Moshe Kasher
Moshe Kasher (born July 6, 1979) is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor based in the Los Angeles area. He is the author of the 2012 memoir Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16.
In 2009, iTunes named Kasher "Best New Comic" and his comedy album Everyone You Know Is Going to Die, and Then You Are! was ranked one of the top 20 comedy albums on iTunes that same year. He was also named "Comic to Watch in 2010" by Punchline Magazine.
Early life and education
Born in Queens, New York, Kasher moved to Oakland, California with his mother and brother when he was one year old, and lived mostly on disability assistance and food stamps. His parents split up when he was 9; his father remained in New York and Kasher visited him regularly until his death — Kasher was 20 at the time.
Kasher grew up in North Oakland's Temescal and the Piedmont Avenue neighborhoods. A son of deaf parents, Kasher worked as a sign-language interpreter from the age of 17. His parents met at the World Games for the Deaf in 1967. His father, Steven, was born to secular, communist Jewish parents. Kasher's paternal grandfather was Yiddish writer Duvid Kasher. Steven was a painter when he met Kasher's mother, but later became a Hasidic Jew in the Satmar community in Brooklyn. He was later diagnosed with Gaucher's disease. Kasher's brother is a Rabbi.