12
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, March 14, 1980
Sir Lew Grade: The British Version of Sam Goldwyn
By HERBERT LUFT
(Copyright 1980, JTA, Inc.)
HOLLYWOOD — Lew
Grade's name appears on
the title of two current films
now opening on the West
Coast, "Saturn Three,"
Stanley Donen's science fic-
tion yarn starring Kirk
Douglas and Farrah Faw-
cett, and Lina Wertmuller's
"Blood Feud," the Italian-
language epic dealing with
the rise of Fascism in which
k
i
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Jeffrey Schreiber
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no Sabbath sails
Sophia Loren shares billing
with Marcello Mastroianni
and Giancarlo Giannini.
In addition, Grade's Asso-
ciated Communications
Corp. controls the produc-
tion of the $40 million epic,
"Raise the Titanic," cur-
rently filming in Hol-
lywood, San Diego, Wash-
ington, D.C., Alaska,
Greece and England with
final underwater and spe-
cial effects photography on
the island of Malta.
During the coming sea-
son, Grade in conjunction
with his Hollywood based
subsidiary, Marble Arch
Productions (headed by
Martin Starger), is develop-
ing and completing a series
of major motion pictures in
excess of $60 million.
Grade raises a large
portion of production
funds by bonafide con-
tracts with distribution
companies in Europe,
Asia, and Australia,
agreements which are
bankable. He is also the
chairman of a newly
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distribution
formed
company, A.F.D., releas-
ing theatrical films in the
U.S. and Canada. The
familiar "Lew Grade
Presents" in the past has
introduced such films as
"The Boys From Brazil,"
Bergman's
Ingmar
Sonata,"
"Autumn
"Movie Movie" and the
extremely successful,
"The Muppet Movie."
The cinema occupies only
a segment of Grade's vast
business empire. In
England, he is involved in
legitimate theaters such as
London's Drury Lane, The-
ater Royal, Queens; and the
world-famous Paladium,
one of the last outposts of
vaudeville and music hall
pantomimes. In Los
Angeles, he produced with
Martin Starger and the
Shubert Organization the
stage hit of "Sly Fox" star-
ring George C. Scott. He
controls Stolls theaters in
Great Britain, Pye Records,
Precision Tapes Ltd., ATV
Music Publishing, Bentray
Investment, Marbarch In-
surance, and the theatrical
costumers of Bermans &
Nathans.
Despite these diversified
interests, Grade's principal
love is television and the
making of TV films for
worldwide transmission
such as "Long Day's Jour-
ney into Night," "Will
Shakespeare" and "Moses
the Lawgiver," the latter a
tribute to the People of the
Book.
Truly a self-made man,
Lord Grade was born in the
Crimea, Dec. 25, 1906 under
the name of Louis Winog-
radsky. During his child-
hood his family moved from
Russia to England where
his father operated a tailor
shop in London. Grade
began his show business
career in 1927 touring
Great Britain and the Con-
tinent as "The World's
Champion Charleston
Dancer."
In 1933, he founded a
talent agency represent-
ing top American stars in
England and on the Con-
tinent such as Jack Be-
nny, Bob Hope, Lena
Horne and Johnnie Ray
during the 1940s and
early 1950s. Developing a
two-way traffic in inter-
national talent, he
brought many European
star names to the States
.
Eban: From Statesman to Star
By DAVID SCHWARTZ
(Copyright 1980, JTA, Inc.)
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Abba Eban is working on
a television series, "Jewish
Civilization." It will start
with the story of Mt. Sinai
and there, with the giving of
the Ten Commandments,
the Jewish story will begin.
Recently, Egyptian
President Anwar Sadat said
something about erecting
three religious edifices at
Mt. -Sinai, a Jewish
synagogue, a Christian
church and a Moslem mos-
que. All three religions, he
points out, owe a good deal
to Mt. Sinai, but Eban is op-
posed to the idea. He thinks
it will lead to the commer-
cialization of Mt. Sinai. The
area, he feels, should be left
in its present natural state.
It is most inspiring that
way.
We think Eban is right. It
recalls the story of the
Englishman who told his
minister that he planned to
visit Mt. Sinai and on the
very same spot that Moses
stood proclaiming the corn-
mandments, he would read
them.
"Sandy," said his
minister, "instead of
going to Mt. Sinai and
reading the command-
ments, why 'don't you
stay home and keep
them?"
Abba Eban is one of the
very interesting figures
that the state of Israel has
brought to the fore. With his
command of Oxfordian or
shall I say Cambridge
English, it would be easy to
picture him as a member of
the British Cabinet, and yet
he seems natural to the Is-
raeli scene.
3406 W. 12 Mile
8 Blocks E. of Greenfield
Mon. thru Sat. 10 am to 4:30 pm
Eban's Hebrew is on a par
with his English. He seems
to have a gift for languages
by inheritance. His mother
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and Canada.
In 1954, when Grade
realized that Great Britain
would have Independent
Television, he formed a con-
sortium which eventually
became world-renowned as
ACC. During the end of the
same year, his company
produced one of the first in-
ternationally filmed televi-
sion series — "Robin Hood."
One hundred and forty-
three episodes of this series
were sold to the U.S. and
throughout the world; the
segments are still in circu-
lation today.
Lord Grade spends 15
hours daily in his office con-
ducting his business. Paul
Lazarus III, who produced
for him two pictures, the
science-fact-satire "Cap-
ricorn One" and the war-
time drama "Hanover
Square" (that takes place
during the air attacks on
London), says that he would
call Lew Grade as early as 7
o'clock in the morning.
British time, to discuss
projects with him at a more
leisurely hour for the per-
petually busy tycoon whose
connections span the face of
the globe.
ABBA EBAN
was the private secretary
and official translator for
Dr. Chaim Weizmann.
When the British govern-
ment issued the Balfour
Declaration, Weizmann
immediately summoned her
to translate it into several
foreign languages, so that
the whole world might
know of it.
Eban was then just aniff-
fant and his mother was
perplexed. How could she
leave him? She solved the
problem by bundling him up
and taking him with her to
Weizmann's office. The Bal-
four Declaration and Abba
Eban both came in almost
simultaneously.
Eban has more talent
that the gift for languages,
He seems to have a more
than average share of wit
also.
The story was recently
told of a visitor to his
home who inspecting his
library remarked that he
didn't seem to have any
fiction in his library.
"Oh yes," said Eban, "I
have Mr. Rabin's Memoirs."
The political world of to-
day, it seems to us, is badly
wanting in humor.
America has been very
fortunate in that respect.
Abraham Lincoln knew
more jokes than Bob Hope.
No one played a more vital
part in the American Revo-
lution than Benjamin
Franklin and he was full of
humor. His witty stories
abroad helped to win much
of the world to the American
cause.
Dr. Chaim Weizmann,
who played a lead part in
the emergence of the pre-
sent Jewish state, was a
man with a very keen sense
of humor. He was in fact
much like Franklin — out-
standing in three fields —
science, politics and humor.
Dealer Claims
He Lost Gems
NEW YORK — Michael
Mistriel, an Israeli diamond
dealer who was arrested in
Los Angeles last week has
been charged with embez-
zlement, fraud and larceny
by the Israel government
and U.S Customs.
Some 30 colleagues in the
Ramat Gan Diamond Ex-
change allege he flew out of
Israel on Feb. 24 with their
diamonds, worth an esti-
mated $1.6 million.
The the time of his arrest,
he contended that he no
longer had the diamonds,
saying that he lost them in a
"scam." Mistriel did not re-
port the incident to the
police.
Anderson Backed
ROCKFORD, Ill. —
Three Jewish leaders in
Congressman John B. An-
derson's home district in Il-
linois have sent a letter to
various Jewish organiza-
tions in Massachusetts, Il-
linois and Wisconsin ex-
plaining their views of the
candidate and expressing
their personal support for
his Republican presidential
nomination campaign.