Category Archives: Arts & Entertainment

Jews in the World of Art & Entertainment

Jew of the Week: Benny Goodman

The King of Swing – America’s First Rock Star

Benny Goodman

Benjamin David Goodman (1909-1986) was born in Chicago, the son of a Polish-Jewish father and Lithuanian-Jewish mother, immigrants who met in the U.S. Goodman took his first music lessons when he was 10 years old at the local synagogue. By 12, he made his professional debut (playing the clarinet) at Chicago’s Central Park Theater. At 16 he made his first recordings with the Ben Pollack Orchestra. He would go on to play alongside some of the most popular bands and most famous artists of the day. His own band would appear in a number of films, and on national radio. Despite the open racism and segregation of the time, Goodman began working with African-Americans, and is considered the first major American musician to have an interracial band (which meant he had to avoid playing concerts in the Southern states, where interracial bands were illegal). This was a key step in opening the door for more African-Americans to enter the mainstream music industry. By 1935, Goodman was one of the central forces that ushered in the “swing” era. In fact, he would be crowned the “King of Swing” (in addition to the “Rajah of Rhythm” and the “Patriarch of the Clarinet”). He is often credited with inspiring the start of the “dance craze”, and some consider him “America’s first rock star”. In 1962, Benny Goodman made history when he was sent to the USSR – the first American band on Soviet soil. The tour was designed to ease Cold War tensions, and was hailed a great success on both sides after 32 concerts, including for Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. It was a symbolic start of the process of reconciliation between the US and the USSR. Goodman was voted the best clarinetist multiple times, was inducted in the Jazz Hall of Fame, and awarded a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement. His fascinating story was immortalized in a major motion picture, The Benny Goodman Story.

Words of the Week

God would not have preserved our people for so long if we did not have another role to play in the history of mankind.
– Theodor Herzl

Jew of the Week: Sid Caesar

Greatest Comedian of All Time

Sid Caesar

Isaac Sidney Caesar (1922-2014) was born in New York, the third and youngest son of a mother from Russia and a father from Poland (given the name ‘Caesar’ by an immigration official). His parents ran a 24-hour eatery where, as a child, he would mimic and entertain the restaurant patrons. After high school, he intended to pursue a career in music as a saxophone player. From a small sax gig, he moved onto a dance band, then a comedy show when his jokes got more applause then his music. At the end of World War II (when he played for a military band), Caesar made his way to Hollywood and began starring in film. He also performed stand-up at comedy clubs, and had a stint on Broadway before focusing on television. Perhaps his most famous skit was double-talk, where he mimicked virtually any language perfectly, without actually saying anything intelligible (he only spoke English and Yiddish fluently). In the 1950s, Caesar was behind the greatest show on television, ‘Your Show of Shows’, watched by over 60 million people weekly. For this, he won his first Emmy, and was voted America’s Best Comedian. He would go on to make several other successful TV programs, and is even credited with helping make TV the dominant medium at a time when radio was still king. Caesar’s comedy is said to have revolutionized the entire genre, and inspired the next generation of comedians, many of which consider him the greatest funnyman of all time. Meanwhile, he did a great deal of charity work (click here to see Caesar’s double-talk at Chabad fundraisers) and was happily married for 67 years. Sadly, Caesar passed away last week.

Words of the Week

When God created the first man, He showed him all the trees of the Garden of Eden, and said to him: ‘See My works, how beautiful and praiseworthy they are. And everything that I created, I created for you. Be careful not to spoil or destroy My world—for if you do, there will be nobody after you to repair it.’
– Midrash Kohelet Rabbah 7:13

Jew of the Week: Drake

Drake sporting a kippah and tallit in one of his music videos

Aubrey Drake Graham (b. 1986) was born in Toronto to a Jewish-Canadian mother and an African-American father from Tennessee. His parents divorced when he was 5 so Drake was raised by his mother in Toronto’s predominantly Jewish area of Forest Hills. It was in high school that Drake began to act, and at age 15 landed a role on the teen show Degrassi: The Next Generation, thanks to his friend’s father who was an agent. He appeared in 138 episodes until his character “graduated” off the show in 2009. Meanwhile, Drake was recording various rap mixtapes, one of which got in the hands of Lil Wayne, who later invited Drake to tour with him and record a few songs. In 2009, Drake released his third mixtape, So Far Gone, for free download on his blog. It would find huge success and was called the ‘Hottest Mixtape of 2009’ by MTV. Drake became only the second artist in history to have two of his songs in the Billboard top ten within the same week. Later in the year, he was finally signed to a major label. Since then, Drake has released three successful albums, working alongside Jay-Z, Kanye West, Rihanna, Eminem, Timbaland and many others, as well as writing songs for Dr. Dre, Jamie Foxx and Alicia Keys. He has won a Grammy and three Junos, and holds the record for having the most number-one singles of any rapper. Drake has also become famous for proudly displaying his Jewish and Torontonian roots, particularly in his videos. Most recently, Drake became the global ambassador for the NBA’s Toronto Raptors and a consultant for their 20th anniversary re-branding.

Words of the Week

When one looks truly at the good side of everyone, others come to love him very naturally, and he does not need even a speck of flattery.
– Rabbi Avraham Itzhak Kook