He’s Jewish, he’s kosher, he’s a pickle! From Emmy-Award winning executive producer Halle Stanford and world-renowned puppeteer Victor Yerrid, The Monty Pickle Show is making a mark on social media, educating children about Judaism in a way that’s fun and relatable. Monty made a special appearance at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles this past Sunday to celebrate Hanukkah and even partnered with Kaylin and Kaylin Pickles to offer a pickle tasting bar before and after the show!
Awards Buzz had a truly entertaining conversation with Monty Pickle, Stanford, and Yerrid about Monty’s vital role in spreading Jewish joy. Stanford reflected back on the positive examples of Jewish representation she found – or struggled to find – in film and television growing up:
“I found a lot of it more in books than I did on TV, but of course the creators and artists behind my most favorite shows were Jewish. Michael Landon was Pa on Little House, Jewish. You can see all of that good kindness and empathy and charity come through. I will say that on Little House on the Prairie was the first time I saw an authentic Jewish character, Nellie’s husband. But as you can see, all I had was Nellie’s husband on Little House on the Prairie. It wasn’t often – we’d see Fiddler on the Roof in the theaters. I would read All-of-a-Kind-Family, the books, but I never quite saw the representation. Everybody likes to talk about Rugrats Hanukkah, which was basically made thirty years ago, and, by the way, what a game changer! It was so exciting and I thought, this is so exciting, we’ll keep continuing to see Jewish representation in television, but instead what it came about was very holiday-specific or the best friend.”
Watch the video above to hear about some of Monty’s recent partnerships and hit songs, Yerrid’s concurrent journey with Monty learning about Judaism, and their takes on whether pickles are an acceptable movie theater snack.
Visit this site to learn more about The Monty Pickle Show.
