Making Reading a Star Attraction
In a corner of downtown Central Library\’s Children\’s Literature Department, actor Elliott Gould is reading \”Arthur\’s New Puppy.\”
In a corner of downtown Central Library\’s Children\’s Literature Department, actor Elliott Gould is reading \”Arthur\’s New Puppy.\”
So have you heard the one about the two rabbis on a boat? It\’s actually a story told by the Talmud in its discussion of the laws of the sukkah. It seems that Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Gamliel were on a boat during the days leading up to the holiday of Sukkot, and it became clear that they were not going to make it to land in time for the beginning of the festival. Rabbi Akiva sprung into action, pressing the members of the crew for a bit of lumber, some nails, and whatever other materials might be employed, to assemble a sukkah just large enough for himself and for his colleague.
There was a telling moment, midway through the Sept. 7 press conference announcing the CBS-Viacom megamerger, when one of the unmentionables of American entertainment peeked through the veils for an instant.
The idea for our lead story on Jewish influence, \”East Coast vs. West Coast\” (see Tom Tugend\’s story), originated with our publisher, Stanley Hirsh.
Dear David Ives:
I attended a preview performance of your play \”Ancient History\” last Saturday (Sept. 11) at the Fountain Theatre, where a member of the production company announced that the play still needed \”tweaking,\” and so we should feel free to pass along our comments and suggestions.
As you drive north along Figueroa Street in Highland Park, past La Pescador and the car wash, past Frank\’s Cameras and the farmacia, you come to El Paso Shoe Store, where families from the neighborhood shop to get a good bargain on shoes.
Bruce Vilanch, comedy writer to the stars, picks up the phone. \”Jew speaking,\” he says.
Emmy Award-winning Vilanch, 51, is one of the drollest Jews in Hollywood.
Sharon Ann Dror, born deaf, didn\’t enjoy seders with her hearing family while growing up in a traditional Jewish home in Santa Monica.
Anyone from the Western part of the United States aspiring to national Jewish leadership has \”got to be an 11 on a scale of one to 10,\” Burton Levinson says.