Mormon records helped uncover family histories for Bernie Sanders and Larry David

With a bit of help from the Mormons, PBS’ “Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr.” discovered that Sen. Bernie Sanders and the man who parodied him on “Saturday Night Live,” Larry David, are related.

By Scott D. Pierce 53 minutes ago

Excerpts:

As viewers learn in Tuesday’s episode (7 p.m., KUED-Channel 7), both men knew little of their family histories — which are filled with similar tragedies. They’re both descended from Polish Jews, who suffered multiple tragedies in the first half of the 20th century. And there are other surprises that leave Sanders and David stunned.

Gates said he tried to talk his “good friend” David into participating in “Finding Your Roots” for years.
“He would say, ‘Yeah, no.’ Then finally, one day out of the blue, he said he was in,” Gates said. “Then we asked Bernie Sanders, and he said yes. So it was obvious to put them together in an episode because of Larry’s fabulous imitation” on “Saturday Night Live.”

They weren’t expecting to discover that the two are related.
“Then we get to the DNA,” Gates said. “They share identical DNA on chromosome 7, 9 and 11. That’s a lot.”
It indicates that Sanders and David are third or fourth cousins.

“What the hell!” David exclaims in surprise. “That is so funny!”

“You’re kidding!” a visibly startled Sanders blurts out. “This is unbelievable.”

http://www.sltrib.com/news/2017/10/02/mormon-records-helped-uncover-family-histories-for-bernie-sanders-and-larry-david/