H1: Jews in Hollywood

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Goodbye Jewishness

Though the moguls were selling the America dream, they themselves bought it too. Seduced by the dream they had helped to create, they became more American than the Americans. They divorced their Jewish wives and married gentile women. They lived in luxury and partied nightly. True, they brought their families over from the old country and gave everything that they wanted, but they were hardly Jewish. In World War Two they made positive propaganda films for the US Government, but they did nothing for their European brethren. When it came to the Holocaust, they kept their mouths firmly shut and went on making pleasant movies.

Many of these moguls were not such nice characters. When Louis Mayer died, the funeral was so big that it couldn't fit into Synagogue and had to be moved to the nearby church. The story goes that someone remarked to Samuel Goldwyn how large the crowd was and what a great and liked man Mayer must have been. "They all turned up to make sure he's dead," Goldwyn replied dryly.

What's in a name?

Many immigrants changed their names when they arrived in America, but the glamour associated with Hollywood meant that your name had to be glamorous too. Overly Jewish names just wouldn't do. Nathan Birnbaum became George Burns, that great cigar smoking comedian who died recently just after his 100th birthday. Issur Danilovich Demsky became Kirk Douglas, a huge Hollywood star for many years who is the father of Michael Douglas. Bernard Schwartz became Tony Curtis, Joseph Levitch became Jerry Lewis, Ehrlich Weiss became Harry Houdini and Daniel Kaminsky became Danny Kaye. If those are too old for you, did you know that Winona Ryder's real surname is Horovitz? Not everyone does it nowadays though and Jeff Goldblum and Steven Spielberg are examples of famous big stars with Jewish names.

Judaism and Hollywood

Being rich and good looking are not necessarily seen as wrong in Judaism. The Torah mentions that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were all independently wealthy and remarks at the beauty of Sarah, Rachel and Joseph. Material wealth and physical beauty are clearly not frowned upon in the Torah, but they are not that important in themselves either. What you do with them is what counts. Abraham used his wealth and charisma to initiate many people into the belief in one caring God and Joseph's charm led him to rule Egypt and ultimately take care of all his family's financial needs.

The joy and pleasure of this physical and very sensual world are recognised by the Torah, but Jewish women and men are encouraged by Judaism to look more deeply into their values and make their lives more meaningful and worthwhile. The Hollywood lifestyle is clearly the opposite of this with its focusing on the beauty of the body and the importance of money. Every year, pop stars and film stars have to reinvent themselves in an attempt to please the ever changing public who always want more. Hollywood chases dreams while Judaism is firmly rooted in reality. Of course it is fun to escape for a while, to read the gossip columns, see the glossy photos and dream of different places, exciting lifestyles and magical worlds. It is good entertainment. But to start to believe in those things can be dangerous. To live life in the pursuit of pleasure is to only skim the surface of what life is really about. Hollywood can be a great place to visit but a nightmare to live in.

Don't get me wrong, I'm challenging the Hollywood lifestyle here. The films that are actually made are often very valuable. Story telling is a very Jewish trade with biblical origins. For more on this subject see The Jampacked Bible: Making History I:7, on the subject of Pesach.

The Hollywood Lifestyle

You may have seen the series of ITV programmes about people living in Hollywood called Hollywood Wives, Hollywood Kids and Hollywood Men. These really surprising programmes show how far people are willing to go to be rich and famous, look good and be loved. It's laughable at first but, on reflection, it is a very messed up place: women in their sixties have facelifts; young actresses have breast enlargements to get a part in Baywatch; the plumbing in Beverly Hills High School had to be replaced because the pipes had been corroded by the acid in vomit, you see the anorexic girls were regularly throwing up in the toilets in an attempt to remain overly thin; and young men marry dying film stars to inherit their money when they are gone. It's just not normal, but it makes great viewing! There are many Jews caught up in this crazy culture and it would be interesting if they made a documentary about this group. Hollywood Jews. We'll have to wait and see...

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