Curt Schleier is a freelance writer and author who covers business and the arts for a variety of publications. Follow him on Twitter at @tvsoundoff.
Curt Schleier
By Curt Schleier
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Culture How Talia Leman Built Charity Empire
Following Hurricane Katrina, donations poured in from concerned folks all around the country hoping to help make things better. They came in all sizes, with big bucks coming from the usual suspects: Wal-Mart, Exxon Mobil, Amaco and Talia Leman. Talia Leman? At the time, Leman was a 10-year-old fifth-grader who lived in Waukee, Iowa, two…
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The Schmooze Theaters Paved With Gold
When my parents landed in New York in 1947 they were assigned a case worker. I’m not sure who did the assigning, but I remember my father saying how puzzled he was. “Case” was German for cheese, and he didn’t understand why he needed a cheese worker. My parents didn’t tell many stories about their…
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The Schmooze Henry Winkler on Playing a Porn Star and The Fonz
Henry Winkler is on the phone. Finally. We missed our connection a couple of days earlier and by missed connection I mean he forgot to call. He had two performances of his new Broadway play, “The Performers,” that day — as though that should take priority — and The Forward got lost in the shuffle….
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The Schmooze The Two Davids of ‘Scandalous’
“Scandalous,” the new Broadway musical about evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, was written by Kathie Lee Gifford. No surprise there. Gifford is a well-known born-again Christian with, presumably, an interest in the work of a crusading missionary. But in a fit of ecumenical irony (or common sense), the two guys she picked to supply the bouncy,…
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The Schmooze Amy Heckerling on ‘Vamps’
Amy Heckerling is the auteur behind two iconic movies: “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and “Clueless.” She was also the director of “National Lampoon’s European Vacation” and the writer and director of “Look Who’s Talking,” among other successes. Heckerling’s latest, “Vamps,” starring veteran Heckerlingers Alicia Silverstone and Wallace Shawn, is a smart comedy, not an…
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The Schmooze Eli Roth on ‘The Man With the Iron Fists’
Eli Roth, 40, is a Hollywood multi-hyphenate. He’s part of a group of filmmakers known as the “Splat Pack” because of the violent and bloody nature of their movies. He’s an actor, most notably playing Donny “the bear Jew” Donowitz in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Basterds.” He’s also a screenwriter and director of “Cabin Fever” and…
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The Schmooze Three Josh Cohens Just Aren’t Enough
“The Other Josh Cohen” may be the reason they invented off-Broadway. On the face of it, this clever and original musical about fate and Jewish guilt may seem too slight for the Great White Way. But in truth, it is witty and smart and far more entertaining than many of the projects that open (and…
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The Schmooze Henry Jaglom’s ‘Love Song to Actors’
Henry Jaglom’s 18th film, “Just 45 Minutes From Broadway,” is, in Jaglom’s words, “a love song to actors.” It follows the Isaacs, a family of thespians with roots in the Yiddish theater, and the “45 minutes” in the title refers to the time it takes the family to get from midtown Manhattan to their vacation…
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