Beautiful People Tie the Knot

On Sept. 29, GWYNETH PALTROW, 46, wed long-time beau BRAD FALCHUK, 47, in a private backyard ceremony on Long Island. The guests included JERRY SEINFELD, 64, and STEVEN SPIELBERG, 71.  Seinfeld was the host for the couple’s wedding rehearsal dinner. As I write this, no news has leaked out as to whether it was a secular or Jewish wedding.

Paltrow, who identifies as Jewish, was close to her late father, director BRUCE PALTROW (her mother, actress Blythe Danner, isn’t Jewish). Falchuk, like Paltrow, has two children under 18 from a previous marriage (His first wife was Jewish. Paltrow’s ex, rock star Chris Martin, isn’t). Falchuk is best known as the co-producer/co-creator of “Glee” and “American Horror Story.”  His mother was national head of Hadassah from 2007-2011.

More New Season Notes

“The Romanoffs” is an eight-episode anthology series that begins streaming on Amazon on Oct. 12. It’s about people around the globe who think they are descendants of the last Russian royal family. It was created by, and is written by MATTHEW WEINER, 53. He was a major writer for “The Sopranos” and the creator and writer of “Mad Men.” I’m hoping that, unlike many others, he won’t romanticize the Romanoff Czars, who had a terrible record of anti-Semitism.  Stars in a “Romanoff” episode include PAUL REISER, 62, COREY STOLL, 42, NOAH WYLE, 47, JON TENNEY, 56, and AMANDA PEET, 46.

“Camping” is a comedy that starts on Oct. 14 on HBO.  It follows a married couple (played by David Tennant and Jennifer Garner) who have issues—issues that come to a head during a camping trip. Based on a Brit TV series, the American version is written and produced by LENA DUNHAM, 32 (“Girls”) and JENNI KONNER, 47 (“Girls”).  Series regulars include BRETT GELMAN, 41, and IONE SYKE, 47.

Remember Skye from the ‘80s romantic classic “Say Anything”? It had the iconic scene in which a high school senior (John Cusack) held up a boom-box that played a love song under the window of a classmate (Skye) he was courting. Skye’s father is Donovan (“Mellow Yellow”), the famous ‘60s Scottish folk rocker. Her mother, who raised her alone, is an American Jew. Skye has been married to rock musician BEN LEE, 40, since 2008.

The firing of ROSEANNE BARR, 65, from “Roseanne” has led to a second re-boot, entitled “The Connors”. It will premiere on Oct. 16 (7PM) on ABC. We know that the death of the character Roseanne will be the focus of the episode. No doubt, a huge audience will tune-in to see how Roseanne died and how it’s handled.  

A Nice Promotion

On Oct. 2, CBS News announced it is adding BIANNA GOLODRYGA (go-low-DREEG-ah) as a fourth anchor to its morning show. CBS explained that it will free up the three present anchors to do more field assignments. Golodryga, 40, was born in the former Soviet republic of Moldova (on the Rumanian border). She was 18 months old when she and her family came to the States as political refugees (they arrived with $75). They settled in Houston. Her father is a mechanical engineer. Her mother, ZHANNA, was the top spokesperson for Hess Oil Co. and now is a Senior Vice-President at the Phillips 66 Oil Co., in charge of digital media.

Golodryga began as a news producer, but got on-air work in 2004 and since then she has appeared in increasingly important roles as a reporter and contributor on CNBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, and CBS. She married (in a Jewish ceremony) PETER ORSZAG, 49, the former Budget director in the Obama administration, in 2010 and they now have two children.

I’m  asked about Jewish reporters on the major networks and I haven’t provided a list in some time. So here are the “big-time” Jewish reporters and anchors on CBS, NBC, and ABC that I know to be Jewish. I’ll catch-up with other networks in the near future.  CBS: PETER GREENBERG, 60, travel editor; DANA JACOBSON, 46, “Saturday Morning” co-anchor; LESLIE STAHL, 76, “60 Minutes” anchor; RITA BRAVER, 70, “Sunday Morning” correspondent; and JULIANNA GOLDMAN, 37, correspondent; NBC/MSNBC: LISA BLOOM, 57, legal analyst; RICHARD ENGEL, 45, foreign correspondent (his father is Jewish); JOSH MANKIEWICZ, 63, “Dateline” anchor (father, Jewish); ARI MELBER, 38, MSNBC host; ANDREA MITCHELL, 71, NBC correspondent/MSNBC host; BRET STEPHENS, 44, political contributor. ABC: DAN ABRAMS, 53, chief legal analyst and MATTHEW GUTMAN, 40, senior news correspondent. His father, who died young in a plane crash, received 2 bronze medals (baseball) at the Macabbi Games and lived in Israel for nine years after college.