The Schmooze lies at the intersection of high and low culture. Here, the latest developments and trends in Jewish art, books, dance, film, music, media, television and theater are all assimilated into one handy pop culture blog.
The Schmooze
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Joan Rivers, Jewish Irreverent Comedian, Gone At 81
I first met Joan Rivers — who died at 81 on September 4th — as a zaftig comedienne in a fringed black dress as she warmed up the audience at an April 1966 Virginia Graham TV Show on which I was a guest along with Gloria de Haven. A few months later we met at the…
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READ: Melissa Rivers’ Statement About Her Mother
Joan Rivers, Jewish queen of sass, is sadly no longer with us. The 81-year-old comedian passed away on Thursday after a week in the hospital — she went into cardiac arrest last week during surgery. Her daughter Melissa, who flew to New York with her son Cooper to care for her mother, has released a statement…
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Hockey Team Will Honor Seinfeld’s Puffy Shirt
The memory of Jerry Seinfeld’s legendary puffy shirt lives on in the unlikeliest of ways. On November 16, the Bakersfield Condors, a minor league hockey team affiliated with the Edmonton Oilers, will celebrate “Seinfeld”’s 25th anniversary by wearing jerseys based on the iconic apparel. If you live in some Bizarro World and missed it, these…
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Yiddish Supergroup Pays Homage to Nathan ‘Prince’ Nazaroff
Photo: Fumie Suzuki So, there in a gazebo on the boardwalk in Coney Island are The Brothers Nazaroff, taking refuge from the steamy afternoon sun. It is 92 degrees and horribly humid outside as the five Nazaroffs start playing and singing. A Hungarian documentary crew is shooting with two cameras as the brothers sing “Lucky…
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DMV Will Revoke Brooklyn ‘HAMMAS’ License Plate
NY1 Someone in Brooklyn is driving around in a car with a “HAMMAS” license plate. The slightly misspelled nod to Hamas was spotted on black Dodge that was parked in Bay Ridge Wednesday and had a Palestinian flag spread across the windshield, NY1 reports. Even more disturbing however, is the message that the owner opted…
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Shattering the Glass Ceiling: An Interview with Lynn Sherr
Lynn Sherr spent more than 30 years with ABC News, reporting on everything from national political campaigns to social issues. But it was her time covering the space program that provided the grist for her latest book, a biography, “Sally Ride: America’s First Women in Space.” Following a career in print journalism, primarily at The…
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Joan Rivers’ Most Jewish Comedy Moments
Getty Images In the world of brassy, chutzpadik funny ladies, nobody has done it better and longer than Joan Rivers. The lady is a legend, a trailblazer, who made way for the candid, feminist humor of women like Sarah Silverman and Amy Schumer and a whole generation of female comics who have the courage to…
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Mandy Patinkin, Prime Minister of Israel?
Watch out, Netanyahu. You’ve got company. Mandy Patinkin, star of the hit TV series “Homeland,” announced Tuesday night that he wants to be Israel’s next prime minister. Patinkin delivered the news while promoting the new season of “Homeland” on the set of the “Colbert Report.” “I am going to tear a page out of your…
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Rebecca Minkoff Is Making Fashion Week Digital
Courtesy of Rebecca Minkoff Who says tech can’t look good? Rebecca Minkoff sees no contradiction. The 33-year-old designer is reportedly set to debut wearable tech at her New York Fashion Week show on Friday. The accessories, developed in collaboration with Case-Mate, include a $120 bracelet that alerts you to incoming calls and messages (for when…
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WATCH: Adam Levine As Michael Jackson Singing ‘Sesame Street’
Adam Levine just proved he’s more than just your fantasy Jewish boyfriend. In an appearance on “The Tonight Show,” the “Voice” coach and Maroon 5 lead singer played a round of “Wheel of Musical Impressions” with Jimmy Fallon. The rules are as follows: Each participant must impersonate a singer interpreting a random song (not from…
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Fleeting Jewish Fragments In ‘The Notebook’
To my knowledge, there seem to be only two Hungarian films that address the plight of the country’s Jews during the Holocaust. One is the 1983 gem “Revolt of Job.” Now, there’s the puzzling macabre “The Notebook” (“Le Grand Cahier”) which hints at Hungarian Jews’— one scene shows the Jewish population of a small rural town…
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