JEWISH INTEREST
January 2015 Federation Star
Stars of David
By Nate Bloom, Contributing Columnist Editor’s note: Persons in BOLD CAPS are deemed by Nate Bloom to be Jewish for the purpose of the column. Persons identified as Jewish have at least one Jewish parent and were not raised in a faith other than Judaism – and don’t identify with a faith other than Judaism as an adult. Converts to Judaism, of course, are also identified as Jewish. Father Time People magazine had some egg on its face when it posted (November 30) an obituary of actor KIRK DOUGLAS on its website. Douglas, who turned 98 on December 9, quoted Mark Twain when he spoke to a USA Today reporter on December 1: “The announcement of my death is premature.” The false report created some fairly amusing web chatter. New York Daily News readers’ web comments included, “I am not dead, and I am Spartacus!” and “Hey, Kirk, say hello to Abe Vigoda!” You may recall that ABE VIGODA (The Godfather and Barney Miller) was reported as dead in a 1982 People article and that a TV reporter repeated the mistake in 1987. Vigoda, now 93, has often joked about his “death” with TV hosts. Meanwhile, hitting the century mark in 2014 were Professor IRWIN COREY, the comedian, (last June) and actor NORMAN LLOYD (last November). Just before a big 100th birthday party at a New York actors’ club, Corey told the Daily News: “I hope they give me an 18-year-old girl.” Lloyd, who appeared in several Hitchcock films, is probably best known for playing Dr. Auschlander on the TV show St. Elsewhere. He still plays tennis twice a week and has a biggish supporting role in Trainwreck, a JUDD APATOW film that will open in July 2015. HOWIE MANDEL, 59, a St. Elsewhere co-star, said: “I love Norman Lloyd. He is a legend. I have spent hours like a little kid while
he regaled us with stories of Hitchcock. He teaches, he entertains. He is a legend!” Robert Klein on Jewish Funerals Last October, Jay Leno was given the prestigious Mark Twain Award for his comedy career and most PBS stations showed the ceremony in late November. No doubt, it will be repeated several times in 2015 and the ceremony is viewable online. ROBERT KLEIN, 72, worked in some stand-up shtick as he praised Leno. This bit tickled me: “Jay will never retire. You’ll never see him in Florida with an aluminum thing under his chin. Anyway, I have a beef with Florida. I sent two vital 65-year-old parents to South Florida and 30 years later they were dead! What the hell is going on down there? Anyway, I am feeling my mortality. And I am a few years older than you, Jay, about seven or eight. One thing I am hopeful about. Jews bury quickly. We don’t fool around. No wakes or anything – five showings like in vaudeville. A Jew dies, ‘Zoom! Into the Ground! ‘What the hell happened to Irving?’ ‘He was here a second ago!’ I mean there’s no wasted time. A Jew dies at noon – ‘Call the relatives in Phoenix! The funeral is at 2!’ There could be some Talmudic philosophic reason. I don’t know. Maybe it’s get on with life. Maybe let’s remember you as you were. To tell you the truth, the older I get, around my relatives I’m afraid to take a nap lest I be buried prematurely. PJB – Premature Jewish Burial – is a real epidemic thing in America. As a
KRISTEN COURY, Producing Artistic Director
SPRING 2015 SEASON
VANYA SONIA NIA MASHA Spike by by
Christopher Christopher Durang Du g JAN 17-FEB 8
THE
BY
GWYDION SUILEBHAN FEB 28-MAR 22
The BY
DAVID IVES
BASED ON THE PLAY BY
PIERRE CORNEILLE
APR 4-26
SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE! www.gulfshoreplayhouse.org • Call for Tickets: 1.866.811.4111 The Norris Center 755 8th Avenue South, Naples, FL
SEASON BENEFACTORS PATTY & JAY BAKER
CORPORATE PARTNER
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS BOB & LINDA HARDEN CHRISTINE PADDOCK
19
Interested in Your Family’s History? Ten years of doing a Jewish celebrities column has turned Nate Bloom (see column at left) into something of an expert on finding basic family history records and articles mentioning a “searched-for” person. During these 10 years, he has put together a small team of “mavens” who aid his research. Most professional family history experts charge at least $1,000 for a full family tree. However, many people just want to get “started” by tracing one particular family branch.
So here’s the deal: Email Nate at nteibloom@aol.com, tell him you saw this ad in the Federation Star, and include your phone number (area code, too). Nate will then contact you about doing a “limited” family history for you at a modest cost (no more than $100). No upfront payment. matter of fact, 60 Minutes was going to do a story on it. But MIKE WALLACE died and disappeared quickly. Couldn’t find him.” Family Fare These two new movies should be in theaters when you read this: Annie is a “re-imagining” of the hit stage musical, and most of the original (1976) Broadway show’s songs are in the re-make. They were penned by MARTIN CHARNIN, 80, and CHARLES STROUSE, 86. The new version features three new songs which were co-written by GREG KURSTIN, 47. The screenplay was written by Emma Thompson, ALINE BROSH McKENNA, 47 (The Devil Wears Prada), and Annie director WILL GLUCK, 42. Long a TV comedy writer, Gluck broke out of this niche as the director of two “rom-com” hits: Easy A (2010) and Friends with Benefits (2011), which Gluck also co-wrote.
His father, PETER GLUCK, 73, is a famous architect, and his mother, CAROL N. GLUCK, also 73, is a Columbia University history professor who has written about the Holocaust. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb was directed by SHAWN LEVY, 46. Here’s part of the ‘official’ description of the third and final pic in this series: “When the magic powers of The Tablet of Ahkmenrah begin to die out, Larry Daley (BEN STILLER, 49) spans the globe, uniting his son Nicky (SKYLER GISONDO, 18), Theodore Roosevelt (Robin Williams), Jedadiah (Owen Wilson)...and a new Neanderthal named Laa (Stiller)…while embarking on an epic quest to save the magic.” By the way, Gisondo’s last name comes from his paternal Italian grandfather, who wasn’t Jewish. His other grandparents were Jewish. Gisondo replaced JAKE CHERRY, 18, as Nicky.