Jerome "Jerry" Cutler is an American

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

and the founder of the Creative Arts Temple in

West Los Angeles, California West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped differently by di ...

Personal life

Cutler was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, the son of an Orthodox rabbi. He was ordained at the age of 24 and served at a Conservative congregation in Stamford, Connecticut. He became a talent agent after several years performing as a comedian in the

Catskills The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...

and Atlantic City. He soon moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, where he worked as a publicist for

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

' beach party films. In 1972, he founded the Synagogue for the Performing Arts for local Jews in

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

, now led by Rabbi

Joseph Telushkin Joseph Telushkin (born 1948) is an American rabbi, lecturer, and bestselling author of more than 15 books, including volumes about Jewish ethics, Jewish literacy, as well as the book '' Rebbe'', a ''New York Times'' bestseller released in Ju ...

. Cutler was a content advisor to the cartoon

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

series, '' The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible'', produced by Hanna-Barbera.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutler, Jerome Jewish American male comedians American Conservative rabbis Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Rabbis from New York City 21st-century American rabbis 21st-century American comedians 20th-century births