PJ Grisar is a Forward culture reporter. He can be reached at [email protected] and @pjgrisar on Twitter.
PJ Grisar
By PJ Grisar
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Theater Stephen Tobolowsky has a Talmud story to tell you
For over a decade Stephen Tobolowsky has been sharing stories. Have you heard the one about his Talmud collection? The 70-year-old actor, known for his turns as a folksy insurance salesman in “Groundhog Day” and a hapless tech sociopath in “Silicon Valley,” has written two books, hosts a podcast and is now debuting an audio…
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Culture Did Chuck Woolery just have a ‘Hitler was right’ moment?
Chuck Woolery, the arch-conservative game show host and catheter pitchman was slammed on Twitter for appearing to take an “enemy of my enemy is my friend” approach to… Hitler? In a Memorial Day post, Woolery tweeted “Critical Race theory is based on Critical theory, given to the world by Marxists from the Frankfort School [sic]…
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Culture The Tony-winning drama of the Oslo Accords is now a film
J.T. Rogers and Bartlett Sher always knew their history play had a lot to teach us today. But they never wanted it to be quite this relevant. “When we first did the piece, that was 2016, and as much as it was about Palestine and Israel, it was really about Republicans and Democrats,” said Sher,…
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Culture Today’s Google Doodle has a Yiddish soundtrack
Today’s Google Doodle offers an interactive ode to swing dance — and a bisl Yiddish. Please let me explain. If you visit the search engine today, you’ll find an image of dancers in Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom, and, if you click, you’ll hear a jazzy instrumental version of the classic “Bay Mir Bistu Sheyn.” The tune,…
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Culture Amazon’s plans to buy MGM recall the studio’s origins
Amazon has nabbed a lion in winter. The retail and entertainment giant announced Wednesday that it would acquire MGM, the storied movie studio for $8.5 billion, giving them the keys to franchises like James Bond and Rocky, and landing the flagging studio around $3 billion more than its valuation. If all this consolidation seems like…
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Culture Can Sacha Baron Cohen be Borat and still tell the truth?
For a while now, Sacha Baron Cohen has had an issue with juggling multiple personas. On the one hand, as Borat, Bruno and his coterie of characters on “Who is America,” he is a cartoonish sounding board for America’s worst qualities. On the other, he is an increasingly serious out-of-character activist, a full-throated opponent of…
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Music How Jewish is Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah?’
A Forward investigation in 9 verses
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Culture Charles Grodin, beloved grump and talk show guest from hell, dies at 86
The 'Beethoven' and 'Midnight Run' star was a man of many talents
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