The Coen brothers — Joel (65) and Ethan (62) — are multi-talented filmmakers who often write, direct and produce their own movies. Highlights of their collaboration include Miller’s Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), No Country for Old Men (2007), True Grit (2010) and Inside LLewyn Davis (2013). In addition,…
Adam Shankman, 54, is a multifaceted Hollywood talent: producer, director, writer, dancer and television dance judge. Here we’ll focus on his prowess in the art of choreography: He’s created dance moves for Tony! Toni! Toné!, The Time, Whitney Houston, Aaron Neville and other musical performers. Perhaps most notably, his choreography was prominent in the 2007…
Director, producer, screenwriter, actor and novelist Barry Levinson, 75, has directed movies such as Diner; The Natural; Good Morning, Vietnam; and Wag the Dog. He won an Academy Award for directing the 1988 hit film Rain Man, which also garnered an Oscar for Best Picture. Four of his films have been set in the Baltimore…
Singer, songwriter, actor, comedian and film producer Bette Midler (aka the Divine Miss M), 72, has had an illustrious, nearly five-decade-long career in show business. She has performed, as the saying goes, “on stage, screen and television.” Among other recognitions of her prodigious talent, Midler has won three Grammys, four Golden Globes, three Emmys and…
Bea Arthur (May 13, 1922 — April 25, 2009) was a beloved TV sitcom star, thanks to her performances on All in the Family, Maude and — most notably — The Golden Girls, in which she played the sharp-tongued character Dorothy Zbornak. Arthur won two Emmys for her work on Maude and The Golden Girls.…
Moviemaker Darren Aronofsky’s debut film was the psychological thriller Pi, for which he won the Directing Award at the 1998 Sundance Festival, plus an Independent Spirit award for Best First Screenplay. The 48-year-old Aronofsky has gone on to direct numerous films, including Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler, Black Swan (he was nominated for a…
WOW! FACTS
Inventor of the mobile phone, “Father of the Internet,” inventor of the video game cosole, inventor fo the laser, inventor of the gramophone, creator of the Barbie Doll, creator of the cruise ship, “Father of Immunology,” inventor fo the modern condom (!), a prime minister of the U.K., a three-time prime minister of France, a president of Switzerland and the primary financier of the American Revolution?
We knew you could guess… all of them are (or were) Jews!
To learn about these and many more AmazingJews, watch a compilation put together by JewOfTheWeek.net in 2015 and posted on YouTube. >>
Nobel Prizes
Although Jews are less than two-tenths of one percent of the world’s population, more than 20% of Nobel Prize winners have been Jewish. Source: Google
Polio Vaccine
Millions and millions of people worldwide have been spared the ravages of poliomyelitis — including paralysis and even death — thanks to research conducted by Jewish scientist Dr. Jonas Salk and his team. The Salk vaccine entered widespread use in the U.S. in 1955. Source: Wikipedia
Miss Liberty
The words “…give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses…” on the Statue of Liberty were written by Emma Lazarus, a Jew. Source: BuzzFeed
Blue Jeans
Levi Strauss, an immigrant from Germany, invented his blue jeans in 1873. Source: BuzzFeed
Start-Up Nation
Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship in the world. It has the highest rate of entrepreneurship among women and people over 55 in the world. Source: BuzzFeed