“House of the Dragon,” new Brooklyn police show, inside a Jewish family - Queens, 1980

Stars of David

By Nate Bloom, Stars of David Contributing Columnist

Editor’s Note: Persons in bold are deemed by Nate Bloom to be Jewish for the purpose of this column. Persons identified as Jewish have at least one Jewish parent and were not raised in, or identify with, a faith other than Judaism. Converts to Judaism, of course, are also identified as Jewish.

Before the “press” deadlines for the August and September issues, I didn’t have much “Jewish” information about the cast of “House of the Dragon,” a 10-episode prequel to the megahit series “Game of Thrones” (“GOT”). “House” began streaming on HBO on Aug. 21 and I have that cast information now.

“House” is set 200 years before the events in GOT. As the series begins, the “Seven Kingdoms” are ruled by Viserys, a popular king. He is the fifth member of the Targaryen family to rule the Seven Kingdoms. The Targayren conquest of the kingdoms, and their subsequent rule, was made possible by the Targaryens’ fire-breathing dragons, which have a “mystical” tie to the family.

The pilot episode was directed by Miguel Sapochnik, 48. He was born in the U.K., the son of Argentine Jewish parents. Sapochnik was the “go-to” director for the most spectacular GOT battle episodes.

As with GOT, most of the cast is British. The recurring cast includes David Horovitch, 76, as Grand Maester Mellos, a trusted advisor to Viserys. GOT fans know that a “Maester” is a scholar and/or scientist on the King’s payroll.

Horovitch is a busy British character actor. He’s the son of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother and was raised without religion. However, he has played several Jewish roles and, through them, he says he’s learned something about Judaism.

Fabien Frankel, 28, another Brit, and a good looking fellow, plays Ser Christin Cole, an important regular cast member. Ser Christin rose from a “commoner” background to knighthood and he’s a great swordsman (In real life, Frankel is a trained fencer).

Frankel has so few acting credits that Wikipedia listed him as a “House” cast “regular,” but provided no biography at all. I researched his background, and I recently wrote up what I found for a weekly Jewish paper. Wikipedia noticed my weekly column and added “my info” to Frankel’s bio, with credit to this writer.

Here’s what I found: Frankel’s father was (the very handsome) actor, Mark Frankel. He was killed in a motorcycle/ truck accident in 1996, at age 34. Mark was on the cusp of a really big career — he had just started getting star roles in major British TV series. Mark was also a world class tennis player. He had a Jewish funeral.

Mark’s mother was an Indian Jew from Mumbai. His English Jewish father served as a pilot in the Royal Air Force. Mark and his brother, Joe, were also skilled pilots. Joe did stunt flying and was killed (1991) during an air show.

Fabien was 2 years old when his father died, and his only sibling, a brother, was born posthumously. I don’t know much about Caroline Besson, the brothers’ mother and Mark’s widow. She is French, was an ad company executive, and has remarried.

A new police show, entitled “East New York,” begins on CBS on Oct. 2 (9 p.m.). African American actress Amanda Ward stars as Regina Haywood, a police inspector who has just been promoted to lead a precinct in a historically poor Brooklyn neighborhood that is just starting to gentrify. Veteran character actor Richard Kind, 65, plays Capt. Stan Yenko, Hayward’s friendly and efficient right hand.

“Armageddon Time” opens in theaters on Oct. 22. It was directed and written by James Gray, 53. Gray grew up in a middle-class home in Queens, NY. He was the grandson of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants (both sides). His films include “Ad Astra,” “Little Odessa” and “Two Lovers.” The latter two have major Jewish characters. These three films, like most of Gray’s films, got good reviews.

Gray’s new film is “pretty Jewish.” The movie is set in Queens, in 1980. The central character is Paul Graff, a 9-year-old member of a middle-class Jewish family. Paul’s dignified, Ukrainian Jewish immigrant grandparents are played by Anthony Hopkins and Tovah Feldshuh, 73. His parents are played by Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong, 43 (best known for playing Kendall Roy on the hit HBO series “Succession.” Strong’s father is Jewish).

Much of the plot is about the dire problems of Paul’s Black friend and family tensions. But there are quite a few Jewish moments — like Paul’s grandfather telling him that his grandmother saw Cossacks kill her family in front of her, and Fred Trump (yes, Donald’s father and a real 1980 Queens resident) asking Paul the “origin” of the name Graff. Clearly, Trump is trying to ascertain if Paul is “really” German or “just” a Jew with a Germanic name.