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Mark Rydell's Passion
Summer movies provide thrills, chills and laughs and are more noted for their special effects and star actors than for the acting and the seriousness of their purpose. Which makes this a good time to visit with Mark Rydell, a man whose more than 50-year career as an actor, director and producer speaks of his integrity, his commitment to being an artist and his devotion to the craft of acting. Rydell's current offering as director is "Even Money" (now playing… -
Whose Nuremberg Laws Are They?
Sometimes we take for granted what is right in front of us. Consider that one of the most important documents of the 20th century is right here in Los Angeles, accessible and on view for all to visit. Few realize it; fewer still appreciate it. Although originals of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights can be found at the National Archives in Washington, and the Magna Carta and the Rosetta Stone are part of the… -
The Next Conversation
Can a conversation inspire a city? A people? Nextbook, an organization devoted to Jewish literature, culture and ideas (www.nextbook.org) came to L.A. last weekend, staging a full day festival at UCLA's MacGowan and Freud theaters called "Acting Jewish: Film, TV, Comedy, Music," the first of what it hopes to be an annual event. According to Nextbook Director Julie Sandorf, the notion of an L.A. festival was inspired by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, filmmaker and author David Mamet, whose book, "The Wicked… -
'Rebel with a Cause' (Andrew Stevens)
Andrew Stevens, a longtime Beverly Hills resident, successful businessman, active philanthropist and Hungarian Holocaust survivor, is hard to resist. He's in his late 70s but looks 15 years younger -- not because of his hair, which is darker than nature permits, but because of his energy, drive and determination. He has a quality I find hard to describe (but which many, who have had occasion to befriend Holocaust survivors, will recognize) that is annoying yet endearing. Let me explain: In… -
Treasures of the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music
Can you tell the story of a people by its music? Last November, the classical music label Naxos released the 50th CD of its American Classics series, music from the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music, so the time has come to give the archive its props (just imagine Randy Jackson saying: Yo! Yo! Dog, check it out....) The Milken Archive defines American Jewish Music as "music inspired by or relating to the American Jewish experience." The Naxos recordings cover… -
FOODIE-ISM (Barry Glassner & "The Gospel of Food")
This time of year finds me on the treadmill in the mornings, futzing around the gym, taking walks around the neighborhood, eating lots of grilled chicken salads. I'm in training -- not for the recent Los Angeles Marathon, but for the marathon weekend in May when my wife and I travel to another city with several like-minded couples without our kids to spend time listening to music and eating, eating, eating. New Orleans is a favorite destination; this year, for… -
ASSUME EVERYONE IS JEWISH
A couple of weeks ago I found myself in a seminar room at UCLA's Royce Hall attending a presentation by professor David Shneer of the University of Denver concerning Jewish museums in Los Angeles, a city he calls, "The Newest Jewish City in the World." As someone who has argued that Los Angeles is the premier Jewish city of the 21st century, I was eager to find academic support for my own theories. Everyone thinks of New York as the… -
My Punk Self
Recently I asked a 15-year-old boy what music he listened to. His answer: "No one you ever heard of." A perfect answer. Because what every fan needs, what every person should have, is music that is his own. Over the years, there's been a lot of music that has mattered to me. That I have enjoyed; that I have loved. But if you asked me what music was mine -- I would name without hesitation a bunch of bands that… -
Literary Paprika (Mark Sarvas and 'The Elegant Variation')
What better way to start the New Year than by sprinkling a little literary paprika? Consider this: Mark Sarvas, a New York-born son of Hungarian parents, a voracious reader, a Francophile and a foodie, comes to Los Angeles to be a writer, sells some screenplays and starts an acclaimed literary blog, The Elegant Variation (marksarvas.blogs.com/elegvar ). To top it all off, Sarvas has just completed his first novel, as yet untitled and currently being submitted to publishers. "Yoy Ishtenem!" If… -
Old Jewish Jokes
Tom Teicholz tellsJewish jokes Let us quote from sacred text: the 2005 Emmy Award acceptance speech by "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart. Spaketh Stewart: "When I first said that I wanted us to put together a late-night comedy writing team that would only be 80 percent Ivy League-educated Jews, people thought I was crazy. They said you need 90, 95 percent. But we proved 'em wrong." Welcome to Jewish jokes in the 21st century. Not really a joke, more of… -
Mamet's Question
David Mamet has written a book, "The Wicked Son: Anti-Semitism, Self-Hatred and the Jews" (Shocken/Nextbook), that is by turns bold, courageous, and outrageous -- it is a book that calls Diaspora Jews to the table and asks: "In or Out?" "The underlying premise of the book," Mamet told me recently, "is to all Jews: If you can't say of your fellow Jews ' my people,' get out of my way; I don't want to know you, because our people are…