Jewish Actors

Jack Weston born Jack Weinstein in Cleveland

2008-02-28T19:51:00.000-08:00

Jack Weston (born Jack Weinstein in Cleveland, Ohio, August 21, 1924 – May 3, 1996) was an American stage, film, and television actor.

Weston usually played comic roles, in films such as Cactus Flower and Please Don't Eat the Daisies, but also occasionally essayed heavier parts, such as the scheming crook and stalker who, along with Alan Arkin and Richard Crenna, attempts to terrorize and rob a blind Audrey Hepburn in the 1967 film Wait Until Dark.

In 1981, Weston appeared on Broadway in Woody Allen's comedy The Floating Lightbulb, for which he was nominated for a Tony award as Best Actor. Other stage appearances included Bells Are Ringing (with Judy Holliday), The Ritz, One Night Stand, and Neil Simon's California Suite.
Weston married twice, first to actress Marge Redmond. They occasionally appeared together, for example on a 1963 episode of The Twilight Zone, "The Bard", that also featured a young Burt Reynolds. Redmond and Weston divorced and he later remarried. That marriage lasted until his death of lymphoma.

Guest stars Jack Weston : Julius

"The Bard"is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.

Opening narration

“You've just witnessed opportunity, if not knocking, at least scratching plaintively on a closed door. Mr. Julius Moomer, a would-be writer who, if talent came twenty-five cents a pound, would be worth less than car fare. But, in a moment, Mr. Moomer, through the offices of some black magic, is about to embark on a brand-new career. And although he may never get a writing credit on the Twilight Zone, he's to become an integral character in it.”

Synopsis

A bumbling screenwriter, Julius Moomer, is in desperate need of brilliant scripts, so he conjures up the spirit of William Shakespeare by use of black magic. Shakespeare produces a riveting screenplay for the writer, but is horrified at all the revisions laid on by the sponsor, the sponsor's wife and the leading man. Eventually, the poet becomes so cross that he punches the leading man and then storms out for good. Moomer's next assignment, a TV special on American history, seems doomed to failure until he remembers his book on black magic and uses it to conjure up a new writing staff.

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly - Duel

2008-01-01T22:04:00.000-08:00

Eli Herschel Wallach (born December 7, 1915) is an American film, TV and stage actor. Wallach was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Bertha (née Schorr) and Abraham Wallach, the only Jewish family in a mostly Italian American neighborhood. Wallach released his autobiography The Good, the Bad and Me: In My Anecdotage. In this tome, Wallach talked about his most famous role as Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. He mentioned that he didn't realize he was going to be "blessed" with that title until he saw the film. He mentioned it was an honor to work with Clint Eastwood, whom he praised for his professionalism. Wallach mentioned, however, that director Sergio Leone was notoriously careless in ensuring the safety of his actors during dangerous scenes. It was during filming that Wallach accidentally drank from a bottle of acid that a film technician had carelessly placed next to his soda bottle. He spat it out immediately, but was furious that his vocal cords could have been damaged if he'd swallowed any of it. Leone gave him some milk to wash his mouth out with and apologized for the incident, but also commented that accidents do happen.

Leone could not find a real cemetery that matched his requirements so he asked his Spanish chief of pyrotechnics to get him 250 soldiers from the Spanish Army to build one at Carazo near Salas De Los Infantes: it took two days."

Watch the clip: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly - Duel

Jewish Oscar winners

2008-01-01T17:24:00.000-08:00

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has awarded Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Actress annually since 1928. The Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress Awards has been awarded annually since 1936. The Academy Award (nicknamed the "Oscar") is the most prestigious award that a film actor can receive.

The following lists Jewish actors and actresses who received this award:

1936 Paul Muni The Story of Louis Pasteur
1967 Rod Steiger In the Heat of the Night
1977 Richard Dreyfuss The Goodbye Girl
1979 Dustin Hoffman Kramer vs. Kramer
1988 Dustin Hoffman Rain Man
2002 Adrien Brody The Pianist

1929-30 Norma Shearer The Divorcee (convert)
1936 Luise Rainer The Great Ziegfeld
1937 Luise Rainer The Good Earth
1950 Judy Holliday Born Yesterday
1968 Barbra Streisand (tie) Funny Girl
1986 Marlee Matlin Children of a Lesser God