THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Tickets Still Available for LZA
Yiddish Theater Production

Producers' Fear of 'Visibility' Nets Lack of Jewish TV Stars

BY BEN GALLOB

"Gentlemen's Agreement"
was seen by nervous Jewish
Several attempts have producers "as preferable to
been made to create televi- a Jewish actor portraying a
sion series focusing on Jew-. Jew." Dr. Suber stressed
ish characters, but they that while Jews "do indeed
have generally not reached dominate in many occupa-
even the stage of test runs,
tional categories in Holly-
according to an expert on wood, most notably among
American commercial mass executives, producers and
entertainment.
writers," they are "virtually
Dr. Howard Suber, presi- absent" as Jewish charac-
dent of the Society for Ci- ters in television.
nema Studies, said the
He cited as evidence for
"considerable success" of his belief that the two situ-
"The Goldbergs" in early ations were related the
television did not disprove
"metamorphosis" in the
his point since that series Jewishness of "Rhoda" in
had originated in radio and,
the transition from sup-
like many other successful porting character to cen-
radio series, had been trans- tral character.
ferred to television.
He noted that "there are a
Dr. Suber, a member of few other supporting Jewish
the motion picture/televi- characters on television cur-
sion faculty of the Univer- rently," listing "Fish" on
sity of California at Los An- Barney Miller and "Juan
geles, offered his analysis in Epstein" on "Welcome Back
an issue of Davka, the quar- Kotter," remarking wryly
terly journal published by about the latter that "half a
the Los Angeles Hillel Jew is better than none."
Council.
And that, he added, with a
Dr. Suber contrasted the
relative scarcity of Jewish
characters on commercial
TV "with the clearly-es-
tablished popularity of vir-
tually every other ethnic
group on television" and
suggested it was probably
due to fears of Jewish ex-
ecutives in the mass enter-
tainment field about be-
coming "too visible" as
Jews.
He declared that until the
appearance of "The Law,"
which featured a Jewish
lawyer, Judd Hirseh, and
"Bridget Loves Bernie,"
Jewish characters had not
been given starring roles in
American television series
"and 'Bridget Loves Bernie'
was only half Jewish." That
program had been sharply
criticized by Jewish groups.
He asserted that "Kung
Fu" had originally been
created as a Hasidic crea-
ture "who walked around
spouting pseudo-talmudic
aphorisms. When he was
brought to life in the televi-
sion series starring David
Carradine, however, he was
changed to a character who
walks around spouting
pseudo-Chinese aphorisms."
Dr. Suber commented that
the purported aphorisms
"still sounded talmudic but
evidently the producers
were convinced that Ameri-
cans would identify more
easily with a bald Oriental
than they would with a
hairy Jew."
He said "Rhoda" was
"nominally Jewish," as
played by Valerie Harper, a
gentile actress who "assures
us that 'in my heart, I'm
Jewish.' " Dr. Suber sug-
gested that the _fact that
Miss Harper is not Jewish
"is seen by many in Holly-
wood as being a positive
point, just as Gregory
Peck's playing a Jew in

(Copyright 1976, JTA, Inc.)

Poster for Goldfaden's operetta, "Shulamis." 1881.

Tickets are still available
for the Yiddish Theater
Ensemble's production of
"Sholem Aleychem, Colum-
bus," to take place 8 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday at
Oak Park High School,
sponsored by the Labor
Zionist Alliance.

The presentation of the
play marks the founding of
Yiddish theater 100 years
ago by Abraham Goldfaden
in Romania, who gathered
wandering minstrels, actors
and other performers to add
their talents to scenarios
which he had written.

Goldfaden's productions
often were advertised in
posters such as that pic-
tured above.
When the success of the
Yiddish theater troupe
was seen as a threat by the
Russian government,
Goldfaden's troupe dis-
solved and he came to New
York where the fierce com-
petition compelled him to
return to Europe. He later
returned to New York.
Tickets are available at
Dexter-Davison Market,
Borenstein's Book Store, or
by calling the LZA office,
851-1606.

Prague Jew Called Political Prisoner

LONDON — After five
years in prison, Dr. Hubert
Stein, a Prague Jew, has
been adopted by Amnesty
International as a prisoner
of conscience, according to
the International Council of
Jews from Czechoslovakia.
Dr. Stein and five other
defendants were first re-
ported by the official Czech-
oslovak news agency to have
been sentenced in mid-July
1971 by the Prague city
court to terms of imprison-
ment ranging from one to 12
years on charges of espio-

'Art in Judaism'
Offered by UAHC

nage. Some of the defend-
ants received unspecified
"additional penalties."

An appeal by Dr. Stein
was dismissed by the Czech
Supreme Court in mid-Au-
gust 1971 in a ruling termed
final.

Three of the six defend-
ants were of Jewish origin
although they had no links
with the Jewish community
in Czechoslovakia. They re-
ceived 23 years in sentences,
while nine years and eight
months were meted out to
the three non-Jewish de-
fendants.

few minor exceptions characters" and that their
"pretty much ends the list "hesitancy" to do so "stems
of Jewish characters on tele- more/from fear, self-abne-
vision."
gation, rationalization and
That paucity , was con- projection than from any
•trasted with the fact that ascertainable fact about the
"at no time in the history of preferences of American
popular entertainment has audiences."
a medium been so full of
•
ethnics as American telei- • SUPER
Carbon Ribbons •
••
sion has in the past few • SPECIAL For All Typewriters
•
$7.88 Dozen
years."
He contended that "it is
the Jews themselves within
the Hollywood industries : 342-7800 399-8333
who will not accept Jewish

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-Kuwaiti Resort Will Open Soon

NEW YORK — "Art in
NEW YORK — The Kia-
Judaism," a six-lesson, mul-
ti-media course, incorporat- wah Island, S.C., resort
ing a miniaturized viewer being developed by Kuwaiti
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For information, write vironmental and Jewish
UAHC, 838 Fifth Ave., New groups last year
Charleston's Jewish corn-
York, N.Y. 10021.
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+: El II Si
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_ May 21, 1976 19

munity received assurances
from the developers that
there would be no discrimi-
nation against Jews in busi-
ness dealings. Environmen-
talists are still fighting the
resort, but see little chance
of halting the almost-com-
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111

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