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is Fran Drescher's non-Jewish husband
on "The Nanny."
Portraying a rabbi doesn't necessari-
ly come naturally to Selznick; he does-
n't bring anything from his childhood
to the part.
His father, a psychiatrist, was an
agnostic, and though the family cele-
brated Jewish holidays they also had a
Christmas tree. He attended a "really
liberal Jewish Sunday school" for a
while, but never became a bar mitzvah.
Growing up as a magician and a
juggler, he said he's performed at hun-
dreds of bar mitzvahs, "so I feel like I
was bar mitzvah by association. Even
those of us who weren't raised reli-
giously have a blood memory.
"I'm not sure that I would say I
regret [not having a more classical Jew-
ish upbringing], but I do feel I would
like to know more about my culture
and be indoctrinated into it. Being a
rabbi on the show has become a nice
gift for me. I've started going to tern-
ple," says the actor, whose TV mother-
in-law is portrayed by Joan Rivers.
Selznick does a lot of commercials.
His most popular is for Zyrtec, in
which he goes out of his house to pick
up the newspaper and is overwhelmed
by allergies. He also was in an award-
winning commercial for Honda, in
which the car was displayed as if it

were a painting in a museum. Selznick
observes it for a while and then gets in
and drives off.
He said the directors of about 20
percent of the commercials he goes
out for now are looking for Paul Reis-
er and Helen Hunt types. The Jewish
man and shiksa woman pairing has
become almost mythic in the enter-
tainment world, he says, "not that
there's necessarily anything wrong
with that."
In fact, intermarriage doesn't trou-
ble him. "I think it's a good thing that
people live together and be in love and
not be narrow-minded. Basically, it's
the same God."
It was the commercials that got
Selznick his rabbi role. Selznick ran
into Shields at an ice cream parlor.
She knew him through his brother,
with whom she'd taken a dance class,
and told him, "Albie, I've been seeing
you in all these commercials. You
should be on my show."
She gave him the number of the
"Suddenly Susan" casting director, and
though he believed it to be show busi-
ness hyperbole, Selznick placed the
call a few days later.
By that time, the role of Rabbi Ben
already had been written for him. It
was originally intended to last for five
episodes, with Rabbi Ben leaving
Vickie to go work on a kibbutz. But
the character proved so popular, he
was brought back. Last season ended
with a spectacular and very funny sea-
son finale in which Ben and Vickie
shared a double wedding with a gay
male couple.
The Thanksgiving episode on Mon-
day, Nov. 23, will be Selznick's 13th
appearance as Rabbi Ben, though pre-
sumably not his last.
In the meantime, the performer is
working on a series of his own, about
a magician who uses his skills to solve
crimes. Since by his own admission
this premise closely resembles an old
series starring Bill Bixby, it may take
magic to get the show aired.
For now, Selznick said he's thankful
to be on "Suddenly Susan."
"It's one of the nicest shows I've
ever been on — and everyone's been
real cool."
Including, for a change, the rabbi. Fl

"Suddenly Susan" airs 8 p.m.
Mondays on NBC. Albie
Selznick appears as Rabbi Ben
Rubenstein on the Monday,
Nov. 23, Thanksgiving episode.

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11/20
1998

89