Tracing the Origins of 'Ish Kabibble'

History is meant to be shared. Often I depend upon collegial support. In this case, the answer to a long sought-after question has come to light thanks to a friend with computer access, mine being denied due to an enemy named vertigo--no one's pal. Another friend asked me the question, and I tried an educated guess thanks to still an additional colleague called a book.

The question was, "Where did the term 'Ish Kabibble' originate, and did your parents ever name you that as a youth?" I immediately answered yes to the second part, but I admitted ignorance to the first part. Research yielded an answer, but it was wrong. The Internet came through.

Ish Kabibble, literally "meaning nothing" in Yiddish, has had other interpreted meanings: "I should worry?" or according to Alfred E. Newman, "What, me worry?"

Merwyn Bogue, born Jan. 19, 1908, played cornet with the band on the Kay Kaiser Radio Show starting in 1931 and eventually became her business manager. He also played the comic named Ish Kabibble on the part of the show called the "Radio College of Musical Knowledge." His portrayal of this character inspired Jerry Lewis in his comic persona.

In addition, in 1913 "Isch Ga-bibble" had been a novelty song, and in 1915 the character appeared on a postcard. By 1955 my friends and I never missed a Saturday matinee at the Sauconia Movie Theater on Main Street of Hellertown when it starred Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. This feature was preceded by various cartoons, the boring newsreel and possibly a short episode of the Three Stooges or Lash Larue, the cowboy. Three-and-a-half hours of entertainment cost only 16 cents. History makes amazing connections.