Unfortunately for comedy-loving Jews (read: Jews), we can’t claim comedian Tim Robinson as one of our own. The SNL writer-cast member and “I Think You Should Leave” creator isn’t Jewish — his IMDb page lists his heritage as English, Italian and general Eastern European and social media posts imply his household is secular. But in honor of Robinson’s upcoming dark comedy movie “Friendship,” co-starring (the Jewish) Paul Rudd, it’s worth noting that the comedian has one small yet meaningful connection to the Jewish community: He grew up celebrating Hanukkah.
Yes, that’s correct. Tim Robinson isn’t Jewish, but he celebrated the Festival of Lights. If you’re rightfully wondering what the deal with that is, we’ll let Tim explain.
“So my parents are divorced and I kind of grew up with two dads,” he told online skate shop CSS in 2020. “One of my dads is Jewish, and we’d have Hanukkah and I got a subscription to Thrasher [Magazine] every Hanukkah.” He added, “I loved it. I was so hyped for it.”
Stop, that is so wholesome.
Outside of comedy, Tim Robinson is known as an avid skate boarder. In the same interview with CSS, he revealed that he began skating on-and-off in elementary school. It wasn’t until high school, however, that he got more serious about the sport; coincidentally, it was about this time that he also started getting into comedy. “Frontside Flips were my trick,” he explained. “I would do them off gaps and down stairs, so I broke boards all the time.”
The fact that Hanukkah and a Jewish stepdad played even a small role in Tim Robinson’s life, and therefore connects one of the funniest comedians of our time to Judaism, is totally satisfying. It’s frankly better than sloppy steaks.
