Modi Rosenfeld
Israeli-American comedian
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Modi Rosenfeld (Hebrew: מודי רוזנפלד; born Mordechi Rosenfeld), known professionally as Modi[1] (stylized as MODI) is an Israeli-American stand-up comedian and actor.[2] He is known for his Jewish humor and has become a mainstay among Orthodox audiences.[3]
1970 (age 55–56)
- Stand-up
- television
- film
- books
Early years
Rosenfeld was born in Tel Aviv and moved to Woodmere, New York, with his family when he was seven years old.[1][4] His parents spoke only Hebrew at home and the family spent their summers in Israel.[5] He graduated from George W. Hewlett High School in 1988 and Boston University in 1992, majoring in psychology and minoring in voice.[4]
Rosenfeld studied cantorial music at Yeshiva University's Belz School of Music.[1] He was a Wall Street international banker for Merrill Lynch before entering comedy.[1][6]
Career
Modi is an established headliner at comedy clubs across the United States and is a regular fixture on the comedy scene in both New York and Los Angeles.[7] His home club is the Comedy Cellar. Modi has performed for Orthodox, Reform and other non-Orthodox audiences internationally.[8][5] He performed at the launch party of the late Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon in Houston before takeoff.[1]
Rosenfeld is known for having a particularly large following among Orthodox audiences, performing at yeshivas, National Council of Young Israel affiliates, Hatzalah, Chabad telethons and Eshel.[9][10] He has also performed for special Shabbat dinners for the Council of Fashion Designers of America.[11]
Rosenfeld has contributed to US Weekly as a member of the fashion police.[12][13] He was a semi-finalist on the fourth season of Last Comic Standing.[14]
Rosenfeld cites Don Rickles, Jackie Mason, George Carlin, and Louis CK as his comedic inspirations.[7]
The City of New York proclaimed June 26, 2018 "Mordechi 'Modi' Rosenfeld Day".[15]
Rosenfeld is the co-founder and producer of the Chosen Comedy Festival, along with comedians Elon Gold and Dani Zoldan.[16] The festival premiered in Coney Island in summer 2022.[17]
In 2023, he was featured in the "36 to Watch" list by New York Jewish Week, which honors Jewish personalities for their contributions to the city's Jewish community.[17] In 2024, he was inducted into Anu – Museum of the Jewish People's Hall of Fame for Jewish Humor.[18]
He is the host of his own podcast called And Here's Modi.[19] He has also been a guest on the podcasts Unorthodox, WTF with Marc Maron and Headliners with Nihal Arthanayake for the BBC.[20][21][22]
Personal life
Filmography
| Year | Film/Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Friday Night | Modi | TV series; episode: "Sunset Beach - Behind the Scenes" |
| 2002 | The Sopranos | Etan | TV series; episode: "Mergers and Acquisitions" |
| 2003 | Connecting Dots | Tom | |
| 2004 | Waiting for Woody Allen | Mendel | Short film |
| Der Kosh | Rabbi | ||
| Our Italian Husband | Pasquale | ||
| 2006 | Ira & Abby | Marvin the Limo Driver | |
| Agent Emes 5: Agent Emes and the Happy Chanukah | Rocky Rabinowitz | Video | |
| 2007 | Stand Up | Avi | |
| A Perfect Holiday | Father in Line | ||
| 2008 | One, Two, Many | Jermaine | |
| 2009 | CSI: NY | David Klein | TV series; episode: "Yahrzeit" |
| 2010 | Horrorween | Shlomo | |
| 2014–2015 | Deadbeat | Menachem Mendel | 5 episodes |
| 2017 | Madam Secretary | Oded Dahan | TV series; episode: "The Essentials" |
| 2019 | Crashing | Himself | TV series; episode: "The Temple Gig" |
Video games
| Year | Game | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Grand Theft Auto IV | Issac Roth | |
| 2009 | Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned | Archive footage | |
| Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony |