History Radio / TheGoldbergs

The sitcom was revolutionary in another way: it depicted Jews as a normal immigrant family living in New York, defying many of the stereotypes that had plagued Jews. Gertrude Berg recognized this, and used the show to depict how anti-Semitism affected normal lower-class families, as one famous episode had a brick smashing through their window during a Passover seder, which was a reaction to UsefulNotes/NaziGermany and the ''Kristallnacht''. Later episodes made subtle references to UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust.

''The Goldbergs'' is one of the first, if not ''the'' first, FamilyTitle {{Sitcom}}s, revolving around a Jewish family, the titular Goldbergs, living in the Bronx. It starred Gertrude Berg as the family matriarch Molly. The series started many of the sitcom tropes, including the GenerationalSaga: while Molly and her husband Jake were thickly accented AlterKocker parents, their daughter Rosalie was a fully Americanized teen. The show began much like ''Series/TheHoneymooners'', as a series of sketches on a radio {{variety show}} in 1929. The fifteen-minute segments, called ''The Rise of the Goldbergs'', proved so popular that the concept was expanded to a half-hour series.

The show's television run lasted until 1955. In 1973, a musical based on the characters, ''Molly'', ran on Broadway for a year. A 2009 documentary, ''[[CatchPhrase Yoo-hoo!]], Mrs. Goldberg!'' looked at the historical impact of the series.

The show ended when Berg produced a stage play, ''Me and Molly'', after which it made a successful transition to television in 1949. By this point the RedScare was in full force, however, and Philip Loeb, who played Jake, was [[UsefulNotes/TheHollywoodBlacklist blacklisted]] in 1950. Berg refused to fire him despite pressure from the sponsor, General Foods, and so the series was canceled by Creator/{{CBS}}. NBC picked it up, but refused to air it until Berg fired Loeb, which she reluctantly did, though the show did continue to pay Loeb a salary under the terms of a settlement. A despondent Loeb subsequently committed suicide (an act that was later referenced in the 1976 film ''Film/TheFront'', with Loeb's friend Creator/ZeroMostel playing the Loeb {{expy}} Hecky Brown).

The show ended when Berg produced a stage play, ''Me and Molly'', after which it made a successful transition to television in 1949. By this point the RedScare was in full force, however, and Philip Loeb, who played Jake, was [[UsefulNotes/TheHollywoodBlacklist blacklisted]] in 1950. Berg refused to fire him despite pressure from the sponsor, General Foods, and so the series was canceled by Creator/{{CBS}}. NBC picked it up, but refused to air it until Berg fired Loeb, which she reluctantly did, though the show did continue to pay Loeb a salary under the terms of a settlement. A despondent Loeb subsequently committed suicide (an act that was later referenced in the 1976 film ''Film/TheFront'', with Creator/ZeroMostel playing the Loeb {{expy}} Hecky Brown).

The sitcom was revolutionary in another way: it depicted Jews as a normal immigrant family living in New York, defying many of the stereotypes that had plagued Jews. Gertrude Berg recognized this, and used the show to depict how anti-Semitism affected normal lower-class families, as one famous episode had a brick smashing through their window during a Passover seder, which was a reaction to Nazi Germany and the ''Kristallnacht''. Later episodes made subtle references to the Holocaust.