62 Friday, January 1, 1983

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Roles Mark Career
ofttootsie' Star Hoffman

$3, HERBERT LUFT

(Copyright 1983, JTA, Inc.)

HOLLYWOOD — Dustin
Hoffman, in his current pic-
ture "Tootsie," renders a
thoroughly believable
characterization as an un-
employed actor who is
shunned by every agent and
producer on Broadway until
he decides to pose as a young
woman.
The struggling performer
becomes a leading lady in a
television soap opera and is
lauded by the public with
thousands of letters coming
in to the network from
women who are pleased
with the forceful portrayal
of a hospital administrator
who is one of their own and
gains the respect of the male
staff.
Dustin Hoffman grew up
in the motion picture
environment. His father
was a prop man and set
dresser in Hollywood. At
first, Dustin wanted to be-
come 'a concert pianist
entering Santa Monica Col-
lege as a music major.
Gradually he took an active
interest in the theater.
Leaving college, he enrolled
in acting classes at the
Pasadena Playhouse.
Upon completion of the
course, he went to New
York where he shared an
apartment with two other
former Pasadena stu-
dents, Robert Duvall and
Gene Hackman. While
working at such diverse
jobs as dishwasher and
waiter (not unlike the
character in "Tootsie" in
the beginning) as well as
typist and orderly at the
New York Psychoanaly-
tic Institute, he studied
with Lee Strasberg and
himself taught drama at
the boy's club in Harlem.
He made his stage debut
in a Sarah Lawrence Col-
lege production of Gertrude
Stein's "Yes Is For a Very
Young Man," followed by a
walk-on part in "A Cook for
Mr. General" which. ran on
Broadway for 28 perform-
ances. He joined a company
in Boston and returned to
New York as Ulu Gros-
bard's assistant on "A View
From the Bridge." In later
years, Grosbard was direc-
tor of Hoffman's "Straight
Time."
In the spring of 1966, he
was. seen at the American
Place Theater in New York
in "The Journey of the Fifth
Horse," for which he won
the Obie Award as Best
Actor Off-Broadway. He
played one of the three per-
sonalities of the schizoid
hero of Murray Schisgal's
"Fragments."
Director Mike Nichols,
then casting "The
Graduate." flew him to Hol-

Donald Kaufman Dies at 60, Congressman Rosenthal Dies,
Co-Founded Building Firm Was Strong Israel Supporter

lywood to test for the title
Donald Kaufman, who
role. Unlike the character with accountant Eli Broad
in "Tootsie," he didn't have founded one of the nation's
to change his sex to get the largest home-building and
leading role. For John life insurance firms, died in
Schlesinger's "Midnight a plane crash Wednesday in
Cowboy," the loveable California. He was 60.
young graduate became a - A former Detroiter, Mr.
pathetic hustler, Ratzo Kaufman was vice chair-
Rizzo. He was again nomi- man of the board and co-
nated , for an Academy founder of Kaufman and
Award. While appearing be- Broad Inc. of Los Angeles,
fore the cameras opposite the name of the home-
Mia Farrow in "John and building firm he and Broad
Mary," he was rehearsing at founded here in the 1950s.
night in Schisgal's "Jimmy
Mr. Kaufman was edu-
Shine," a musical comedy
about a Greenwich painter. cated in Detroit and
He was seen in the motion attended Southwest Texas
picture, "Little Big Man" State Teachers College in
under Arthur Penn's direc- San Marcus, Tex. He was in
tion, co-starred with Steve
McQueen in "Papillon" and Alan Tabor
Meryl Streep in "Kramer
Alan Tabor, a branch
vs. Kramer."
manager of Orkin Pest
Control, died Dec. 26 at age
Rose Gornbein
45.
Rose Gornbein, a member
Mr. Tabor was a manager
of Jewish communal organ- for Orkin for four years. He
izations, died Dec. 30 at age was a member of the Michi-
93.
gan, National, South Oak-
Born in Russia, Mrs. land and Macomb Board of
Gornbein was a co-founder Realtors and Craftsman
of the Sholem Aleichem In- Lodge of the Masons.
stitute and Farband. She
He is survived by his wife,
was a member of the Labor Penny; a son, Kurt; three
Zionist Institute, Work- daughters, Wendy Johnson,
men's Circle and Pioneer Tony Paige and Denise; his
Women.
parents, Amson Tabor and
She leaves two daughters, Alice Zemon; one brother
Mrs. Harry (Goldie) Greer and a granddaughter.
and Mrs. Milton (Betty)
Marks; six grandchildren N. Smitheimer
and five great-grand-
Nathan Smitheimer, re-
children.
tired Michigan circulation
representative for Fairchild
Nathalie Kratze
Publications, died Dec. 31 at
Nathalie Kratze, a age 76.
member of Jewish com-
A resident of Berkley, Mr.
munal organizations, died Smitheimer retired in 1967.
Dec. 31 at age 68.
He was the past president of
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., the Metropolitan Detroit
Mrs. Kratze was a member Bnai Brith Bowling League,
of Hadassah, Women's a member of Pisgah Lodge
American ORT, Bnai Brith, of Bnai Brith and a member
Damonians Group, Na- of the Judea Social Club.
tional Council of Jewish
He is survived by his wife,
Women and Infants Service Regina; a daughter, Sally
Group.
Harvey; a sister, Ann De-
She leaves her husband, itch; and one grandson.
Bert; a son, David; a daugh-
ter, Mrs. Elaine Morton;
and a sister, Mrs. Zeldon Oscar Rappoport
Oscar Rappoport, retired
(Dorothy) Cohen of Coconut
general sales manager for
Creek, Fla.
Grosse Pointe Quality Food
Harry Resnick
Co., died Jan.1 at age 70.
Born in Russia, Mr. Rap-
Harry Resnick, financial
secretary of the Arlaza- poport served the food com-
pany from 1960 to 1980. He
roff-Avrunin-Weitzman
Branch of the Labor Zionist was a member of Perfection
Alliance, died Dec. 30 at age Lodge of the Masons, De-
troit Lodge of Bnai Brith
79.
A former Detroiter, Mr. and Crescent Shrine Club.
He leaves his wife,
Resnick resided in Deerfield
Beach, Fla., at the time of Pauline; a son, Lloyd; a
daughter, Mrs. Allen
his death.
He is survived by his wife, (Elaine) Aston of Atlanta,
Tessie; a son, Jack of Oak Ga.; and five grandchildren.
Park; a daughter, Judith
Slingsby of Grand Rapids; Variety Writer
NEW YORK — Gene
two brothers, Sam Resnick
of Los Angeles, Calif., and Moskowitz, Paris corre-
Sam Wilner of Southfield; spondent and film critic for
and a sister, Anne Baker of Variety, died Dec. 29 at age
61.
Southfield.

the U.S. Army Air. Corps in
World War II.
He founded his corn-
pany with Broad in 1957.
Their firm built homes
throughout the U.S. and
in Canada, France, Bel-
gium and West Germany.
Mr. Kaufman's son-in-
law, Eyal Horwitz, a
passenger in the plane, also
died in the crash.
Mr. Kaufman is survived
by his wife, Glorya; and
children, Laura, Gayl Hor-
witz, Stacie and Curtis.

Alex Speyer

Alex Speyer, retired dis-
trict manager of the Met-
ropolitan Life Insurance
Co., died Nov. 26 at age 77.
A former Detroiter, Mr.
Speyer resided in
Lauderhill ; Fla., at the time
of his death. He began his
career with Metropolitan
Life in 1936 and retired in
1970.
He was a past master of
Craftsman Lodge of the Ma-
sons and was a past com-
mander of the Coast Guard
Auxiliary in Hollywood,
Fla.
He is survived by his wife,
Gladys Phillips Speyer; a
son, Dr. Donald I. of Oak
Park; a daughter, Mrs.
Gerald (Carol) Bauer of
Novi; step-daughters, Bar-
bara L. Chisik of Southfield
and Cynthia K. Phillips of
Boston, Mass.; a sister,
Helen of California; and
seven grandchildren.
Interment Florida.

Sol Siegel
MGM Producer

LOS ANGELES — Sol C.
Siegel, former head of prod-
uction at Metro-Goldwyn-
Mayer Studios and a noted
film producer, died Dec. 29
at age 79.
Mr. Siegel was the pro-
ducer of "High Society,"
"Three Coins in the Foun-
tain," "Gentlemen Prefer
Blondes" and "What Price
Glory." He also had worked
for Paramount Pictures,
20th Century-Fox and had
his own production com-
pany.

Max Simon,-95

Max Simon, a wholesale
produce merchant, died
Jan. 4 at age 95.
Born in Russia, Mr.
Simon lived 73 years in De-
troit. He was co-founder of
Simon and Leeman
Wholesale Produce in East-
ern Market.
He was a member of
Cong. Bnai David, United
Hebrew Schools and the
Businessmen's Club of the
Jewish Community Center.
He leaves two sons, Irving
and Dr. Burton; nine grand-
children and 13 great-
grandchildren.

WASHINGTON (JTA) —
Rep. Benjamin Rosenthal,
the senior Jewish member
of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, a staunch sup-
porter of Israel in Congress,
an opponent of the Vietnam
War and a leading con-
sumer advocate, died Tues-
day at age 59.
A Queens Democrat who
was elected last November
to his 11th term in the
House in a newly-drawn
Seventh District in Queens,
Mr. Rosenthal had been in
the forefront of Congres-
sional battles for continued
support of Israel, such as in-
creases in United States fi-
nancial and military aid to
Israel, and in seeking to
prevent administration ac-
tions he considered harmful
to Israel.
Among those, he took
part in the unsuccessful
battle to prevent the Re-
agan Administration from
selling AWACS reconnais-
sance planes to Saudi
Arabia in 1981 and had
joined in warnings to the
Reagan Administration
over reports of planned
sales of weapons to Jordan.
Many non-Jewish Con-
gressmen looked to him for
guidance on issues concern-
ing Israel.
His death reduced to 37
the number of Jewish
representatives in the
House.
Mr. Rosenthal was oper-
ated on for cancer of the
colon in January 1981 and
received 10 months of
chemotherapy which left
him gaunt and weak. He
managed to resume his
duties in the House, but his
condition became worse last
month and he was forced to
take the oath of office for the
98th Congress Monday in
his hospital room.
Mr. Rosenthal had been
elected by huge majorities
from the Eighth Congres-
sional District since he was

Harry Sosnick

Harry Sosnick, a retired
builder and developer, died
Dec. 30 at age 73.
Born in Russia, Mr. Sos-
nick was the founder of S
and S Building Co. and the
Dayton Building Co. He was
a member of Cong. Bnai
David and was active in
tasks on behalf of Bar-Ilan
University, United 'Jewish
Appeal and City of Hope.
He leaves his wife, Ruth;
two sons, Edward and
Robert; two daughters, Mrs.
Stanley (Phyllis) Satovsky
and Mrs. Gar (Sharon) Al-
perovitz of Washington,
D.C.; a brother, Louis of Los
Angeles, Calif.; two sisters,
Mrs. David (Ida) Miller and
Mrs. Ann Jacobs; and six
grandchildren.

"Over 65 years of traditional service in the Jewish community with dignity and understanding."

HEBREW MEMORIAL CHAPEL

REP. ROSENTHAL

first elected in 1962. At one
point, in 1969, he held the
House in session all night to
show his support for demon-
strators who had come to
Washington in opposition to
the Vietnam War. At that
time, he said "one Con-
gressman with a fair
amount of chutzpa can
awaken the public con-
science."
Born in the Bronx in
1923, he attended City Col-
lege of New York. In 1949,
after wartime service in Ice-
land, he returned to study at
Brooklyn Law School,
where he earned his law de-
gree.
Patrick Mulhearn,
Counsel to New York City
Mayor Edward Koch,
said an interim successor
would be chosen by the
Queens County Demo-
cratic Committee. Under
New York state election
law, Mulhearn added,
Gov. Mario Cuomo will
call a special election
which must be held no
sooner than 30 days and
no more than 40 days
after the date the gover-
nor signs the proclama-
tion for'the special elec-
tion. The law does not
specify when the gov-
ernor must take that ac-
tion.
A general election for the
vacated Seventh District
seat will be held on election
day in November.

William Burk

William Burk, a pharma-
cist, died Jan. 3 at age 71.
Born in Detroit, Mr. Burk
was the original owner of
Burk's Drug Store on W.
McNichols and San Juan in
Detroit. He owned the store
from 1936 to 1945.
After selling the store, he
opened Joe's Drugs in Hazel
Park and Sussex Drugs in
Warren.
He was a member of the
American Jewish Congress
and Marshall Lodge of Bnai
Brith.
He leaves his wife, Edith;
a daughter, Mrs. Eliot
(Sheila) Charlip; and five
grandchildren.

543.1622

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