History Main / AlterKocker

* Dan Lauria's character in ''Film/TheSpirit'', Commissioner Dolan, lampshades this trope: "I'm just an alter kocker, ya gotta gimme something to work with here."
** When the Spirit has to explain to Officer Morgenstern what this means, Dolan complains "Jews these days don't even know their own language."

* Nana, the feisty old lady from New York in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'' films.

* Mervin the magician in ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow'' episode "King Mario of Cramalot".

* ''Webcomic/VampireGirl'': Sigfred N. [=LeRoy=]. Given that it's a webcomic, one wouldn't know, but WordOfGod is that his voice would sound similar to John Byner's impersonation of Jackie Mason. His word balloons do indicate that he ends his sentences with a bit of a flourish.

* In ''WesternAnimation/GuillermoDelTorosPinocchio'', one of the rabbits responsible for carrying souls to the afterlife is a straight-up Alter Kocker.

* When Joe Lieberman received the Democrat nomination for Vice-President, the New York Observer headline about the reaction to the first Jew on a major party ticket was “Alte Kocke Shaken, Pishers Are Thrilled”.

* In later episodes of ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'', Cory seems to have matured into a full-blown AlterKocker (having aged out of his MouthyKid phase) minus the accent, despite only being in his late teens. (The actor who plays him, Ben Savage, is Jewish.)

* Several older characters on ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', including the Mandelbaums, George's parents, and at times Jerry's own father, Morty. At one point they have an argument which degenerates into nothing but the word "ehh!". Jerry's Uncle Leo is probably the most stereotypical of an old, grumpy Jew. Every single resident of the retirement condo where Helen and Morty lived, The Pines Of Mar Gables/Del Boca Vista, seems to be an AlterKocker- especially Morty's arch enemy Jack Klompus.

* Very blatantly [[Creator/JohnMulaney John Mulaney]]'s character, George St. Geegland, of Theatre/OhHello.

* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', [[PlanetOfHats every single]] [[SpaceJews Decapodian]] is, at least to some extent, an AlterKocker, though Harold Zoid and the ambassador are straight examples.

* On ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'', Vlad Plasmius's ghostly hench-vultures all have AlterKocker voices and mannerisms.

A senior citizen with a [[YiddishAsASecondLanguage Yiddish accent]]. In fiction, Yiddish accents are common for old characters, even if their families are of a completely different culture. Alter Kockers are most common in comedies, due to the influence of Jewish comedians. Many BorschtBelt comics had immigrant parents with thick Yiddish accents. Sometimes, a character shown in the future or undergoing RapidAging will inexplicably gain a Yiddish accent and stereotypical Alter Kocker mannerisms, following RuleOfFunny. TruthInTelevision, nearly all depictions of the Yiddish accent are spoken by older characters, particularly those who reached adulthood before 1945, due to cultural assimilation and the destruction of much of Europe's Jewish communities, leading to Yiddish no longer being commonly spoken among secular Jews in the United States.

* French-Moroccan comedian Gad Elmaleh has the old grumpy Sephardic Jewish grandpa variant in his 2000 stage show ''La Vie Normale'' (''Normal Life'').

* [[Creator/JohnMulaney John Mulaney]]'s character, George St. Geegland, of Theatre/OhHello.
-->'''George:''' [[LampshadeHanging I am neither Jewish nor am I a woman, but I have reached the age where I am somehow both]].\\

* [[Creator/JohnMulaney]]'s character, George St. Geegland, of Theatre/OhHello.

* King Tooten Pooten from ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'', despite being of the ancient race that supposedly enslaved the Jews, speaks in this accent, complete with Yiddish phrases, like threatening to potch his grandson's tuchas.

A senior citizen with a [[YiddishAsASecondLanguage Yiddish accent]]. In fiction, Yiddish accents are common for old characters, even if their families are of a completely different culture. Alter Kockers are most common in comedies, due to the influence of Jewish comedians. Many BorschtBelt comics had immigrant parents with thick Yiddish accents. Sometimes, a character shown in the future or undergoing RapidAging will inexplicably gain a Yiddish accent and stereotypical Alter Kocker mannerisms, following RuleOfFunny.

Newer depictions often swap out the Yiddish accent for a working-class New York one with the [[YiddishAsASecondLanguage occasional Yiddish word]] dropped in; the second and third generations are alter kackers now.

* In an early episode of ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'', where Cory and Shawn imagine what they would be like some sixty odd years from now. Quite inexplicably, they are shown talking with Yiddish accents, despite being explicitly shown as Christian in earlier episodes.
** In later episodes, Cory seems to have matured into a full-blown AlterKocker (having aged out of his MouthyKid phase) despite only being in his late teens. (The actor who plays him, Ben Savage, is Jewish.)
* The same thing happened on ''Series/UglyBetty'', when the title character dreamed of her and Daniel in the far future. Betty is Latina, and Daniel certainly isn't Jewish either.

* Starting in TheSeventies, Creator/RhinoRecords released several songs by a fictional band called Gefilte Joe & The Fish, with a Yiddish-accented singer doing {{Rock}} songs. Their "hits" included "Walk on the Kosher Side" (a rewrite of [[Music/LouReed "Walk on the Wild Side"]], lamenting Jews who turn their back on their heritage) and [[UsefulNotes/JewishHolidays "Hanukkah Rocks"]], a celebration of the Feast of Lights (which was issued on Star-of-David-shaped vinyl).

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' where Mr. Mxyzptlk's fifth-dimensional powers are taken away from him, the ruling council has a definite flavor of "old Jewish men".

* ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn'':

* ''Silex and the City'' has the "archeo-Yiddish" Madame Finkelstein.

Incidentally, the phrase ''alter Kacker'' literally means "old shit[ter]." It's the Yiddish equivalent to the American slang phrase "old fart." Also incidentally, it means the exact same thing in German (Yiddish is closely related to German).

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Jud Hirsch's character in ''Film/IndependenceDay'' is an old Jewish man who kvetches constantly and speaks YiddishAsASecondLanguage.

** Two characters pretend to be this in ''High Anxiety'' in order to get through customs, hoping that being as loud and obnoxious as possible will [[WeirdnessCensor make people ignore them]].

* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', [[PlanetOfHats every single]] [[SpaceJews Decapodian]] is, at least to some extent, an AlterKocker, though Harold Zoid and the ambassador take it UpToEleven.