Family secrets have a weird way of rotting in the dark until someone finally decides to open a window. For decades, Sarah Silverman and her sisters believed a specific, tragic story about their infant brother, Jeffrey. He had died at just three months old, long before Sarah was even born. The "official" family version was a freak accident—a baby sliding between a mattress and a crib rail, a sudden case of SIDS, or a mechanical failure. It was the kind of tragedy that brands a family but stays neatly filed under "unavoidable misfortune."
Then, everything changed.
In a bombshell revelation shared during an interview with Rolling Stone in 2025, Sarah dropped a heavy truth about her paternal sarah silverman grandfather, Max Silverman. According to her late father, Donald, the baby’s death wasn't an accident at all. It was something much more violent, and it’s a story that recontextualizes the generational trauma that has simmered beneath the surface of the Silverman family for years.
The Secret Donald Silverman Carried to His Grave
Donald Silverman, Sarah’s dad, was a character. People knew him as "Schleppy," a man who loved his daughters and had a famously dark sense of humor. But near the end of his life, he couldn't keep the mask on anymore. In 2022, after watching Sarah perform in the off-Broadway production of The Bedwetter—a show that actually features a joke about Jeffrey’s death—Donald went backstage and finally told his daughter what he believed really happened.
He didn't think it was a faulty crib.
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He told Sarah that he believed his own father, Max Silverman, killed the baby in a fit of rage.
"My dad says, 'I always felt that he was crying or something, and my dad shook him,'" Sarah recalled. He believed Max had shaken the three-month-old infant so violently that it ended the child's life. It’s a gut-wrenching detail that fundamentally alters the way the family looks at their lineage. When Donald said it, Sarah felt a chilling sense of clarity. It suddenly made sense why there was never a lawsuit against the crib company. It made sense why the silence around the event felt so heavy.
Who Was Max Silverman?
To understand the weight of this, you have to look at the man himself. Sarah silverman grandfather Max (1909–1990) wasn't exactly a warm, fuzzy figure in Donald’s childhood. In fact, Donald had previously described a home environment defined by fear and physical abuse.
Max was reportedly a violent man. He allegedly beat Donald daily, though he strangely left Donald’s younger brother untouched. He even demanded that his children call him "Mr. Silverman" rather than "Dad" or "Pop." That level of rigidity and coldness often points to a deeper volatility.
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- Paternal Grandfather: Max V. Silverman
- Paternal Grandmother: Rose Sims
- The Incident: Happened while Sarah’s parents were away on vacation.
- The Cover-up: Max claimed he found the baby suffocated in the morning.
The tragedy happened while Donald and his wife, Beth Ann, were away. They had left the baby in the care of Max and Rose. When they returned, they were met with the news that their son was gone. Rose, the grandmother, reportedly stood by Max throughout her life, despite witnessing the abuse he leveled at their own son. It’s a classic, tragic cycle of protection and silence that often happens in families dealing with a "monster" in the house.
The Contrast: Herman Halpin and the Maternal Side
It’s honestly wild how different the two sides of a family tree can be. While the paternal side was shadowed by Max’s temper, Sarah’s maternal grandfather, Herman Halpin (born Hyman Cohen), was a completely different story.
On an episode of Finding Your Roots, Sarah talked about Herman as a "stabilizing influence." He was funny. He was kind. He was basically the antidote to the tension on the other side of the family. However, even that side wasn't without its quirks. Sarah’s maternal grandmother, Golde, was someone she once jokingly (or maybe not so jokingly) referred to as a "monster." Golde was so intent on assimilation that she forced Herman to change his name from Hyman Cohen because she didn't want people to know they were Jewish.
Why This Matters Now
Why talk about a sarah silverman grandfather who passed away decades ago? Because it explains the "why" behind the art. Sarah Silverman has built a career on being "too much"—too edgy, too honest, too willing to poke at the things that make people uncomfortable.
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When you grow up in a family where a massive, violent secret is being suppressed, you develop a radar for bullshit. You learn that the "polite" version of the story is usually a lie.
Donald Silverman died in 2023, just a year after he finally unburdened himself of this secret. For Sarah, processing this didn't mean hating her father for not saying it sooner; it seemed to bring a weird kind of peace. It confirmed an intuition she’d likely had her whole life—that something in the foundation of her family was cracked.
Moving Forward: Lessons from the Silverman History
Learning about this level of family trauma isn't just celebrity gossip; it's a look at how secrets can travel through generations. If you’re looking into your own family history or dealing with similar revelations, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Believe your intuition. If a family story feels "off" or too convenient, there’s usually a reason.
- Separate the person from the trauma. Sarah’s father was a victim of Max before he was a father who kept a secret. Understanding that doesn't excuse the silence, but it explains it.
- Break the cycle through honesty. By speaking about this in Rolling Stone and in her comedy, Sarah is effectively "emptying the closet." The secret loses its power once it's spoken out loud.
Exploring the history of the sarah silverman grandfather isn't just about digging up dirt. It’s about understanding the complex, often dark roots that produce the people we see on screen today. It’s a reminder that even the funniest people often come from places of profound, unspoken pain.
If you're interested in tracing your own family's "official stories" versus the truth, start by talking to the oldest living relatives you have. Don't just ask for dates and names—ask for the stories that people stopped telling. You might find that the truth, however dark, is easier to carry than a lie.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check out the Finding Your Roots episode featuring Sarah Silverman to see her real-time reaction to her maternal genealogy.
- Read Sarah's memoir, The Bedwetter, for a deeper look at her relationship with her father, Donald, and how they used humor to cope with the "dark and f***ed up" parts of life.
- Consider documenting your own family's oral histories; sometimes the most important details aren't in the public records, but in the memories people are finally ready to share.