Israeli Actress Gal Gadot Gets Star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame

On March 18 Israeli actress Gal Gadot received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the first Israeli actress to be granted such an honor.

As reported by the Times of Israel,

In her speech at the event, Gadot referred several times to her Israeli roots. “I’m just a girl from Israel,” she said, drawing loud cheers from her supporters in the audience. “To all the young people, especially the young girls, if a girl from Rosh Ha’ayin can get a star on Hollywood Boulevard, anything is possible.”

Gadot also addressed her Israeli family in Hebrew, saying that she loves them, even though they are far away.

Enjoy!

Comedian and Actor Michael Rapaport Skewers Hollywood and Oscars in Eretz Nehederet Skit

Last month comedian and actor Michael Rapaport appeared on Israeli TV in Eretz Nehederet (sometimes known as Israel's Saturday Night Live) in an English language skit satirizing the hypocrisy of Hollywood stars and their silence regarding the Hamas attacks of October 7.

As Jessica Steinberg wrote in The Times of Israel,

As he cracks jokes at the celebrities for not denouncing the Hamas-led onslaught in which Palestinian terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 253 hostages, the camera pans the audience, showing the familiar actors, directors and faces of the Oscars ceremony crowd, using footage from previous awards shows.

He introduced several new categories to the awards show, starting with “best actor who has made millions playing a stereotypical neurotic Jew with back hair yet still won’t show some solidarity.” The nominees were Seth Rogen, Adam Sandler and Larry David.

He also took a shot at female actors who were vocal supporters of the MeToo and Time’s Up movements against sexual assault but don’t advocate for female hostages abused by Hamas terrorists.

Enjoy!

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The Jews Who Built Hollywood: Vaudeville, Immigrants, and the American Dream

Some people say that Jews run Hollywood. Is it true? When you look into the history of the silver screen you’ll learn that, in fact, many Jews were involved in starting major film studios including MGM, Universal and Paramount. 

Today these companies are owned by huge and diverse corporations. The history of why Jews were involved in Hollywood’s humble beginnings starts with Vaudeville and the garment industry.

This video explains the Jewish connection with Hollywood and reveals the Jewish backgrounds (and original names) of the founders of Universal, MGM, and Paramount.

Enjoy!

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Genesis Prize Foundation Creates Film Tribute to Jews in Hollywood

The Genesis Prize Foundation created "Jews in Hollywood" to honor outstanding achievements by Jewish individuals in film, television, and theater. Because the Genesis Prize honors individuals for their extraordinary accomplishment in a particular field, The Foundation pays tribute to the field of the Laureate each year. 

"Jews in Hollywood" was debuted at the 2015 Genesis Prize Ceremony in honor of actor Michael Douglas. Some of the talent featured in the video includes: Barbra Streisand, Paul Newman, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Al Jolson, Kirk Douglas, Milos Forman, Steven, Spielberg, and many more.

The short film makes the point that the Jewish people are the heart and soul of every type of entertainment. It's who we are, born from a people who are storytellers.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Shalom Bollywood - The Untold Story of Jewish Superstars of India's Silver Screen

Shalom Bollywood reveals the unlikely story of the 2000-year-old Indian Jewish community and its formative place in shaping the world’s largest film industry. When Indian cinema began 100 years ago it was taboo for Hindu and Islamic women to perform on screen, so Indian Jewish women took on female lead roles, which they dominated for decades. 

The film focuses on the lives of five of the great Jewish actors. Infused with music and dancing, the cheekily told documentary unabashedly oozes Bollywood as it uses film motifs to drive the narrative.

The film had its world premiere in October 2017 at the Mumbai Film Festival. It is playing now in Washington DC at the Washington Jewish Film Festival. It will be playing at the Jewish Motifs Film Festival in Warsaw, Poland from May 23 to May 27. 

Film selection at Jewish Film Festivals worldwide is now in process, and we expect this film to be featured at many festivals in 2018 and 2019. We'll be watching for announcements of upcoming festivals and we'll let you know when Shalom Bollywood is scheduled to be shown in your area.

In the meantime, enjoy the trailer.

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YidLife Crisis Presents Hollywood's Greatest Film Moments -- in Yiddish!

Take some of the most famous lines from legendary Hollywood movies and imagine them being uttered in Yiddish? That's exactly what Eli Batalion and Jamie Elman, the creators of YidLife Crisis have done. Not only imagined but actually dubbed for our enjoyment.

So take a break and see what Lord of the Rings, The Big Lebowski,Braveheart, When Harry Met Sally, and many others would have sounded like with a Yiddish soundtrack.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

Wishing Mazal Tov to Kirk Douglas (Issur Danielovich) on His 100th Birthday

Today is the 100th birthday of Kirk Douglas, one of the most famous and accomplished actors of our time. After barely surviving a helicopter crash in 1991 and then suffering a stroke in 1996, he has focused on renewing his spiritual and religious life. We wish him a happy birthday ad meah v'esrim (until 120).

Douglas was born Issur Danielovitch in Amsterdam, New York, the son of Bryna "Bertha" and Herschel "Harry" Danielovitch. His parents were Jewish immigrants from what is now Belarus, and the family spoke Yiddish at home.

His father's brother, who emigrated earlier, used the surname Demsky, which Douglas' family adopted in the United States. Douglas grew up as Izzy Demsky and legally changed his name to Kirk Douglas before entering the United States Navy during World War II.

In his 1988 autobiography, The Ragman's Son, Douglas notes the hardships that he, along with six sisters and his parents, endured during their early years in Amsterdam, New York:

My father, who had been a horse trader in Russia, got himself a horse and a small wagon, and became a ragman, buying old rags, pieces of metal, and junk for pennies, nickels, and dimes. ... Even on Eagle Street, in the poorest section of town, where all the families were struggling, the ragman was on the lowest rung on the ladder. And I was the ragman's son.

Douglas became an international star through positive reception for his leading role as an unscrupulous boxing hero in Champion (1949), which brought him his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Other early films include Young Man with a Horn (1950), playing opposite Lauren Bacall and Doris Day; Ace in the Hole opposite Jan Sterling (1951); and Detective Story (1951). He received a second Oscar nomination for his dramatic role in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), opposite Lana Turner, and his third nomination for portraying Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life (1956). He is among the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

In 1955, he established Bryna Productions (named for his mother), which began producing films as varied as Paths of Glory (1957) and Spartacus (1960). In those two films, he starred and collaborated with then relatively unknown director, Stanley Kubrick. Douglas helped break the Hollywood blacklist by having Dalton Trumbo write Spartacus with an official on-screen credit, although Trumbo's family claims he overstated his role. He produced and starred in Lonely Are the Brave (1962), considered a cult classic, and Seven Days in May (1964), opposite Burt Lancaster, with whom he made seven films. In 1963, he starred in the Broadway play One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a story he purchased, which he later gave to his son Michael Douglas, who turned it into an Oscar-winning film.

As an actor and philanthropist, Douglas has received three Academy Award nominations, an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. As an author, he has written ten novels and memoirs. Currently, he is No. 17 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male screen legends of classic Hollywood cinema, and the highest-ranked living person on the list.

Douglas starred as American soldier Mickey Marcus in the film Cast a Giant Shadow, with John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, and Yul Brynner. Marcus commanded units of the fledgling Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Here is a video clip from the film, followed by a video interview that Douglas gave to a Spanish language TV show in which he discussed his difficulties growing up Jewish amid anti-semitism.

Happy Birthday, Kirk! 

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)