In 1926, he married Gracie Allen, who was Catholic, and subsequently appeared with her in comic short films which had such stars as Bing Crosby, W.C. Fields, Jack Benny, Frest Astaire, Joan Fontaine, Bob Hope, Martha Raye, Eleanor Powell, and Robert Young. [SDJW staff]
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Antisemitism, Jewish Celebrities, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA
As a Democratic candidate, Pritzker finished third in a 1998 bid for the congressional seat won by Jan Schakowsky, and 20 years later, he ran successfully for governor of Illinois, spending an estimated $42 million of his own money through the primary and $171.5 million to defeat Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in the general election. He was easily reelected in 2022. [SDJW staff]
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Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA
Most of Kaye’s films were light-hearted including The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Inspector General, White Christmas, On the Riviera, The Court Jester, and the biographical Hans Christian Andersen and The Five Pennies about jazz musician Red Nichols. But he also had a serious side, playing a Holocaust survivor in the TV film Skokie. [SDJW staff]
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Holocaust, Jewish Celebrities, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA
In 1960, the NBC network signed her for The Shari Lewis Show, which stayed on the air through September 1963. Among her many puppet friends were Lamb Chop, a sock with eyes; Charlie Horse and Hush Puppy. [SDJA Staff]
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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Celebrities, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA
In 1960, Podhoretz began a 35-year career as editor-in-chief of Commentary magazine, when initially he was a political liberal. Disillusioned with the left, he became a neoconservative, and during Ronald Reagan’s administration, Podhoretz served as an advisor to the U.S. Information Agency. George W. Bush awarded him the presidential medal of freedom. [SDJA staff report]
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Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA
fter the Soviet Union detonated an A-bomb in 1949, President Harry Truman ordered the development of a hydrogen bomb, which Teller and Stanislaw Ulam are credited with designing, although each denigrated the contribution of the other. [SDJW staff]
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International, Israel, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA
Among his friends in Paris was Amedeo Modigliani, who became another famous Jewish artist. They painted portraits of each other. After art dealer Albert Barnes purchased 60 of Soutine’s paintings in 1923, Soutine celebrated by hiring a taxi to drive him from Paris to nice, more than 400 miles away. [SDJA staff]
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Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Today's Jewish Birthday
He worked for a series of radio stations, becoming known as a shock jock, which built ratings but worried broadcast executives. Over 20 years at WXRK in New York, his show was syndicated in 60 markets, and gained an audience of 20 million. [SDJW staff]
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Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA
Heschel taught at Hebrew Union College (Reform) in Cincinnati for five years. In 1946 he switched to the Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative) in New York, where he was a professor of Jewish ethics and mysticism. [SDJW staff]
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International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA
When Ivanka’s father, Donald Trump, became U.S. President in 2017, Jared became a senior advisor in the White House and director of the Office of American Innovation. He was put in charge of Trump’s initiative in the Middle East, which resulted in the Abraham Accords among Israel, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, and Morocco.[SdJW staff]
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Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA
He moved to Tel Aviv in 1924, where he served until his death as head of the Hebrew Writers Association. He is remembered today as Israel’s national poet. Actress Mayim Bialik is his triple great-grandniece. [SDJW staff]
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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Israel, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Today's Jewish Birthday
The national Soupy Sales Show featured non-stop jokes, slapstick, and signature pie-in-the-face routines. Famous musicians often appeared as guests on the show, which also featured such puppets as “White Fang,” “Black Tooth,” “Pokie the Lion,” and “Hippy the Hippo.” [SDJW staff report]
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Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA
He invested in a chain of theaters, leading in 1912 to Zukor establishing the Famous Players Film Company, later through mergers to become Paramount Pictures, with studios on both coasts. Zukor purchased chains of movie theaters, guaranteeing audiences for the films he produced with such well-known stars as Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. (SDJW staff report]
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Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday
Bonnie Franklin (January 6, 1944-March 1, 2013) was remembered for her role as the single mother Ann Romano in the 1975-1984 television series One Day at a Time. Created by Norman Lear, the series addressed a variety of social issues including premarital sex, sexual harassment, and suicide. [SDJW staff report]
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Jewish Celebrities, Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday