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AS 89
A Cycle Of Krebs
One was Jewish; one was Gilligan.
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Q: I know that for years now
Christians have been proselytizing
to the Jews, but I was wondering
the date of the first-known sermon
directly aimed at converting Jews
to Christianity?
A: The first such recorded
event was in the 9th century
in France.
Archbishop Agobard of Lyons
was the author of a directive
called Epistola de baptizandis
Hebraeis, which he wrote some
time between 816 and 825. In
it, he directed clergy through-
out the city to go to synagogues
on Shabbat and tell Jews all
about Christianity.
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From reader C.S. in Baltimore,
Md.
A:We've heard this
one too, but there's no
truth to the rumor.
Probably it has to do
with the fact that
Austerlitz clearly is a
German name (the
family actually was
from Austria), and
some people invariably
confuse German and
Jewish names.
Fred and Adele
Austerlitz were born
in Omaha, Neb., the
children of Frederick
Austerlitz and his
wife, Ann Gelius
Austerlitz. The name
change came from
Fred Sr., who knew
It's no new phenomenon: For hundreds of years,
early on he had a tal-
converted Jews have been used to bring "the
ented son and was con-
message of Christianity" to Jews.
vinced "Austerlitz" was
Inspired, others began to no name for a marquee. He got
jump on the bandwagon, al- the "Astaire" from an uncle
ways obligating Jews to attend named "L'Astaire."
Fred Astaire, whom dance im-
the sermons which often fea-
presario
George Balanchine de-
tured Jewish converts to Chris-
tianity. In addition to France, scribed as "the greatest dancer
these were recorded in Spain who ever lived," was Episco-
(where in 1263 the king him- palian.
0: My friends and I were talking
self insisted Jews hear him
talk), Italy, Germany, Poland about our favorite old television
and England. Usually, they shows, and almost all of us agreed
were instigated by the Catholic that one of the best was "The Many
Church, with blessings from the
pope. In Rome — just in case Loves of Dobie Gillis." One of the
anyone thought of getting out most memorable characters on the
of it — workers were appoint- show was Maynard G. Krebs (played,
ed to wander throughout the of course, by the distinguished ac-
audience and make certain no tor Bob "Gilligan" Denver). Some-
one had his ears plugged.
Interestingly, but inexplica- one wondered if Maynard was
bly, one city refused to sanction supposed to be Jewish, as we've
the proselytizing sermons: heard "Krebs" is a Jewish name. I
Venice.
don't remember any suggestion that
The campaigns were in -their Maynard G. Krebs was Jewish, but
heyday throughout the 13th-
17th centuries, and eventual- What about his name?
A: Krebs is not necessarily a
ly died out when, in 1846, Pope
Jewish
name, but there was a
Pius IX abolished the practice.
For more on the subject, be famous Jewish Krebs. Since you
RNS PHOTO/GREG SCHNEIDER
Shirts
sure to take a look at Robert
Browning's 1855 "Holy Cross
Day," a sympathetic poem
focusing on what Jews had to
endure when forced to hear the
sermons.
Browning (1812-1889) was a
native of England. He knew
Hebrew, studied the Bible and
throughout his life expressed
strong support for the Jews.
Q: Several people have insisted
that Fred Astaire (nee Austerlitz) and
his sister were Jewish. Is this true?
I have never seen their names
among the lists of Jewish stars or
celebrities.
like to reminisce, think back to
high-school biology, where you
probably learned about the
"Krebs Cycle," the process by
which food in the body is turned
into carbon dioxide, water and
energy. It was named for Sir
Hans Adolf Krebs.
Born in Germany in 1900,
Krebs became a scientist who
did important research on amino
acids before Hitler's rise to pow-
er forced him to flee to England.
He became a professor at
Sheffield University, and later
at Oxford University. In 1953,
he won the Nobel Prize in med-
icine for his discovery of the cit-
ric-acid cycle. He was knighted
in 1958, and died in 1981.
Q: I couldn't believe it recently
when somebody told me the famed
Shubert theaters were started by
Jews. Shubert? You're telling me
Shubert is a Jewish name?
A: As you should know by
now, a name often reveals little,
if anything. There are plenty of
Jewish "Smiths" out there, and
more than one "Goldberg" who
are not Jewish.
The Shuberts were indeed
Jewish, and they were born Shu- •
berth.
The family included Sam
(1875-1905), Lee (1876-1953)
and Jacob (1877-1963), all born
in New York, all young men
when they began their careers
in the theatrical business.
Their first property was the
Grand Opera House in Syra-
cuse. Later, they became pro-
prietors of a number of theaters
in upstate New York, as well as
producers of numerous touring
companies.
Sam was 30 when he died in
a railroad accident. Lee and Ja-
cob continued in the business,
though, where they were known
as tough businessmen. By 1956
they controlled almost half of all
theaters — including 17 on
Broadway — in the United
States. (They later sold 12 of
those theaters, following a gov-
ernment anti-trust lawsuit.)
Among the stars who got their
start on a Shubert stage: Eddie
Cantor, Fanny Brice, Ray Bol-
ger and Al Jolson.
❑
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