5 Celebrities you Thought Were Dead but are Actually Alive and Jewish

1. Wallace Shawn

My family had a full-fledged argument at dinner about whether “the short guy from The Princess Bride” was still alive. Turns out he is not yet dead, and he is as Jewish as his name is goyish.

2. Bob Dylan

Although reported dead by MSNBC in Nov 2020, this Nobel Laureate singer-songwriter is not only alive, but is actually a midwestern Jew named Robert Allen Zimmerman.

3. Mel Brooks

Although “is Mel Brooks dead” comes up as a suggested Google search result, this comedian, though 94 years old, is very much still alive, as well as being pretty famous for, yes, Jewish-related comedy. (Not to be confused with Mel Gibson, who is both alive and famously not Jewish.)

4. Zach Braff

Although the “Scrubs” actor was reported dead on CNN.com in 2009, he is actually alive, well, and the son of a Conservadox family who had his bar mitzvah in New Jersey.

5. Jesus

I don’t know what you’ve heard, but Jesus has actually risen. And not only does he love you (according to an aggressive billboard campaign I’ve seen), but he was actually born in Israel and was a prominent rabbi in his time! And thanks to the billboards, I also know that Jesus is, in fact, the answer. (To what question, though, I couldn’t tell you.)