Reel Life

In a new book, filmmaker Paul Mazursky details his
experiences with some of Tinseltown's biggest stars.

ALICE BURDICK SCHWEIGER
Special to the Jewish News

hen the acclaimed filmmaker Paul
Mazursky directed Shelley Winters in
Next Stop Greenwich Village, there was
illir a scene where the legendary actress
had to pull a loaf of rye bread out of a paper bag
and give it a whiff. But in the middle of filming the
hilarious sequence, she threw a fit. It seems the
bread was supermarket bought and not authentic
Jewish rye.
"It stinks!" she shrieked. "It's practically white
bread, it's so bad. It smells like a detergent." A
member of the crew jumped into a car, fought the
hectic New York traffic and picked up "the real
thing" at the famous Ratner's deli.
This is just one of many sto-
ries writer/director/actor/pro-
ducer Mazursky tells in his new
book, Show Me The Magic
(Simon & Schuster; $25). And
with more than four decades in
the entertainment business,
Mazursky, who directed such
triumphs as Bob 6-- Carol & Ten
6- Alice and Down and Out in
Beverly Hills, has plenty to say.
Mazursky reveals how he
made the leap from his Jewish
Brooklyn neighborhood to the
California film industry,
humorously recounting his backstage experiences
with the cast of celebrity characters he's met along
the way.
He talks about some with great poignancy — and
others in a whole different light. "This book was writ-
ten out of emotion," says Mazursky. The people I
write about are judged by whatever happened to me
and my relationship with them."
One of the most unpredictable people he ever
worked with was Peter Sellers, who, Mazursky
reports, was at best, eccentric. On the set of I Love
You Alice B Toklas, one of the script girls showed up
wearing the color purple. "Purple is death," Sellers
snapped. "You never wear purple on a set. Never!"
To placate Sellers, Mazursky had to pull the
British script girl aside and ask her to change.
"Me mum knit the sweater for me," she replied.
"I love the sweater." Sobbing, she changed into
vivid yellow.
One of the thrills in writing the book, Mazurs
says, was the opportunity to talk about his bubbie
and zayde, to whom he dedicates a whole chapter.
Russian and Polish immigrants who escaped enor-
mous anti-Semitism and hardship, his grandparents
were an important part of his life. Mazursky has
paid tribute to them in his movies.
In Next Stop, Greenwich Village, which he wrote as
well as directed, Shelley Winters tells her son who is

about to go to Hollywood that he "should never
forget where he came from. Your grandmother hid
in a sack of potatoes to escape the Cossacks." This
is how his bubbie Ida made her way across the bor-
der into Germany in 1905.
Mazursky also retraces his own path to stardom.
Born in the impoverished Brownsville section of
Brooklyn in 1930, he was the only child of David,
a laborer, and Jean, a homemaker.
His birth name was Irwin Mazursky, but he did-
n't like it. "I didn't mind Mazursky, but I hated
Irwin," he says. "So when I was about 22 years old,
I legally changed it. My mother was upset — she
said my real name was Israel or Yisrael. But if it
were Yisrael, I would have kept it. It's a lot better
than Irwin."
For as long as he can remember, Mazursky

Paul Mazursky On mu

Bette Midler: "She is a great woman. She was a
little apprehensive when she came in to meet me.
It seems she had a fight with her previous director
-- she decked him. But we got along fine."
Elliot Gould: "He is wonderful, yet unusual, and
has an odd persona. When we made Bob and
Carol and Ted and Alice, he was married to Barbra
Streisand. He invited my wife and me to dinner,
and when Elliot answered the door he was hold-
ing a candle — the electricity had blown. I could
hear Barbra yelling, "Take them to the dining
room with a candle." We ate a nice meal in the
semidarkness. They were both very nice, but I
could tell there was tension between them."
Richard Dreyfuss: "He always tells me that he is
my Jew! He's very funny and talented and a won-
derfid. actor. He recently got remarried and I went
to his wedding."
Natalie Wood: "We became pretty close friends and
spent a few new year's eves at her house. She was
adorable and as sweet as she was beautiful. Even
though she grew up in Hollywood,
she didn't have any pretense."
Jack Nicholson: "I have known
him for a long time. He is unique
and has remained the same for 35
years. I acted with Jack in Man
Trouble. He follows his
own way of living. I
wanted him to play in
Down and Out in Beverly
Hills, but he was busy for
over a year, so I cast
Richard Dreyfuss instead.
I loved Richard in the
part — but I'll never
know how it would have turned out with Jack."
Mel Brooks: "He is a good friend, has extreme
chutzpa, humor and passion. When he found out
I had open-heart surgery, he went nutty with
affection."
Little Richard: "He claims to be Jewish. We were
shooting a film and he said he couldn't work on
Friday night because it was Shabbos. I spoke to
, Richard's manager and said, 'Is he really Jewish?'
The manager answered, 'yes,' and said [Richard]
had to be at synagogue on Saturday.
"I walked over to Richard and said, 'I didn't
know you were Jewish.'
"'Good Golly, I certainly am, and I'm a good
Jew,' he said. 'I have to be in Sacramento on
Saturday for the service.'
"I explained that it would cost him $100,000 if
we had to stop shooting. I told him to ask the
good Lord if he could work this one Friday
night. Richard thought for a moment and said,
`I think the good Lord will let me work, but
only until 2 a.m., so I can still get to
Sacramento.
"I think he thought for that amount of money,
God would forgive him."
--- Alice Burdick Schweiger

Adventure
ollsrw ood

7/2
1999

88 Detroit Jewish News

Mazursky took the role of Leon Tortshiner in his fzl
"Enemies: A Love Story"

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