The Jewish mother is the cornerstone of the family, the authority figure, the steadfast optimist, the loving companion, the spiritual advisor, the executive chef and unwavering symbol of shining love. With those absolute truths said, and without any intent to diminish her brilliant light, we all know the Jewish mother was also the subject of considerable humor in both the Jewish and American scene. Therefore, please allow me to add some gentle humor to my essay. Anyhow, I wouldn't dare to ridicule, because I'm married to a Jewish mother.

So, you want to hear about Jewish mothers? All right, already. If you'll just stop fussing and sit still for a moment, I'll tell you. To best begin, I believe early 20th Century American show business gives the most typical examples of what was then considered the humorous version of the Jewish mother, translated Yiddisha Mama. Included are the (in)famous stage mothers of stand-up, movie, TV and radio comedians Milton Berle, Henny Youngman, George Jessel and the Marx Brothers. And let's not forget famed 1940s stripper Gypsy Rose Lee and her Mama Rose Hovick, the Jewish stage mother from hell, who inspired the Broadway musical, "Gypsy."

In early TV, a popular sitcom was, "The Goldbergs', with the Molly Goldberg character shown as a typical, uneducated immigrant Jewish mother in a New York City apartment house. She came complete with the heavy Yiddish accent, overbearing love for her family and busybody neighborhood gossip routine. The actress-writer, Gertrude Berg, was actually an American-born college graduate, but you can be sure she had an immigrant Jewish mother.

In 21st Century TV, stars with onscreen domineering Jewish mothers included Jerry Seinfeld's, named Helen, played by Irish-American actress, Liz Sheridan. Co-star Jason Alexander, born Jason Greenspan, who portrayed Italian-American George Costanza, had an onscreen Italian mother, Estelle Costanza, played by actress Estelle Harris, born Estelle Nussbaum. Are you still with me?

OK, so stop kvetching. We know Ray Romano, star of "Everybody Loves Raymond" is Italian, and so was his onscreen character, Ray Barone, but his on-screen Italian brother, Robert, was played by Jewish actor Brad Garrett, born Brad Gerstenfeld. Their annoyingly overbearing Italian mother, Marie Barone, was brilliantly played by multi-award-winning Jewish actress, Doris Roberts, nee Doris Metzler. Got it all, boobalah, or should I write it all down again slower?

The real

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