Feting CBS President
Television and film star George Clooneypresents Leslie Moonves with the Sherrill C. Corwin Human RelationsAward
“Jewish people have always been in my life,whether I wanted them there or not.”
So joked Bill Cosby to the capacity crowdattending the American Jewish Committee’s annual Sherrill C. CorwinHuman Relations Award Dinner at the Regent Beverly Wilshire. Thehonoree that Thursday evening: CBS President Leslie Moonves,recipient of the AJC’s distinguished Corwin Award.
Originally established in 1906 in response toczarist Russian pogroms, the AJC has long fought to protect civilrights and celebrate those who have vocally fought discrimination.Honorees of previous star-studded AJC affairs have included StevenSpielberg, Clint Eastwood and Ted Turner.
A plethora of CBS suits and celebs turned out tohonor Moonves, as well as people connected to his previous tenure aspresident of Warner Bros. Television, where he helped launch hitshows such as “ER,” “Friends” and “Lois and Clark: The New Adventuresof Superman.” Jane Seymour, Steven Bochco, Robert Stack, John Ritter,Elliott Gould and cast members of “Everybody Loves Raymond” wereamong the friends and fans visibly enjoying the evening.
But none were more proud of Moonves than his ownfamily — including his wife of 20 years, Nancy; his parents; brotherJohn; and children, Adam, Sarah and Michael.
After dessert, a “60 Minutes” parody, hosted byMike Wallace and Lesley Stahl, appeared on the video screen,comically recapping the actor-turned-executive’s career. Cosby’saddress came next, followed by some words by longtime friend GeorgeClooney, and Moonves’ own acceptance speech. A well-receivedhighlight of the night was a videotaped message by President Clinton,which was received with a roomful of supportive applause.
AJC leader Rabbi Gary Greenebaum cited Moonves'”long history of involvement in bringing the community together.”Celebrities in attendance echoed Greenbaum’s praise. Fran Drescher,who on “The Nanny” arguably portrays the most unabashedly ethnicJewish character in television history, shared her high esteem forMoonves with The Jewish Journal. She labeled the Eye Network chief “apillar of the community…” and praised his firsthand philanthropicinvolvement in important causes. “He doesn’t just write out a check.He really gets into life [and] works very hard.” Indie film queenIleanna Douglas singled out Moonves’ “sense of loyalty.” TeriHatcher, perhaps the only woman ever coveted by the Man of Steel andAgent 007, glowed: “He makes every person feel special.”
Brad Garrett, Ray Romano’s towering TV brother onCBS’s hit comedy “Everybody Loves Raymond,” duly noted that, unlikeother network programmers, Moonves’ word is bond. “When he says he’sbehind [a show], he’s behind it,” Garrett said.
Moonves himself told The Journal: “It isimportant, whether Jewish, Irish or Italian, to maintain [culturalidentity in programming]. Assimilation is a dangerous thing, and itis important to portray diversity on TV.”
He opined that, by and large, depictions of Jewsare handled responsibly by the networks. He also recalled a dinnerwith his granduncle in Israel 28 years ago as a defining moment inhis life “that will stay with me always” — particularly noteworthysince his granduncle happened to be first Prime Minister of IsraelDavid Ben-Gurion.
Moonves’ contributions to television andJewish-American culture did not escape the young Jewish minds behind”Diagnosis: Murder.” Executive producer Lee Goldberg evaluatedMoonves as “one of the most creative people in the business…[notyour typical] stand-offish, icy exec,” to which partner WilliamRabner concisely pointed out: “And he put ‘The Nanny’ on theair.”
JJ Inside The Print
I didn’t think I wanted to be a weekly columnist until I read a column by comedian Mark Schiff. I’ve never told him this, but...
Perhaps the most surprising part of the D.C. Dyke March, which sought to ban rainbow flags embossed with the Star of David, was how surprised...
As a kid, I wanted to be Erma Bombeck when I grew up. With book titles such as “If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries,...
“When a father helps a son, both smile; when a son must help his father, both cry.” — Yiddish proverb “My father gave me the...
On June 2, graduation day at the United States Military Academy, the class of 2019 pushed the total number of Jewish West Point graduates past...
There is something about New York City that drives me closer to my personal “d’mimah dakah” (still, small voice). That voice inside of me that...
I stood on a wobbly paddleboard in the Mediterranean Sea in my pajamas, feet apart, arms at my sides, trying to balance. The water was...
“How does it feel to be here?” I asked my father while we were standing inside the magnificent rotunda of the U.S. Capitol a few...
Leah Silver was at a wedding on Lag b’Omer when she saw the headline on her phone: “Mevo Modi’im Destroyed in Fire.” Harrowing photographs displayed...
Let’s be serious: No participant in a Dyke March feels “threatened” when a Star of David appears on a rainbow flag. Not unless he or...
As a Jewish woman who frequently shares her opinions on social media, I’ve been targeted online by white supremacists, communist bots from China, die-hard Donald...
They were older than the other parents, gray and pale, with consonants that gargled when they said come in. They played Beethoven sonatas on their...
One verse, five voices. Edited by Salvador Litvak, Accidental Talmudist The Lord spoke to Moses saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: this is how...
When I opened the first Mexican restaurant in Uganda and hired local cooks, not only had my team never experienced any of the dishes I’d...
More than 200 supporters gathered June 5 to sample dishes from some of Los Angeles’ top chefs at Playa Studios in Culver City for “Hunger...
It seems there is nothing Rabbi Sherre Hirsch can’t do when it comes to shaping the Jewish community. She was a pulpit rabbi at Sinai...
Beth Chayim Chadashim (BCC), Los Angeles’ first gay and lesbian synagogue, and Temple Isaiah came together on the night of June 8, to celebrate Shavuot...
The terrace outside Dr. Amnon Rofe’s office at Bnai Zion Medical Center offers picturesque views of the Mediterranean Sea and the Báha’í Gardens in the...
Reaching Acme Smoked Fish in Brooklyn requires traversing worlds: through Chasidic Williamsburg, full of modestly dressed Chasidim, and then through Hipster Williamsburg, where tattooed young...
It was possible to believe a part of New York’s Lower East Side had moved west, as Russ & Daughters, the iconic 105-year-old New York...
Two swastikas were discovered at Glen Rock High School in Glen Rock, N.J., over the last two weeks. The first was found on May 28...
When the cast of the Israeli television series “Shtisel” began shooting interiors in Tel Aviv and exteriors in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim in...
The well-known Hollywood red carpet query is “Who are you wearing?” But at a fashion exhibit currently making the rounds at Los Angeles Public Library...
“After Auschwitz,” warned Theodor Adorno, “to write poetry is a barbarity.” And yet, ironically, some of the most iconic words ever written about the Holocaust...
Leslie Arden Archer died May 4 at 68. Survived by sister Adrienne (Lewis) Weissman. Mount Sinai Norman D. Beals died May 4 at 102. Survived...
For Father’s Day, give the men in your life some more ties. But not the kind they wrap around their necks. I’m talking these cute...
Award-winning artist Avi Pashnov has spent his career merging art and Judaism. As a teaching assistant in the Judaica Department at Bezalel Academy of Arts...
Friendship Circle of Los Angeles (FCLA) celebrated its 552 volunteers at their annual garden party, on May 21. In its 16th year, FCLA runs...
FRI JUNE 14 “The Joy of Change” Sinai Temple honors Matt Baram, millennial director at Sinai, at his final Orden Family Friday Night Live Shabbat...
‘New’ Canard or an Old Canard in a New Disguise? According to the “new” canard, Zionists created an apartheid state in the Middle East. Because...
The great scholar Maimonides wrote, “The measure of honor and awe due one’s teacher exceeds that due one’s father. His father brings him into the...
