Aviva Kempner
By Aviva Kempner
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Culture Why Hank Greenberg Understood Jackie Robinson’s Struggles
Editor’s Note: In honor of Jackie Robinson Day, the Forward is revisiting this story about the relationship between Robinson and Detroit slugger Hank Greenberg. Anyone who has seen the film “42” would be horrified at the hostility Jackie Robinson faced from his teammates and opposing players and catcalling from the stands when he integrated Major…
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Culture How You Know You’re a Detroit Jew
You know that you’re a Proud Detroit Jew, because for decades you boasted about growing up less than a mile away from the house of Smokey Robinson. Maybe you never saw him “Shop Around,” but you could point out his house on Outer Drive. You still brag about the fact that you saw little Michael…
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Culture The Hank Greenberg Story That ’42’ Forgot
Anyone seeing “42” would be horrified at the hostility Jackie Robinson faced from his teammates and opposing players and catcalling from the stands when he integrated Major League Baseball. What the film did not depict was the reported encounter Robinson had with the one baseball player who could best understand the prejudice the Civil Rights…
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The Schmooze How an Actor Died of the Blacklist
Fifty-five years ago today, union activist and thespian Philip Loeb checked himself into the Taft Hotel in Midtown Manhattan under a false name and took a fatal dose of sleeping pills. Targeted by the insidious blacklist, Loeb could no longer find work in his beloved acting profession and had reached rock bottom. Tonight, a panel…
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Culture Vive La Resistance, Encore!
The heroics of the French resistance have long intrigued movie buffs and filmmakers. Perhaps the most famous scene in cinema history is in “Casablanca,” when the tormented Ingrid Bergman bids adieu to Humphrey Bogart and chooses to escape with her resistance leader spouse. Now, French director Robert Guédiguian’s mesmerizing “The Army of Crime” (“L’armée du…
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Life Why Are Female Directors Silent About Roman Polanski’s Arrest?
I have yet to hear my fellow female directors calling for Roman Polanski to return to the United States to face sentencing for his admitted guilt of statutory rape. I guess I mistakenly believed that as women and artists we would be genuinely appalled that a man got away with raping a 13-year-old girl. And…
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News Washingtonians Kvell at Baseball Stadium’s Inauguration
Washington, D.C. – After more than three decades of playing the baseball equivalent of neglected stepchildren, Washingtonians finally have a state-of-the-art ball field to call their own. Nationals Park was inaugurated this past Sunday night with all the fanfare befitting a team headquartered in the nation’s capital. Opera diva Denyce Graves belted out the national…
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News At a Ripe Age, Eli Wallach Plays Juicy Jewish Roles
Round-faced and sunburned, with wild, kinky hair and a Mexican accent, Eli Wallach was in an utter rage at the end of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” Clint Eastwood’s character had nearly killed him, and as Eastwood trotted away on a horse, Wallach chased after him, bellowing curses. It has been 36 years…
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