captain Kirk (William Shatner)
Spock (Leonard Nimoy)
The owner of the Seattle SuperSonics (Barry Ackerley)
O. J. Simpson described as "not a Jew!" to great applause from the audience.
Rod Carew (He converted) (*This is an error; Carew married a Jewish woman, but he did not convert to Judaism).
Ann Landers
"Dear Abby" (Pauline Phillips at the time.)
Harrison Ford (quarter-Jewish) (This is an error; Ford's mother is actually fully Jewish).[3]
Ebenezer Scrooge, described as not Jewish.
The Three Stooges
Tom Cruise's agent (Cruise is not Jewish).
During the final verse, performed originally on Saturday Night Live and on a radio cut, Sandler sings the line "Drink your gin and tonic-ah, but don't smoke marijuan-icah". On the uncut album version, and during various concert appearances, the line was changed to "Drink your gin and tonic-ah, and smoke your marijuan-icah". The uncut version, despite the reference to marijuana, receives most radio airplay today; another radio edit skips completely over the gin and tonic/marijuana line altogether.
Part II (1999)
The "The Chanukah Song, Part II" was recorded live at Brandeis University for Sandler's 1999 album Stan and Judy's Kid.
Persons referenced in "The Chanukah Song, Part II":
Winona Ryder (whose father is Jewish)
Ralph Lauren
Calvin Klein
Louise Post and Nina Gordon of Veruca Salt
Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch, and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz of the Beastie Boys (Diamond and Yauch are Jewish, and Horovitz's father was Jewish)
Lenny Kravitz (half-Jewish)
Courtney Love (half-Jewish) (an error; neither of her parents was Jewish).
Harvey Keitel
Jennifer Beals (an error; Beals says she once wanted to be Jewish, but is not).[4]
Yasmine Bleeth (her father was Jewish)
Dustin Hoffman (referred to as Dustin Hoffmanica)
O.J. Simpson, "still not a Jew"
Don Messick, voice actor of Scooby Doo (This is an error; Messick was not Jewish)
Bob Dylan, "was born a jew then he wasn't but now he's back"
Robert Levine, husband of Mary Tyler Moore
Tiger Woods ("No, I'm not talkin' 'bout Tiger Woods".)
Happy Gilmore, Sandler's title character in the 1996 film
Bruce Springsteen, who "isn't Jewish", but "[Sandler's] mother thinks he is".
Other pop culture references include: Manischewitz wine, Hooked on Phonics and Tijuana, Mexico.
Part III (2002)
Included on the Eight Crazy Nights soundtrack featuring vocals from actor Rob Schneider and the children's choir The Drei-Dels.
Persons referenced in "The Chanukah Song, Part III":
Ross (David Schwimmer) and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) from Friends
David Lander (Squiggy) of Laverne & Shirley
Debra Messing
Melissa Gilbert (was adopted by a Jewish mother and raised in her faith)
Michael Landon (Landon's father was Jewish).
Jerry Lewis
Ben Stiller (Stiller's dad Jerry Stiller is Jewish, and mom Anne Meara, who is of Irish Catholic background, converted to Reform Judaism).
Jack Black (dad converted to Judaism, mom was born Jewish.)
Tom Arnold ("converted to Judaism, but you guys can have him back!")
Deuce Bigalow, Rob Schneider's title character of the 1999 film (Schneider is half-Jewish) he comes on stage an states I'm Jewish, stays for the chorus then sings- Mickey Raphael ("The guy in Willie Nelson's band who plays harmonica celebrates Hanukkah!") then Sandler says, "tiny Elvis, ladies and gentlemen tiny Elvis." Turning to Schneider, he says, "Schneider, I did not even know you were Jewish. He responds, "I'm a Filipino Jew; in fact, I got to run home and light the first pig," to which Sandler replies, "get going," and then continues the song.
Osama bin Laden, who is "not a big fan of the Jews".
Sarah Hughes (half-Jewish; "her mama's Jewish")
Harry Houdini
David Blaine (his mother was Jewish)
Gwyneth Paltrow (half-Jewish)
Jennifer Connelly (half-Jewish)
Lou Reed
Perry Farrell
Beck (maternal great-grandmother was Jewish)
Paula Abdul
Joey Ramone
Natalie Portman (as "Natalie Portmanika")
