The Jewish Phenomenon: Seven Keys to the Enduring Wealth of a People by Steven Silbiger

Author:Steven Silbiger [Silbiger, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-12-22T20:13:00+00:00

The rise of the comic actor Danny Kaye (David Kominsky) is a case in point. Kaye developed his material in the Catskills and then became a success in a New York City nightclub in 1940. Sam Goldwyn caught his act, loved his performances and signed him for a movie without a screen test. When Kaye was tested in California, Goldwyn was disturbed that his nose and look were "too, too Jewish." Kaye refused to fix his nose, and lighting and makeup could not solve the problem. Goldwyn had discovered Danny Kaye, and he was not about to give up. Then it hit him: "I've got it! He'll be having his hair dyed blond." With Kaye's wavy mane of blond hair instead of brown, the camera and the audience would be drawn away from his telltale nose and he would have a Nordic look. Danny Kaye, the Jew, had disappeared." Other notable Jewish actors who became Gentiles on-screen were Kirk Douglas (Issur Danielovich), Edward G. Robinson (Emanuel Goldenberg), Lauren Bacall (Betty Joan Perske) and Tony Curtis (Bernard Schwartz).

The day of the big studios has passed, but the Jewish influence on Hollywood remains. Dreamworks owners Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg together have a $10 billion nest egg to back them. Sumner Redstone, who owns Paramount Pictures through his Viacom, once owned a large percentage of Columbia Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox. Robert Iger leads the Disney studio, which in Walt's day, ironically, excluded Jews.

Bob and Harvey Weinstein got their start by holding concerts and playing B movies at a dilapidated movie house in Buffalo, New York. With a trip to Cannes in 1979 they entered into movie distribution and began to build Miramax. Ten years later they hit their stride with Cinema Paradiso, My Left Foot, and Sex, Lies and Videotape. They hit again with The Crying Game in 1992 and The Piano in 1993. Eisner's Disney bought their company for a reported $60 million to $80 million that year, and the next year Miramax released Pulp Fiction, which grossed more than $100 million.

In addition to the corporate chieftains, a huge number of Jewish people participate in the entertainment industry. It has not been part of a grand scheme, but when an ethnic group becomes as heavily involved, and as successful, in a particular industry as Jewish people have been in movies, the group's influence, connections and power produce a vast ripple effect, and other Jewish actors, writers, editors, technicians, directors and producers follow in their footsteps.

Producers and directors require especially strong interpersonal skills and force of will to lead a group of egocentric creative people through the daunting task of producing a film. Steven Spielberg has been the most successful producer/director of all time, with a net worth of $3.1 billion in 2008. His list of credits and Oscars is legendary as he has produced or directed seven of the top-ten grossing films. His credits include Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.

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