-
Future Shock: Albert Brooks' novel "2030"
“2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America†(St. Martin’s Press) is Albert Brooks’ novel (in all senses of the word) take on our not-so-distant future. Anyone familiar with Brooks’ films, such as “Defending Your Life†or “Modern Romance,†will not be surprised that his debut novel is clever and entertaining. But it is also thoughtful, insightful and inventive about issues as diverse as health care, transportation, aging and politics. And funny — let’s not forget funny. “2030†is… -
Columbo co-creator solves his own mystery
William Link "Now, Tom, do I look Jewish?" William Link, 77, was asking the question. Link is one of, if not the most successful producer and writer in television history, having put, with his late partner Richard Levinson, 16 series on the air, including creating "Columbo," "Murder, She Wrote," "The Cosby Mysteries" and "Mannix." They also created any number of important TV movies, including "The Execution of Private Slovik," which launched Martin Sheen's career, "That Certain Summer," which was the… -
Churchill's Stand
Who do we have to thank for Hitler's eventual defeat? What was World War II's turning point? Who, by his actions during the war, inspired Chaim Weizmann and David Ben-Gurion, Israel's early leaders? The answer, according to the Simon Wiesenthal Center's stirring new documentary, "Walking With Destiny," is Winston Churchill. Churchill, who died in 1965, is hardly a forgotten figure. To the contrary, there is a large and healthy Churchill industry producing new books, one after another, season after season.… -
Turning Qassams into Art
A work by Niso Maman The Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon in Southern Israel, six miles from Gaza, is a 500-bed facility with an emergency room and a teaching hospital that treats Israelis and Palestinians. Qassam rockets launched from Gaza land so regularly on the building that the top two floors are kept unoccupied as a "safety buffer." Imagine that you are Lee Wallach, an American and CEO of Community Assets Consulting, a firm specializing in assisting Israeli, international and… -
The man who was Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis was so famous, so iconic an American movie star that I don't really need to tell you who he was. He was Tony Curtis, and he lived that role with childish delight, relishing where his life had taken him, and the pleasures and opportunities fame had afforded him. By the time he died last week at age 85 at his home in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, Nev., he was known the world over - for the… -
Ten years after
It's been 10 years since my mother Eva Teicholz died on Sept. 22 - nine since I stood by her graveside at the unveiling. Since then, I have visited her grave in New Jersey on many occasions and have diligently observed days of mourning and lit memorial candles. I loved her dearly. But have I missed her? The answer is, of course, yes. But death does strange things: it restores our loved ones to their best selves - as we… -
Is LA Ready for its Dose of "Law & Order"
Following last year’s cancellation of the original New York version of the series after a venerable 20-year run — a record matched in drama only by the classic Western “Gunsmoke†— a new spawn will appear this fall: “Law & Order: Los Angeles.†While some may dismiss this latest iteration of Dick Wolf’s procedural formula as “more of the same, only different,†to me, the creation of a “Law & Order†in Los Angeles signals a cultural watershed, a moment… -
The Passions of a Nobel Laureate
Given that I haven't been posting much lately, I thought perhaps I would fill the gap by publishing an interview I did for Andy Warhol's Interview back in the early 1980s with Isaac Bashevis Singer, the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. As I recall he was prickly but quite game -- qualities evident in the interview below, with the man I came to think of as "The Yiddish Yoda." The Passions of a Nobel Laureate: Isaac Bashevis Singer… -
What We Say When We Talk about Mel Gibson
The recent news that Mel Gibson is no longer a client of William Morris Endeavor should come as no surprise. Many news and entertainment programs, including NBC's "Today Show," pegged the delisting to Gibson's recent domestic assault allegations and tabloid leak of surreptitious tapes of racist rants he allegedly made, all arising from his custody dispute with his baby-mama Oksana Grigorieva. But Gibson was already on borrowed time at the agency. In 2006, following his Malibu arrest and anti-Semitic rant,… -
Bell Rings it in
Violinist Joshua Bell. Photo by Timothy White Recently I sat down with violinist Joshua Bell to talk about being a classical music performer in the 21st century and a star in the age of iPods and auto-tuned performances. Bell, who will perform July 15 at the Hollywood Bowl, talked about how technology can enhance the concert experience, what makes for a great performer and his deepening connection to Israel. Now 42, Bell has been playing violin since he was 5.… -
"Sons of Tucson": A Cult Hit in the Making?
"Sons of Tucson" is a clever and subversive new sitcom about three sons who've fled to Tucson, Ariz., because their father was imprisoned for financial fraud. They then go on to recruit a ne'er-do-well, played by Taylor Labine (of "Reaper" fame), to pose as their father for school and other official purposes. The show is generating some drama of its own. Fox, which bought the comedy to help revive its sitcom fortunes - dormant since "Malcom in the Middle" ended… -
Arshile Gorky, a Kindred Spirit
TOMMYWOOD NOMINATED FOR TWO LA PRESS CLUB AWARDS! For Entertainment Reviews/ Criticism Column -- For an essay on "Holocaust Movies: Winners & Losers" http://tommywood.com/2009/02/holocaust-movies-winners-losers.html and For Entertainment News or Feature for my profile on Ricky Jay, "Extraordinary Oddities" http://www.jewishjournal.com/holiday_preview/article/ricky_jay_offers_a_rogues_gallery_of_eccentric_entertainers_in_new_show_200/ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ARSHILE GORKY, A KINDRED SPIRIT "Self-Portrait," 1937, oil on canvas, 55 x 23 7/8 in. Private Collection, on long-term loan to the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Image courtesy of the Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.…