The Arts

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Neil Sedaka

More Sedaka hits followed in the 1960s, among them “Stairway to Heaven,” “Calendar Girl,” “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen,” “Breaking Up is Hard to Do,” and “Next Door to an Angel.” In addition to his own songs, Sedaka and Greenfield wrote songs for other performers including Connie Francis, and Jimmy Clanton. Sedaka’s piano work is heard in Bobby Darin’s “Dream Lover.” [SDJW staff]

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA

R.I.P. Eric Carmen: Raspberries Frontman and ‘All by Myself’ Singer Dead at 74

Published by Q Magazine Singer-songwriter Eric Carmen, best known as the frontman for power pop band the Raspberries, as well as the singer of the 1975 hit “All by Myself,” died over the past weekend, his family revealed on March 11. He was 74 years old. Carmen’s family shared the news on the singer’s website,

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Jewish Celebrities, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Nordot, Obituaries & memorials, USA

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Jake Tapper

In 2015, his show was named State of the Union with Jake Tapper, where he gained a reputation for asking tough questions to such national politicians as Bernie Sanders, Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump. In 2015, he was selected to moderate two Republican presidential primary debates at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. In 2018, his first novel, The Hellfire Club, was published. [SDJW staff]

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Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA

OpEd: Vandals who attack our heritage must be prepared to face the consequences

Published by City AM By Bella Wallersteiner Defacing a portrait of a former Prime Minister, as pro-Palestine activists did last week, is an attack on democracy itself, argues Bella Wallersteiner When a protestor drenched a portrait of former Prime Minister Lord Balfour in red paint and slashed it to pieces she didn’t just attack a

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International, Israel, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Nordot

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Shemp Howard

When Curly was felled by a stroke in 1946, Moe and Larry asked Shemp to fill in temporarily. But Curly’s health did not improve and in 1948 Shemp agreed to remain as the third Stooge permanently. His high pitched “bee-bee-bee-bee-bee-bee’ sound, produced by inhaling, became his trademark, emitted when scared, sleeping, overtly happy, or dazed. [SDJW staff]

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Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA

Anecdotes from an Unthoughtful Life

He had become an expert on the use of a Louma crane, which can twist and turn its long arm and get shots from angles otherwise unavailable to movie producers. Steven Spielberg utilized the Louma in the movie 1941, but as production was coming to an end, Spielberg learned that Romanoff was nicknamed “Captain Gas” because he liked to party with nitrous oxide.  After a night of excess with similarly inclined crew and cast members, a wasted Romanoff nursed a hangover inside the Louma control booth. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Technology, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

British director Jonathan Glazer condemns Gaza attacks as he accepts Oscar for Holocaust film

Published by Mirror By Laura Harding, PA Deputy Entertainment Editor & Zoe Delaney British director Jonathan Glazer has condemned Israel’s ongoing attacks on the Gaza Strip as he accepted an Oscar for his film about the banality of evil during the Holocaust. The Zone Of Interest won the best international feature Oscar for the United

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California, Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, Nordot, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

‘Oppenheimer’ sweeps up at Oscars

Published by AFP Hollywood (United States) (AFP) – “Oppenheimer” swept the board on Sunday at the Oscars, Hollywood’s biggest night of the year, with seven awards including best picture and best director, crowning a triumphant year for filmmaker Christopher Nolan. Nolan’s masterful drama about the father of the atomic bomb, half of last summer’s massive

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California, Holocaust, International, Israel, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Nordot, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Our Shtetl San Diego County: Speak against Antisemitism, AJC Director Urges

Sara E. Brown, regional director of the American Jewish Committee, urged readers to “not ignore or stand by in the face of antisemitic rhetoric, hatred, incidents, or violence. Stand up and say no, not in San Diego….” (SDJW staff)

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Antisemitism, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Jonathan Sacks

From Sept 1991 through September 2013, he served as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. In 1995, he won the Jerusalem Prize for his contribution to diaspora Jewish life. In 2005 he was dubbed a Knight Bachelor for his work in interfaith relations. In 2009, the House of Lords announced that Sacks was recommended for life peerage with a seat in the House of Lords. He took the title of Baron Sacks. He was also the recipient of an honorary doctorate of divinity conferred by the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, to mark his first ten years as Chief Rabbi. [SDJW staff]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Today's Jewish Birthday

Walter Benjamin’s ‘Little History of Photography’

Benjamin, however, was critical of such commercial photographic studios, noting with derision their paraphernalia and ‘props’ intended to enhance the impact of the image or portrait. In the exhibition an enlarged photo of young Franz Kafka illustrates this concept, with the serious young boy holding a stick and a large black hat, surrounded by heavy, dark furniture emphasizing the gravity of the situation. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Staff and Bylined Contributors

In ‘MJ’ the King of Pop Rises Again

To illustrate the various periods in Jackson’s life, there are three versions of Michael, “MJ” (Banks) is the Michael of the 90s,  “Michael” (Brandon Lee Harris) is a teen Michael, and “Little Michael” (Josiah Benson) covers the childhood and young Jackson 5 version. [Sandi Masori]

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Sandi Masori, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Today’s Jewish Birthday: Michael Eisner

When he was passed over to succeed Diller at Paramount, he moved over to Walt Disney Studios, where he served as chairman and CEO.  Under his watch, Disney released such films as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Little Mermaid and acquired Miramax Films, ABC, most of ESPN, Fox Family, and The Muppets. [SDJW staff]

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Business & Finance, California, International, Sports & Competitions, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Today's Jewish Birthday, USA