Sarah Silverman on the heart-stopping moment she discovered her grandfather KILLED her own brother

 Sarah Silverman on the heart-stopping moment she discovered her grandfather KILLED her own brother

Comedian Sarah Silverman recently revealed a heartbreaking family secret: her baby brother Jeffrey, who died at three months old before she was born, may have been killed by her grandfather. For years, Silverman believed Jeffrey had died after slipping between the mattress and crib rail and suffocating.

However, in a recent Rolling Stone interview, she shared that before his death in 2023, her father, Donald Silverman, told her he believed his own father, Max, had violently shaken Jeffrey in a fit of rage, leading to the infant's death. This contradicts the long-held family story and shocked Silverman, especially since both her parents — who rarely agreed on anything — had always told the same version of events.

While writing her 2010 memoir The Bedwetter, Silverman noted her parents had left Jeffrey in the care of his grandparents while they were on vacation. Her grandfather reportedly claimed the baby had been crying during the night and was found suffocated the next morning. No legal action was ever taken against the crib manufacturer, raising further questions.

In 2022, a year before his death, Sarah Silverman's father, Donald, attended five consecutive performances of a musical adaptation of her memoir. After the fifth show — which included a scene of young Sarah joking about her baby brother Jeffrey’s death — Donald privately revealed a shocking truth: he believed his own father, Max, had killed Jeffrey by shaking him in a fit of rage.

This revelation stunned Sarah and her team, but it immediately made sense to her given her family's history. Donald had endured a violent childhood, regularly beaten by his father, while his younger brother was spared. Their mother, Rose, had defended Max despite the abuse. Sarah added that her father often disclosed painful memories abruptly, including past abuse by a priest.

This confession reframed the long-held story of Jeffrey's death, which had always been attributed to a crib accident, and deepened Sarah’s understanding of her family's trauma.

Sarah Silverman's father, Donald Silverman, passed away in 2023, shortly after the death of his second wife, Janice, with whom he had been married for over 40 years. In a heartfelt Instagram post, Silverman described him as her “best pal” and shared that he was surrounded by family, love, and dark humor in his final days. She noted that he considered himself “the richest man in the world” because of his family.

Silverman’s new comedy special, PostMortem, which reflects on the deaths of her parents, will be available on Netflix starting May 20. Her previous specials include A Speck of Dust (2017) on Netflix and Someone You Love (2023) on HBO.