When Susan Seidelman released her first film, “Smithereens,” in 1982, she was still among the first female Hollywood directors. The film was a success, and was selected for competition at Cannes. She followed that with “Desperately Seeking Susan,” which featured a very young Madonna, some films that failed to gain traction (“Cookie,” “She Devil”) and…
When you Google Elmore James the first hits that pop up refer to a blues singer from the 1940s. That is not the same Elmore James who stars in the National Yiddish Theatre — Folksbiene production of “Soul to Soul.” But Yiddish-singing James, 57, thinks the Southern bluesman would see similarities between what the two…
Image courtesy of Monterey Media Too often, the foibles of Jewish family life are portrayed in negative, even mean-spirited ways. Happily, “Reuniting the Rubins,” a warm and heimish film, provides a humorous and occasionally moving antidote to that negativity. The first full-length feature from religiously observant British writer-director Yoav Factor, “Rubins” suggests that familial love…
British actor Jason Isaacs is best known for his role as the villain Lucius Malfoy from the “Harry Potter” movies, but you also might recognize him from his role as the Scottish private investigator Jackson Brodie on the popular British series, “Case Histories,” shown in the U.S. as part of the PBS “Masterpiece Mystery!” series….
Herb Alpert’s list of accomplishments is longer than, well, a trombone. He is the composer, arranger, trumpet player and leader of the famed Tijuana Brass, as well as a record producer (he and partner Jerry Moss founded A&M records), painter, sculptor and philanthropist. Alpert has had five number one hits, 15 gold and 14 platinum…
David Suskind was the Oprah of his day. From 1958 until 1987 he hosted a television talk show that discussed controversial issues, from Vietnam to race relations. One of his most popular programs, which he rebroadcast on a regular basis, was “How To Be a Jewish Son.” Originally broadcast in the fall of 1970, it…
Mentalist Marc Salem knows how to read people. He begins and ends his latest show, “Mind Over Manhattan,” by assuring his audience that there’s nothing paranormal or supernatural about what he does. But it’s hard to reconcile those claims with the “magic” he performs onstage. How, wearing multiple blindfolds, does he identify items just by…
Sonia Taitz is, by her own admission, an overachiever. Yeshiva educated, she earned degrees in both psychology and English from Barnard College (Phi Beta Kappa, of course), a master’s in philosophy from Oxford University and a law degree from Yale University. Taitz is the daughter of Holocaust survivors, and that crucially shaped the person she…
100% of profits support our journalism
