Judd Apatow rocks out in Garry Shandling tribute on night one of ‘The Hanukkah Sessions’
Judd Apatow. Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
By PJ Grisar December 19, 2022
Hey now! Happy Hanukkah! For the first night of the holiday, Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin’s Hanukkah Sessions welcomed director Judd Apatow onto the stage to show off his vocal talents on Blood, Sweat & Tears’ “Spinning Wheel.”
Why “Spinning Wheel” and not, say, “I Have a Little Dreidel?” Apatow said up top that he chose the song because of sidekick Hank Kingsley’s memorable rendition on The Larry Sanders Show.
“This is a tribute to Garry and to Hank,” Apatow said, referencing his friend and the star and co-creator of The Larry Sanders Show, the late Garry Shandling. He did not pay lip service to the actor who played Hank Kingsley, Jeffrey Tambor, who has been accused of sexual misconduct (Tambor denies the allegations).
Accompanied by Grohl on drums and Kurstin on keys, Apatow even cut a rug during an instrumental break. Mercifully, it was better than Kingsley’s rendition. But I’ll let you compare them for yourself.
Kurstin and Grohl’s sessions, now in their second year, are set to drop a performance a night, with guest talent from Jews like Beck, Pink and Jack Black.
Spinning wheels are great and all, but they’re no substitute for Hank Kingsley’s rotating restaurant, a space I hope to see Apatow enter in the new year.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
