By Mark D. Zimmerman
MELVILLE, New York –What is Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Patricia Arquette’s Jewish connection?
A. Her paternal grandfather Cliff Arquette (also known as Charley Weaver) was Christian, her father was Muslim, and her mother was Jewish. She and her four siblings (all actors) were raised with no religion. She is the only one who now considers herself Jewish. Her sister Rosanna is Catholic, her brother Richmond is Muslim, her sister Alexis is Protestant, and her brother David is Buddhist.
B. Arquette, who is Jewish, had her first performing role as Queen Esther in a Hebrew School Purim Shpiel at the Chicago Sinai Congregation. Though only 11 years old at the time, she told her parents that she knew acting was what she wanted to do with her life. She even refused her parents’ offer to get her braces because she said that her crooked teeth would help her with character acting.
C. Boyhood, in which Arquette starred, was filmed over 12 years, with the cast and crew working together for a couple of weeks annually. In year thirteen, sad that there was no plan to film again, Arquette (who is Jewish and had never had a bat mitzvah) decided that it would be fun to bring everyone together again, so she invited all involved to a “Boyhood Bat Mitzvah” celebration. She read a haftorah, gave a speech comparing her movie son Mason to the Biblical Isaac (each had issues with his father), and led everyone in the hora.
D. Her father (who was Muslim) and her mother (who was Jewish) sent her to a Catholic school, where a teacher told her she couldn’t take communion because “your mother is Jewish and she’s going to hell.” Arquette replied, “I think your Jesus and my Jesus are different.”
E. When Arquette was 6 years old, she appeared on Hollywood Squares, sitting in the lap of her grandfather Charley Weaver (Cliff Arquette), who was the regular occupant of the show’s bottom left square. When host Peter Marshall asked her, “Is this the most exciting event you’ve ever been to?” Patricia replied, “No, I had more fun at my brother David’s bris.”
Here’s the link to the answer:
http://rrrjewishtrivia.com/answers/the-oscars-answer.html
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Mark D. Zimmerman is the author of Rashi, Rambam and Ramalamadingdong series of Jewish trivia e-books. Learn more at rrrjewishtrivia.com.