Frank Jacobs

Who is Frank Jacobs?

Frank Jacobs is an American author of satires, known primarily for his work in Mad, to which he has contributed since 1957. Jacobs has written a wide variety of lampoons and spoof, but he is best known as a versifier who contributes parodies of famous song lyrics and poems. In 2009, Jacobs told a Burbank newspaper, "I’m the least-known writer of hysterical light verse in the United States."

Jacobs appeared in the sixth chapter of PBS' comedy documentary, Make 'em Laugh: The Funny Business of America singing "Blue Cross," his own 1961 parody of Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies". That lyric was one of 25 that comprised Irving Berlin et al. v. E.C. Publications, Inc., a precedent-setting case that was appealed to the Supreme Court and helped to define the boundaries of parody in American law.