Showbiz

Heroic spy was inspiration for Bond girl Vesper Lynd

Jennifer Lipman — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:00:28 +0100

The daring exploits of a Jewish-born secret agent who was parachuted into France during the Second World War have been celebrated at a ceremony in London.

Krystyna Skarbek, whose mother was from an assimilated Jewish family, left her home in Poland after the Nazi invasion and made her way to Britain. She volunteered to work as an agent from British intelligence, returning to Poland on numerous missions to recruit couriers.

Towards the end of the war she was dispatched to France to gather intelligence and boost the Allied war effort, for which she was decorated with the George Medal for bravery.

Known in Britain by the name Christine Granville, she mixed in glamorous circles and allegedly had an affair with James Bond author Ian Fleming, reportedly even inspiring the character Vesper Lyn in Casino Royale.

But in 1952 she was stabbed to death by a man who had become obsessed with her, and was buried in relative anonymity in Kensal Green, west London.

On Friday, 61 years after her death, her courage was saluted at an event organised by the Polish Heritage Society, which is planning to renovate her grave and restore her name to prominence.

Mazeltov! Sitcom to feature a wedding under the chupah

Jennifer Lipman — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:30:28 +0100

A Jewish wedding is on the cards for British television audiences next year after Channel 4 announced that a third series of the hit comedy Friday Night Dinner has been commissioned.

The sitcom, starring Tamsin Greig and Simon Bird, follows the Jewish Goodman family at their weekly Shabbat meals. A spokesman has confirmed that an episode will feature a wedding with a Jewish bride and groom, although he declined to reveal who the family might be wishing mazeltov to under the chupah.

The third outing of the Bafta-nominated series will be filmed on location in north London over the summer and is scheduled to air next year.

Writer Robert Popper has admitted drawing on his own family life in creating the series, which draws much of its comedy from awkward and often uncomfortable situations, and from troublesome visitors to the Goodman home.

Storylines in the new series will involve sex education lectures, inappropriate admirers and tattoos.

Mr Popper, whose previous credits include Peep Show, Bo’Selecta and South Park, said: “I’m so excited to be making a new series with such a fantastic cast once again. I really could not be happier,” he said.

Nerys Evans, deputy head of comedy for Channel 4, said: “Roberts’s created such a brilliantly warm and funny world, and the cast are just sublime.”

Hollywood and Hitler 1933-1939

Nathan Abrams — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:22:01 +0100

The 1930s are fondly remembered as the beginning of a golden age for Hollywood. The studios were dominated by Jews who operated a highly sophisticated oligopoly - the "dream factory"- and churned out as many as a film a day.

Surprisingly then, little has been written about the specific reaction of Hollywood to Hitler and Nazi Germany. Into this breach, steps Thomas Doherty, a Brandeis University professor. He charts how film-makers and audiences responded to Nazism as a business, ideology and ultimately a threat.

It took until 1939 for the word "Nazi" to appear in a film title: Warner Brothers' Confessions of a Nazi Spy. Why? The movie moguls - Jewish and gentile - largely took a realpolitik stance. Not wishing to lose out on a lucrative market, they took a long view. Variety reported in late 1933: "Thus far no one's been able to sell a Hitler item as entertainment." Lack of commercial incentive and plenty of official disincentive meant Hitler was ignored by the big studios even as he redrew the map of Europe. Anti-Nazi pictures were quashed, unmade or made poorly so they would bomb. Instead, the fight was taken up by - offbeat documentaries, low-budget indies and subtitled imports. And just as Hitler failed to appear on the American big screen, so did Jews, who simply disappeared. Why bother foreground an ethnicity that comprised only three per cent of the potential market and which would surely get the film banned from German import. As Doherty notes, "Commerce and censorship colluded to erase Hollywood's most prominent ethnic group."

Many Jews in the industry felt boycotts of German products would be detrimental to their co-religionists in Europe. Nevertheless, Jewish areas typically boycotted the exhibition of German films. Others deliberately showcased them, appealing to pro-Nazi opinion. The Yorkville cinema in Manhattan, showed Nazi-themed films until anti-Nazi protestors pointed out that the cinema was owned by Jews.

The Nazis tried to cloak their films by removing distinguishing signs and logos. Hitler, eagles, swastikas and even German were removed. But having purged its industry of its talent, German films tanked - Americans generally stayed away as a matter of taste rather than ideology. Yet, there was a good chance that those that did slip through were distributed by Jews, an irony that wasn't missed at the time. In a further irony the trademark product of American Jews remained up on marquees throughout Germany, even as anti-Jewish violence and other Nazi measures escalated.

One company that took a principled stance was Warners, which severed relations with Nazi Germany in 1933, and later produced Confessions of a Nazi Spy.

The book ends where most studies begin, with the outbreak of war. In so doing, it fills a gap, discussing little-known and long-forgotten films in a scholarly yet readable fashion.

Moni could be in the money after wowing judges on The Voice

Sandy Rashty — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:00:00 +0100

An acclaimed contestant on BBC’s The Voice has revealed that his talent is inherited from his father — a chazan at Newbury Park United Synagogue in Ilford — and his mother, who is also “an amazing singer”.

Moni Tivony, who performed Bob Marley’s No Woman, No Cry on the talent show last Saturday night, told the JC that he was inspired by reggae, as well as Israeli and Sephardi music derived from his father Shimon’s Egyptian background.

“That’s why I’ve always been called the ‘ginger Jewish Jamaican’,” said the 32-year-old former Ilford Jewish Primary and Stamford Hill Lubavitch school student, a period he describes as “quite a frummy time in my life.”

Essex-based Moni reported that “since the show, people are now starting to recognise me and stop me on the street — it’s mad!”

The lead singer of Totem, a band that performs at barmitzvahs, weddings and corporate events, said he was “overwhelmed” after all four judges of the singing show — Sir Tom Jones, will.i.am, Jessie J and Danny O’Donoghue — tried to persuade him to join their team.

“Vocally, you’re amazing,” said Jessie J. “I would be honoured to have you with me,” chimed in Sir Tom. But Moni opted for will.i.am “because I love his quirkiness and he’s a great producer who will help me excel in my career.

“I’ve spoken to him a few times since the show and it’s all so positive.”

After talking on the show about his Israeli roots, Moni was pleased to discover that he received “a lot of support — which is refreshing. Even #Jewmaican is trending on Twitter, which is a positive thing. Music can definitely break down social and religious barriers.”

But there has been some hostility: “There was something political on a YouTube clip of me singing — it said ‘Free Palestine’.

“Why get political about singing? It’s just my background. For me, this is a talent competition and I just want to be heard.”

Moni is a former X-Factor contestant, has performed backing vocals for Boyzone, wrote “World of Her Own” for Peter Andre, and was a finalist on BBC’s The One and Only as a Lionel Richie tribute artist. As for the future, Moni Tivony said that, “this time next year, I want to be producing my own album.

“The whole experience of singing on The Voice was amazing. At first it was a blur, then watching back and seeing my friends support me was mad.”

And it was more than his friends tuning in - The Voice attracted around eight million viewers on Saturday night. It ends on June 22.

Top Hat? Top show, say Olivier judges

Jennifer Lipman — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:15:13 +0100

The daughter of the legendary composer Irving Berlin has spoken of her delight that the West End musical Top Hat is introducing her father’s music to a new generation of theatre-goers.

Elizabeth Peters also said she was thrilled that the production had been honoured at this year’s Olivier awards.

“It deserves it,” she said. “I think my father would be thrilled — it’s just wonderful to hear that music live on the stage.”

Top Hat, which is produced by Kenny Wax, won three awards at the Oliviers, including best new musical, as well as prizes for best choreography and costumes.

The production came about after a conversation Mr Wax had over tea, when friends suggested that what with the recession, and the popularity of BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing, it would be natural to have a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical on in the West End.

After initial reluctance, he eventually convinced Berlin’s daughters that the project would be a success.

“I explained that I had an eight-year-old daughter who had never heard of Irving Berlin,” he revealed. “I said that they need to reopen the catalogue to this generation so they know all his wonderful songs.”

Berlin, born 125 years ago next week, emigrated to New York as a child to escape the pogroms in Tsarist Russia. He wrote some 1,200 songs, including classics like White Tie and Tails and Cheek to Cheek, which feature in Top Hat.

“He was the son of a long line of cantors and that’s really where his musical interest came from,” said Mr Wax, who grew up in Hale, in Cheshire, and attended Carmel College. “His songs are really timeless.”

The musical, which is running at the Aldwych Theatre, is one of several classic showstoppers on in the West End at the moment, including Singing in the Rain and A Chorus Line. “It’s a bit of a cliché but in these recessionary times people do want to go out and have a big feel-good evening,” said Mr Wax.

“In terms of the size of the cast, the choreography, it’s an old fashioned dance musical,” he added. “It’s absolutely down the street of my parents’ generation.”

A national tour starts in summer 2014, and there has been interest from producers as far afield as Korea and Japan. In the long term, the hope is for Top Hat to become a staple of amateur theatre, as is the case with classics like Oklahoma and Carousel.

“We hope we’ll be on in the West End for some time,” said Mr Wax. “The word of mouth is so positive at the moment but there are a lot of shows competing for a limited market.”

Mrs Peters, who lives in the United States, said she would love to see Top Hat transfer to Broadway. “In the theatre, you never know how something will turn out, so we feel very lucky it has gone so well.”

Amy Winehouse documentary OK, says family

Jennifer Lipman — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:10:58 +0100

Amy Winehouse's life story is to be retold on film after her family gave permission for a production team to start work on a biopic.

This summer will mark two years since the singer was found dead in her Camden home, after a widely reported battle with alcohol and drug abuse. A film telling her story, including tracing her career highs with the albums Back to Black and Frank, is set to be shown to industry executives at the Cannes Film Festival next month.

The Winehouse family were initially reluctant to endorse the project, but have now given their approval and chosen a Bafta-recognised director to make the film.

Asif Kapadia was honoured at the Baftas for the documentary film Senna, about Brazilian motor-racing legend Ayrton Senna.

Mr Kapadia described Ms Winehouse, who was 27 when she died, as a "once-in-a-generation talent", in a joint statement with producer James Gay-Rees.

They added: "She wrote and sung from the heart."

"This is an incredibly modern, emotional and relevant film that has the power to capture the zeitgeist and shine a light on the world we live in."

Mr Gay-Rees also produced Exit Through the Gift Shop, about the street artist Bansky.

No, Justin Bieber, Anne Frank is not for you

Emma Barnett — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:24:00 +0100

Everyone I know recalls a film, book or photograph that introduced them to the horrors of the Holocaust.

For me, it was Anne Frank's diary. I was 10 when my parents took me to the Franks' hiding place in Amsterdam.

Until then, I had been only vaguely aware that something bad had happened to lots of Jews in the war. I hadn't grasped the scale, or how industrialised this extermination was - nor that it affected girls my age, guilty simply of being Jewish and of the wrong generation.

Consequently, I feel very protective of Anne and her account. It is my entry-point to unspeakable horrors. My husband feels the same way about Esther Hautzig's The Endless Steppe, the first book to explain to him some of what his grandfather, who survived and escaped a Siberian labour camp, endured.

And this is why teen idol Justin Bieber's self-referential comments in the Anne Frank House's guest book angered me last week.

He wrote: "Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber." In case you aren't down with the kids, "belieber" is the term for his devoted fans - the majority of whom are teen or pre-teen girls.

In response, I wrote for the Telegraph that Justin Bieber does not get to second-guess Anne Frank - nobody does. His fans reacted furiously on Twitter. But I was also taken on by several journalists telling me Bieber had unwittingly done good for expanding the knowledge of young people who increasingly don't bother to understand the Holocaust.

Well, I don't buy that positive shine on his egocentric comment for one moment. Yes, he may have prompted a few thousand Google searches for "Anne Frank" - but how many will now really read her diary and actually engage with the full horrors of the Holocaust? The Facebook and Twitter generation - of which I am firmly a part - cannot concentrate easily. Countless studies have shown that the "digerati" find it incredibly hard to focus on anything properly in this era of information being published in real time.

I struggle properly to read to the end of an article, unless I stop, breathe and take a moment to rewire my brain to a slower mode. And this is precisely why I loathe all attempts by people to tell me to stop treating Anne in such a reverent fashion. "She was just a teenage girl and probably would have been a 'belieber'", wailed one fellow commentator, as we thrashed this out.

That's not the conversation we should be having about Anne Frank - the Anne Frank who met her end in the grimmest situation in the world and eloquently represented the millions of children who also needlessly died in the Holocaust, through her beloved diary.

And so begins the conversation about how we should talk about the Holocaust, as the years slip by and it becomes less real and seemingly less relevant.

The digital generation need to be stopped in their tracks actually to take stock of something seriously. Take it from me. We aren't even able to suitably process the dire human rights abuses happening in Syria today.

Bieber's throwaway comment, regardless of how he meant it, feeds directly into my fear of any attempt to normalise and trivialise the Holocaust. The Holocaust, unlike most other events in this world, does not need celebrity endorsements to make it real or interesting. This is not the way to make it relevant to the "kids". And those who believe that it is are patronising both children and teachers - many of whom are battling to keep this part of history very much alive.

Yes, there is a worry about the fact that the next generation will not be able to meet a Holocaust survivor and hear his or her story - which is probably the most effective way for people to understand what happened in Europe only a few decades ago.

But these concentration camps still exist and teachers and children alike can visit them. This is why I believe so strongly in the work that the Holocaust Educational Trust does with its trips.

We cannot and should not let celebrities, cartoonists, politicians and comedians casually trivialise the Holocaust. This is not the way to teach people about the only attempt the world has ever seen to systematically wipe out an entire people, "beliebers" or not.

Sacha Baron Cohen joins Roman Abramovich on Rich List

Sandy Rashty — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:30:34 +0100

It is turning out to be an unhappy year for Roman Abramovich. His football club, Chelsea, have failed to win the Premier League, his yacht is no longer the world’s biggest, and now he is not even the UK’s richest Jew from the former Soviet Union.

According to the Sunday Times Rich List, the annual charting of Britain’s wealthy, Abramovich has a fortune of £9.3 billion, making him the country’s fifth richest individual.

Sounds good, except his wealth is down £200 million on 2012, and that leaves him lagging behind Odessa-born music and media tycoon Len Blavatnik, who occupies the number two slot with a very respectable bank balance of £11 billion.

Mr Blavatnik, 55, bought the world’s third-largest record label, Warner Music, for more than £2 billion in 2011.

At least 85 Jewish millionaires and billionaires feature among the 1,000 entrants on the list. They include retail tycoon Sir Philip Green in 16th place with £3.88 billion, and Lord Sugar and Richard Desmond in joint 98th place with fortunes worth £860 million.

Mr Desmond, who owns the Express stable of newspapers and Channel 5, and BBC Apprentice host Lord Sugar shared joint first place on the Rich List’s Film and TV catagory.

Joining them are former X-Factor judge Sharon Osbourne, who is worth £100 million, actress Helena Bonham Carter with her film director husband Tim Burton at £80 million and Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe, who at 23-years-old is worth £60 million — and that really is magic.

Entertainers making their first appearance on the list include actor and writer Sacha Baron Cohen with his actress wife Isla Fisher, and actress Rachel Weisz with 007 husband Daniel Craig.

Mr Baron Cohen, who is famed for his role as Borat, is worth an estimated £68 million. His wife, known for her roles in comedies such as The Wedding Crashers, took on the Hebrew name “Ayala” on converting to Judaism before marrying in 2010.

In the catagory of richest women, Anita Zabludowicz (wife of businessman Poju Zabludowicz) and Nancy Shevell (wife of musician Paul McCartney) both make an appearance.

This year, Mrs Zabludowicz, an art patron and gallery owner, judged the Jewish Identity art contest supported by the JC.

Sally Fiszman, the widow of former diamond dealer and director of the Arsenal football club Danny, was ranked in 319th place on the main list with an estimated fortune of £250 million.

Property remains as lucrative as ever, with millionaire brothers Simon and David Reuben, seventh on the list with a 17 per cent rise in their wealth to £8.281 billion.

Brothers Eddie and Sol Zakay are 25th on the list with £2.52 billion, while Ian and Richard Livingstone rank at 31st with a property development empire worth £2.3 billion.

The top political donors provided backing for both the Conservative and Labour parties. Labour supporter Andrew Rosenfeld donated £440,000 last year, followed by East End-born Lord Sugar who gave £51,089 to the party.

Supporting the Tories were Charles Wigoder and Jeremy Isaacs who gave David Cameron a reason to smile with a combined total donation of £118,500.

Philanthropic figures from the community are prominent on the giving list, proving that along with fabulous wealth comes considerable generosity. Venture capitalist Michael Moritz and his wife Harriet
Heyman made a £75 million donation to education, while Richard Desmond gave £32.7 million to Jewish, medical and children’s organisations.

Property investor Benzion Freshwater gave £23.3 million to Jewish groups, while businessman Sir Ronnie Cohen and his wife Sharon Harel handed over £4.2 million to education, Jewish and social causes.

Lord Sugar tribunal victory against former Apprentice

Sandy Rashty — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:40:54 +0100

Lord Sugar has won an employment tribunal case brought against him by Apprentice winner Stella English.

Mrs English, who secured a job with Lord Sugar after competing in the popular BBC programme in 2010, brought a case of constructive dismissal earlier this year.

Kent-based Mrs English, 34, earned £100,000 a year working at Lord Sugar’s IT firm, Viglen. She complained about her lack of specific duties and desk-based job. She resigned from Viglen in May 2011 because , she said, she felt like an “overpaid lackey”.

In a witness statement, read to the hearing at the East London Tribunal Centre, Lord Sugar said: "I believe this claim, together with its publication in the media, is simply an attempt to extract money from me."

After the ruling, he took to Twitter and attacked the “claim culture” in the UK.

Get set for more Jewish mums on TV

Anna Sheinman — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 13:30:00 +0100

Anyone still squirming over last year’s much-criticised reality show Jewish Mum of the Year may greet with trepidation the news that another TV project featuring Jewish mothers is in the pipeline.

ITN Productions has issued an appeal for women to audition for a new programme, but stresses it will not be Jewish Mum of the Year mark two.

Rather than a competition-based format, the new show, which is as yet untitled, will feature two Jewish women coming to the aid of people facing domestic calamities.

“Jewish Mum of the Year was really competitive. This is about two genuine, warm women who have a desire to help people sort out their problems,” said producer Virginia Baker.

“Jewish women are all about family. We want them to expand how they approach sorting out their own family situations to a wider audience.”

The programme, which is intended to air on Channel 5, is currently in development stage, with the production company auditioning potential participants. “We’re looking for the new breed of television expert. Think Kim and Aggie, Supernanny, Phil and Kirstie,” Ms Baker said, referring to successful shows with the same format.

The two mothers need to be charismatic, opinionated and not afraid to get involved, Ms Baker added. “Whether they have planned barmitzvahs or they’re matchmakers, if they are a Jewish mother or grandmother aged between 45 and 70, they’re qualified.”

The aim was to “break the stereotype of the Jewish mum, showing the real heart, warmth and wisdom behind this cultural institution”.

A smash-hit American TV series based on the Bible is to be broadcast in the UK later this year. The 10-hour series, called The Bible, is split equally between Old and New Testaments. It will be screened on Channel 5 in the autumn.