Metro

Jonah
Bobo

ON THE COVER

Sam
Raimi

Before he became a filmmaker and
actor, Sam Raimi, director of the
blockbuster Spider-Man-movies and
others, was Sari Gladstone-Baskin's
babysitter.
"Before
he was
famous he
used to
babysit my
brother
Brad and
me, and do
magic
shows at
our birth-
day parties,"
said
Sam Raimi
Gladstone-
Baskin of
West Bloomfield. "He was in high
school, trying to make a few bucks:'
Raimi graduated from Groves High
School in Beverly Hills and grew up in
Franklin, where his parents, Ceilia and
Larry, still live. Ceilia and Gladstone-
Baskin's maternal grandmother, (the
late), Marian Wiseman, were 'sisters.
"Last year, he was in Europe pro-
moting Spider-Man II. My grand-
mother [his aunt] was sick. She was

living at Meer apartments and wanted
so badly to go and see her great-
nephew's new hit movie." According to
Gladstone-Baskin, Raimi had planned
to set up a private showing of the
movie for Wiseman and her friends at
their apartment, but Wiseman died -
before it was arranged.
"However, the smile on her
face when he told her that he
would do that for her and how he
touched her heart and soul
always making her feel special as
`my wonderful Aunt Marian is
how I think of my cousin Sam.
"As soon as he heard that she
passed aWay> he was here imme-
diately to be with the family and
stay through
shivah. Many
people were
very surprised
to see him at
the funeral
and shivah
because it was
at the height
of Spider-Man
II just being
released.
His
answer to
Sari
us was, `She was
Gladstone-Baskin
my-aunt. -I loved
her and I wouldn't think of being any-
whereelse:"

Shari
Lewis

As children, Paula Duke of
Southfield and her sister Debbie
Beckwith of Farmington Hills
settled in front of the television
once a week to watch Shari
Lewis, their cousin the pup-
peteer with a dozen Emmy
Awards, and her sock puppet
Lamb Chop.
"Those were the good old
days," Duke said. "Debbie and I
shared watching Shari for many
years on TV — black and
white, of course. We grew up on
Cloverlawn in Oak Park and we
used to give puppet shows to our
next-door neighbors from our
bedroom window. Debbie and I
still laugh about it to this day."
Although she never met Lewis,
Duke said,"It's nice to know that you
have someone in your family who has

24

December 29 2005

Last month, Shelly Forman watched
the new Sony Pictures hit movie
Zathura with her favorite movie star
— her great-nephew 8-year-old
Jonah Bobo, who happened to have
the lead role in the
film.
•
"I just sat there
and looked at him
thinking,'He's so
unaffected:"
Forman said.
The movie
showing was part
of an event to
benefit Hospice of
Michigan. Jonah
had volunteered
his time to accom-
pany Chris Van
Allsburg, author
of the book that
became the
Shelly Forman with Jonah's great-grandma Ida Raimi
movie, to the
of
Southfield, Jonah Bobo and his great-grandma
event held in Van
Frieda
Pantzer of West Bloomfield.
Allsburg's home-
town of Grand
Rapids.
"Jonah's family (including his sister
Forman joined other family mem-
4-year-old Georgia) — who live in
bers at the event, including Jonah's
New York — are observant Reform,"
great-grandmothers Ida Raimi of
Forman said. "So Jonah doesn't work
Southfield and Frieda Pantzer of West
on Saturdays or on Jewish holidays.
Bloomfield. Jonah's grandparents are
"A big part of his last movie Around
former Detroiters Renee and Nanny
the Bend with Michael Caine was sup-
Raimi, Forman's brother, now of
posed to take place in a KFC restau-
Bellaire, Fla.
rant," Forman said. "Jonah had written
"While we were in Grand Rapids,
into his contract, that there be a
we also went with him to a 'Meet
kosher kitchen on the set for him. He
Jonah Bobo' event," Forman said. "We
had kosher fried chicken made for
were blown away by the people who
him and put into an empty KFC buck-
wanted to meet him. He didn't really
et."

Myer
Prinstein

Paula Duke and

Debbie Beckwith

Shari Lewis and

Myer Prinstein

Charlie Horse

made it big — in your lifetime."

get what a big deal he is.
"He's such a kid. At the end of char-
ity event, he was stuffing little space-
ships with glitter that light up — that
were on the tables — into his pock-
ets."
According to Forman, Jonah plans
to continue with his career, but under
his — and his parents' Denise Raimi
and Scot Bobo's — terms.

Doug Dovitz has read-many refer-
ences to multiple Olympic medal win-
ner, Myer Prinstein, the first cousin

of his grandmother Anna Prinstein
Dovitz.
In addition to stories about
Prinstein's world records and his four
gold and one silver track and field
Olympic medals for the United States,
"they mention his rival Alvin
Kraenzlein," said Dovitz of Commerce
Township.
It seems during the 1900 Olympics,
Prinstein, who was in the lead in one
event, followed instructions given to
American students studying at
Methodist Syracuse University not to
compete on Sunday, the Christian
Sabbath. Others competed anyway,
including Kraenzlein — who won the
gold — by a single centimeter.
"I believe when he found this out,
Prinstein was so angered, he punched
Kraenzlein," Dovitz said.
"My grandmother had a brother —
also Myer Prinstein," Dovitz said, "We
called him 'non-Olympic:"