CBS Television · Public domain

Turned song parody into a chart phenomenon with My Son, the Folk Singer (1962), which became the fastest-selling record album of its time by setting comic, Jewish-inflected lyrics to familiar folk tunes. His biggest hit, "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh," set a homesick summer-camp letter to Ponchielli's Dance of the Hours and became one of the most recognizable novelty songs of the decade.