Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Jewish Stars
Click image to enlarge
   |
BY: NATE BLOOM Contributing Writer
Yom Kippur anecdotes from several Jewish stars
Catching up with Members of the Tribe who are lighting up the entertainment world. Names of Jewish stars are in boldface.
While far from religiously observant, many celebs have (or had) an affinity for Yom Kippur.
Legendary actor Kirk DoYom Kippur anecdotes from several Jewish starsuglas
b>, who became very religious in the early 1990s, recalls that for most of his life he was not observant, but he always went to synagogue on Yom Kippur. He credits this practice with keeping a spark of faith alive that was kindled in his later years.
Against his better judgment, stand-up comedian Robert Klein once accepted a lucrative club date on Yom Kippur … and he got an infected wart! Since then, Klein has not performed on Yom Kippur, prompting one club owner to dub him the “Sandy Koufax of comedy.”
The owner, of course, was referring to the decision of baseball great Koufax not to pitch in a 1965 World Series game which fell on the holiday (See related article on p. 12). Other Jewish players who have sat out Yom Kippur games include Hall-of-Famer Hank Greenberg, recently retired star Shawn Green, and Ken Holtzman, an excellent pitcher who played for several teams in the ’60s and ’70s.
Holtzman was playing for the Oakland Athletics when he declined to pitch in a 1973 play-off game against the Baltimore Orioles that fell on Yom Kippur. His team had no problem with his decision, and the A’s management said it would even find a local Baltimore synagogue where Holtzman could attend services. He was surprised, however, when a limousine appeared in front of his Baltimore hotel on Yom Kippur morning. The driver told Holtzman that he was told to take the pitcher to synagogue.
As reported by the Forward, Holtzman “was escorted to the front row center of the synagogue, where he was offered a handshake by a distinguished-looking man standing near his family. ‘Ken, let me introduce myself,’ the man said. ‘I’m Jerry Hoffberger, owner of the Orioles.’” Then Holtzman realized that no matter what, “Jews stick together.”
Musical great Sammy Davis Jr., who converted to Reform Judaism in the mid-1950s, refused to work on Yom Kippur during the 1959 filming of “Porgy and Bess.” Director Otto Preminger, who was Jewish, but famous for his insensitivity to other people’s feelings, got angry at Davis and called the film’s producer Samuel Goldwyn.
Goldwyn immediately called Davis and wanted to know if it was true about his refusing to work. Davis maintained that as a Jew he could not work on the Day of Atonement. There was silence for a moment, with Goldwyn no doubt noting that stopping production to accommodate Davis would cost $30,000, a large sum then. Finally, Goldwyn, who was a non-practicing Jew, said, “Bless you,” and production on the film was stopped for Yom Kippur.
Then there was famous composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein came from a family of Talmudic scholars, but was only moderately observant in his adult years. However, Bernstein would hire a taxicab for Yom Kippur and go around Manhattan “shul-hopping.” He did this because he loved to hear many different cantors’ interpretations of the traditional prayers.
Bernstein knew, of course, that riding was forbidden, so he would have the cab driver drop him off a block away from each synagogue so that synagogue-goers would not see the famous conductor riding on the holiday.
His son Alexander commented that his father would immediately intensely concentrate on the service and the cantor upon entering a synagogue. He would get carried away, his son said, in a world of his own.
Reprinted with permission. Contact Bloom at Middle
oftheroad1@aol.com.
Catching up with Members of the Tribe who are lighting up the entertainment world. Names of Jewish stars are in boldface.
While far from religiously observant, many celebs have (or had) an affinity for Yom Kippur.
Legendary actor Kirk DoYom Kippur anecdotes from several Jewish starsuglas
b>, who became very religious in the early 1990s, recalls that for most of his life he was not observant, but he always went to synagogue on Yom Kippur. He credits this practice with keeping a spark of faith alive that was kindled in his later years.
Against his better judgment, stand-up comedian Robert Klein once accepted a lucrative club date on Yom Kippur … and he got an infected wart! Since then, Klein has not performed on Yom Kippur, prompting one club owner to dub him the “Sandy Koufax of comedy.”
The owner, of course, was referring to the decision of baseball great Koufax not to pitch in a 1965 World Series game which fell on the holiday (See related article on p. 12). Other Jewish players who have sat out Yom Kippur games include Hall-of-Famer Hank Greenberg, recently retired star Shawn Green, and Ken Holtzman, an excellent pitcher who played for several teams in the ’60s and ’70s.
Holtzman was playing for the Oakland Athletics when he declined to pitch in a 1973 play-off game against the Baltimore Orioles that fell on Yom Kippur. His team had no problem with his decision, and the A’s management said it would even find a local Baltimore synagogue where Holtzman could attend services. He was surprised, however, when a limousine appeared in front of his Baltimore hotel on Yom Kippur morning. The driver told Holtzman that he was told to take the pitcher to synagogue.
As reported by the Forward, Holtzman “was escorted to the front row center of the synagogue, where he was offered a handshake by a distinguished-looking man standing near his family. ‘Ken, let me introduce myself,’ the man said. ‘I’m Jerry Hoffberger, owner of the Orioles.’” Then Holtzman realized that no matter what, “Jews stick together.”
Musical great Sammy Davis Jr., who converted to Reform Judaism in the mid-1950s, refused to work on Yom Kippur during the 1959 filming of “Porgy and Bess.” Director Otto Preminger, who was Jewish, but famous for his insensitivity to other people’s feelings, got angry at Davis and called the film’s producer Samuel Goldwyn.
Goldwyn immediately called Davis and wanted to know if it was true about his refusing to work. Davis maintained that as a Jew he could not work on the Day of Atonement. There was silence for a moment, with Goldwyn no doubt noting that stopping production to accommodate Davis would cost $30,000, a large sum then. Finally, Goldwyn, who was a non-practicing Jew, said, “Bless you,” and production on the film was stopped for Yom Kippur.
Then there was famous composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein came from a family of Talmudic scholars, but was only moderately observant in his adult years. However, Bernstein would hire a taxicab for Yom Kippur and go around Manhattan “shul-hopping.” He did this because he loved to hear many different cantors’ interpretations of the traditional prayers.
Bernstein knew, of course, that riding was forbidden, so he would have the cab driver drop him off a block away from each synagogue so that synagogue-goers would not see the famous conductor riding on the holiday.
His son Alexander commented that his father would immediately intensely concentrate on the service and the cantor upon entering a synagogue. He would get carried away, his son said, in a world of his own.
Reprinted with permission. Contact Bloom at Middle
oftheroad1@aol.com.
 |
 |
|
| Election update from college campuses | In 5768, establishment groups faced new challenges from upstart activists |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of clevelandjewishnews.com.
You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments. Registration is free.
Registered users sign in here: |
Become a Registered User |
