Seth Rogovoy, a contributing editor at the Forward, is the author of Bob Dylan: Prophet Mystic Poet (Scribner) and Within You Without You: Listening to George Harrison (Oxford University Press).
Seth Rogovoy
By Seth Rogovoy
-
Culture The Secret Jewish History Of The Rockettes
Is there anything more goyish than the Rockettes, the “precision-dance” troupe best known for its starring role in the annual “Christmas Spectacular” at Radio City Music Hall? Well, yes. As it turns out, the entire creative team behind the annual Radio City holiday event, which began in 1932, were Jewish men brought together by Samuel…
-
Culture Is ‘A Christmas Carol’ antisemitic?
Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” has been variously interpreted over the years as a humanist or secular parable, a pre-Freudian psychological thriller, an old-fashioned ghost story, an anti-capitalist screed, and, yes, a Jewish story wearing the cloak of Victorian England. It has also been mined for its anti-Semitic tropes, as has other work by Dickens…
-
Music The Secret Jewish History of The Who
Editor’s Note: On the occasion of The Who’s first new album in 13 years, we look back at the band’s secret Jewish history, which we first explored in 2015. If The Who’s visionary songwriter and guitarist Pete Townshend had had his way, “Tommy” — an allegory about a traumatized messiah — would not have been…
-
Music The Secret Jewish History Of Judy Garland
Fifty years after her passing, Judy Garland is having a moment. Renee Zellweger portrays her in the new feature film “Judy.” A new Showtime documentary, “Sid & Judy,” examines her life and career, focusing on her relationship with Sidney Luft, who served as her husband for 13 years and her manager for even longer. And…
-
Film & TV The Secret Jewish History Of Buster Keaton
Editor’s Note: Buster Keaton was born on this day in 1895. In honor of the 124th birthday of “The Great Stone Face, we look back on Keaton’s Jewish influences and collaborators. Had it not been for Erik Weisz, the Hungarian-born, Wisconsin-raised son of a rabbi, one of the most influential film artists of all time…
-
Music The Secret Jewish History of Olivia Newton-John
In a recent celebrity memoir, the author writes, “In 1933, my Jewish grandfather fled from Germany with his wife, Hedwig, to escape Hitler’s regime. He was not only a brilliant mind but also a humanitarian who helped Jews escape Germany. I’m extremely proud of my peace-loving grandfather.” The grandfather was Nobel Prize-winning physicist Max Born,…
-
Culture The Secret Jewish History Of Stephen King
Author Stephen King was really born with that name. Not for him the path from Irwin Alan Kniberg to Alan King. He came out all ready, at least in name, to become one of the best-selling authors of all time, just as he was. Although when it came time for the prolific writer — as…
-
Culture The Secret Jewish History of Aerosmith
Today, Joe Perry, lead guitarist for Aerosmith, celebrates his 69th birthday. Which is as good an excuse as any, we suppose, to look back on the band’s Jewish roots. Aerosmith was founded in 1970 when a then-drummer named Steve Tyler – a native of Yonkers, N.Y., who had moved to Boston – stumbled upon guitarist…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Music In 1964, when he was just 23, Bob Dylan wrote the prophetic anthem that encapsulates Trump’s America
- 2
Fast Forward It was a historic Jewish night at the Oscars. Why are so many Jews outraged?
- 3
Film & TV Mikey Madison is Jewish — is ‘Anora’?
- 4
Opinion Trump’s treasury secretary is about to make a catastrophically bad move on Israel
In Case You Missed It
-
Books Two middle-aged women defied the Nazis. One ‘wrote’ a book that betrayed the other.
-
Fast Forward What does the election of Mark Carney mean for Canadian Jews and Israel?
-
Culture Why are Jews buried in a plain pine coffin?
-
Fast Forward Trump’s hostage envoy defends talks with Hamas: Meeting with ‘bad people is part of my job’
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
