Nate Bloom blogs on this week's Jews in the News.

 

Henry Covers Hazards, Rom-Com Movies, Tough Stuff, & Dylan Musical

 

“Hazardous History with Henry Winkler” is a new series that will premiere on Sunday, June 15 (on the History Channel). Winkler narrates the series.

 

The series’ publicity release says: “Each 60-minute episode of this nostalgia drenched series tells the stories of things we did for fun, for money, or out of plain boredom that you can’t do anymore…like smoking, unknowingly playing with radioactive toys…decorating Christmas tree with ornaments made from asbestos.”

 

The first episode looks at potentially dangers like explosive science kits, and deadly flying kite tubes. Other episodes cover daredevils, risky household products, extreme sports, and more.

 

WINKLER, 79, is best known to most people as the Fonz in “Happy Days”, a TV sitcom, and as Gene Cousineau in “Barry”, an HBO comedy/drama.

 

You might not know that he is widely known in show biz and other places as the nicest (or kindest) man on the Earth. His “niceness” is mentioned in virtually every biography. But I have actually talked to people who had some connection (a TV show, etc.) to Winkler and they all say that he was nice (in an intelligent way).

 

It’s nice to say that Winkler is practicing Jew and has been married to STACEY WEITZMAN WINKLER since 1976. They have 3 children .

 

MARLEE MATLIN, 58, a deaf actress, could tell many kind Winkler stories. Winkler “discovered” her when she was acting with a “smallish”, non-profit acting company for children and teens. He helped her to get other parts and this directly led to her starring  in “Children of a Lesser God” (She won the 1988 best actress Oscar). I mention all this because a documentary about Matlin will open in theaters on June 20 (“Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore”).

 

“The Materialists”, a comedy, opens in theaters on June 13. Here’s the premise: Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a top matchmaker for elite New Yorkers. At one of her weddings, she meets the very wealthy Harry (Pedro Pascal) and she also meets up with John (Chris Evans), her ex-boyfriend. He’s a wedding waiter. She likes both and she soon finds herself in a romantic triangle.

 

SAWYER SPIELBERG, 33, and JOHN MAGARO, 43,  have supporting roles. I have to add that I am “almost sure” that Zoe Winters, 40, who has the biggest supporting role, is Jewish or “part Jewish”. Her middle name is “Chasa”. It’s a Yiddish (feminine) name that is not found among non-Jews. I have other “clues” that I am working on.

 

“The Waterfront” is a new Netflix dramatic series that premieres on June 19. (All 8 episodes are available on the 19th) It is about a family that lives on the North Carolina coast. Here’s what the show’s writer says: “They’ve pulled themselves up from nothing and they’ve built this mini fishing empire…Now it’s being taken away from them bit by bit. They’ll do anything to hold onto it, because it represents their family.”

 

The cast is pretty small. DAVE ANNABLE, 45, has a big recurring role as “Wes Larsen”. Annable’s mother is Jewish and he was raised “both”.

 

Well, ‘nobody’ told me that “Great Performances” (PBS) was going to present “Girl from the North Country”, a hit theater musical. I saw clips of the show and liked them. Then, there it was on PBS on May 23!  You can view it anytime on the PBS app (free until July. After that, you can watch if you take out a membership to your local PBS station. Five dollars a month).

 

The musical is set in Duluth during the Great Depression. The songs (and there are many) were all written by BOB DYLAN. The show premiered on Broadway in March, 2020. It got VERY good reviews but the pandemic got it shut quickly. It was re-mounted for a short Broadway run in 2022. It also got acclaim when it ran in London.

 

I liked the show, but it wasn’t something I totally liked. Dylan songs sometimes work in the Depression era, but they weren’t written for that era. “Bob’s Duluth” was not “Depression horrible”. A lifelong friend of Dylan (from Duluth) who went to a Wisconsin Jewish summer camp with Dylan, said that he and Bob looked up Jewish campers their age who lived in Duluth. They did what ‘50s middle-class “kids” did—listen to rock, dance, etc.

 

I do have to say that MARE WINNINGHAM, 66, a Jew-by-Choice, is the best actor/singer in the musical. She could really “work” a Dylan tune (“Like a Rolling Stone” and others). The NY Times said this about her acting: “Elizabeth (Mare Winningham, fabulous), is suffering from the kind of dementia that has her babbling uncomfortable truths and hitting those who try to help her. Winningham renders madness with the brusque straightforwardness and lopsided wisdom of a Shakespearean fool.”