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Friday June 27, 2008

Celebrities

by nate bloom

Red, white and blue — and Jewish

A reader question prompted me to check which famous Jews were born on the Fourth of July. The list is a bit longer and more diverse than I expected. Each person’s age as of this coming Independence Day follows their name: Al Davis, Hall of Fame football coach and owner of the Oakland Raiders, 79; Michael Milken, disgraced businessman turned major Jewish philanthropist, 61; Mitch Miller, music producer, 97; Geraldo Rivera, journalist, 65; Neil Simon, playwright, 81; Abigail Van Buren, columnist, born Pauline Friedman, 90. (Her twin sister, columnist Ann Landers, born Esther Friedman, died in 2002.)

July 4 was also the birthday of these famous deceased Jews: Irving Caesar, songwriter (“Tea for Two”); Rube Goldberg, cartoonist; Leona Helmsley, businesswoman; Meyer Lansky, gangster; Louis B. Mayer, movie mogul; and Lionel Trilling, major literary critic and professor.

Film openings

Opening July 4 is “Diminished Capacity.” Matthew Broderick, 46, stars as a journalist suffering from memory loss who returns to his rural hometown, where he bonds with his Alzheimer’s-impaired uncle Rollie (Alan Alda) and his old flame (Virginia Madsen). Alda, who isn’t Jewish, has been married for 51 years to his Jewish wife, Arlene Weiss Alda. Their three daughters were raised Jewish.

Opening July 11 are “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” and “Meet Dave.” Ron Perlman, 58 (TV’s “Beauty and the Beast”), stars in the former as Hellboy, a demon who can do “good.” The movie is a sequel to “Hellboy” (2004), which also starred Perlman. Co-starring in the original and sequel is Selma Blair, 36, as a woman with psychokinetic powers. In the sequel, Hellboy tries to stop a space alien invasion.

“Meet Dave” is a comedy starring Eddie Murphy. Dave (Murphy) is a human-shaped spaceship controlled by little aliens. Its captain (also played by Murphy) pilots the Dave Spaceship along with his crew from inside its head. Murphy endangers his mission by falling in love with an earthling played by the pretty Elizabeth Banks, 34 (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin”). The director is Brian Robbins, 44, a former child actor (“Head of the Class”) who has created a number of hit children’s TV shows.

Engaged and eligible

Jean Sarkozy, 21, the son of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, is engaged to his Jewish high school sweetheart, Jessica Sebaoun-Darty. Her family controls one of France’s largest consumer electronics companies. Jean, who has just begun a political career, is so good-looking that he’s become a sex symbol for teens.

The European Jewish Press reports the couple visited Israel earlier this month to “learn more about Jewish culture.” It’s unclear whether this means that Jean is thinking about converting to Judaism.

They may not look like Brad Pitt, but “Saturday Night Live” cast member Andy Samberg, 29, and his writing partner, Akiva Schaffer, 30, made the recent list of People magazine’s hottest single guys of 2008. The duo met as students at a Berkeley middle school. Maybe Samberg’s sister, who is married to an Israeli and lives in Israel, can put her brother up while he “tours” Israel’s natural wonders — like the bevy of beautiful Israeli actresses who appeared in the Israel-based scenes in Adam Sandler’s new movie, “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan.”

Also on the hot bachelor list is Hunter Johansson, 23, an organizer for the Obama campaign and the handsome twin brother of actress Scarlett Johansson. The twins’ mother is Jewish, and in a recent Israeli TV interview Scarlett said she identifies as Jewish.

Columnist Nate Bloom , an Oaklander, can be reached at middleoftheroad1@aol.com.

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