Kenny G: The Saxophone Virtuoso Who Has Found Huge Commercial Success
Saxophonist Kenny G (Kenneth Bruce Gorelick), 61, is the world’s best-selling instrumental…
The Maccabeats: Orthodox Male Acapella Singers Make Jewish Rhythm Way Cool
Based at New York’s Yeshiva University (whose athletic teams are named the Maccabees)…
West Side Story: A Beloved American Musical Created by Four Talented Jews
West Side Story — one of the most beloved American musicals — was created by four Jews: Arthur Laurents (book), Leonard Bernstein (music), Stephen Sondheim (lyrics) and Jerome Robbins (conception and choreography). The plot revolved around conflict between a white street gang and a Puerto Rican street gang on the Upper West Side of New…
Sasha Cohen: Olympic Figure Skater and Skating Hall of Famer
Alexandra Pauline “Sasha” Cohen is a U.S. figure skater who garnered – among many other awards — a silver medal at the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin, Italy. In addition, she was a three-time World Championship medalist, the 2003 Grand Prix Final Champion and the 2006 U.S. Champion. Now 32, she initially participated in gymnastics…
Renee Richards: Transsexual Trailblazer in Professional Tennis
Ophthalmologist Renée Richards was born Richard Raskin in 1934; he underwent sexual…
Goldberg: Wrestling Superstar Back in the Ring at Age 50!
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, professional wrestling arenas reverberated with shouts of “Goldberg! Goldberg! Goldberg!” from adoring fans. Bill Scott Goldberg was one of the most successful and popular pro wrestlers of the era. He was United States Champion and World Heavyweight Champion of the WCW (World Championship Wrestling). Before his wrestling career,…
Sandy Koufax: Legendary Dodger Pitcher and Baseball Hall of Famer
Sanford “Sandy” Koufax, 81, is a legendary Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1955 to 1966 — first for the Brooklyn Dodgers and then the L.A. Dodgers. A controversy arose in 1965 when he refused to play in a World Series game on Yom Kippur. Although his career got off to a slow start,…
To learn about these and many more AmazingJews, watch a compilation put together by JewOfTheWeek.net in 2015 and posted on YouTube.