Triumunant Return
for a limited engagement

Special to the Jewish News

Newman: Mentsh

Paul Newman, who died Sept 26
at age 83, has been the subject
of an amazing
number of trib-
utes. I was struck,
however, by this
passage in a Los

Angeles Times

article:
"Friends said
14 1116110?
Newman abhorred
Paul Newman
what he called
'noisy philanthro-
py.' He felt the awards and honors
offered him were excessive and
once declined a national medal in
a letter to President Clinton, call-
ing such recognition 'honorrhea.'
When people would say, 'What a
mentsh you are,' he would always
denigrate himself,' said friend
Alice Trillin. To friends, Newman
was open, if vague, about not
always having lived an exemplary
life. Exceptionally tolerant of oth-
ers' foibles, he explained, 'I used
to be a fool myself.'"
The late author and educator
Alice Trillin was the wife and muse
of Calvin Trillin, the famous writer.
The Trillins worked as counselors
at Newman's first Hole-in-the-Wall
camp for seriously ill children.
Calvin has often recalled his
father's only advice to him: "You
might as well be a mentsh."
Very good advice — and there
was no greater mentsh than Paul
Newman. While not religious, he
did identify as a Jew, and every
obituary is filled with people
recounting how Newman was per-
sonally kind to them and/or citing
one of Newman's acts of philan-
thropy.
No surprise, then, that one
of his Hole-in-the-Wall camps
is located in Israel. And when
a Sacramento synagogue was
burned down by an anti-Semitic
crazy in 1999, Paul Newman was
one of the first persons to send a
check to rebuild.

New On The Tube

Detroit-area native Selma Blair,
36, plays Kim, the daughter of
Kath (Molly Shannon), in the new
NBC comedy series Kath & Kim,
which debuts 9:30 p.m. Thursday,
Oct. 9.
Kath is a 40-something divorcee
who feels she can finally live her

own life after long catering to the
whims of her daughter, who acts
like a teenager despite being in
her mid-20s. When Kim marries
and finally moves out, Kath starts
dating. However, Kim separates
from her husband after only six
weeks and moves back home,
complicating Kath's life. The show
is based on an Australian series of
the same name.
Debra Messing (Will & Grace)
returns to TV as the star of the
USA cable network series The
Starter Wife, which has its two-
hour premiere 9 p.m. Friday, Oct.
10. The TV series takes off where
the 2007 Emmy-nominated mini-
series of the same name ended.
Messing, 41, plays the ex-wife
of a powerful Hollywood execu-
tive who has left her for a much
younger woman. She tries to
rebuild a new life with her 7-year-
old daughter.
David Alan
Basche, 40,
plays Messing's
ex-husband.
Basche, who
comes from a
religious Jewish
A
Reiner and
family, co-starred
Basche
in United 93
and also has a
recurring role as nasty boss Mike
Harness on the new NBC series
Lipstick Jungle. David's real-life
wife, actress Alysia Reiner, 32,
has quite a list of stage, film
and TV credits. She'll appear in
a recurring role on Starter Wife
as Cindy, another ex-wife of a
Hollywood bigwig.

1111111011ET
GoRRER

Dg Renard
Batnelpour

October 18-25,2008

Order goof' tinets todag,
as the precious run comoletelg sold out

MICHIGAN

How far would you go for love? Could you
make the ultimate sacrifice?

Margaret Garner examines the strength of a

David DiChiera, General Director

herFormeg in English

Saturday, October 18, at 6:00pm
Sunday, October 19, at 2:30pm
Wednesday, October 22, at 7:30pm
Friday, October 24, at 7:30pm
Saturday, October 25, at 7:30pm

Conducted by: Stefan Lana
Directed by Broadway's own: Kenny Leon
Starring: Denyce Graves and Tracie Luck
with Gregg Baker, James Westman,
Karen Slack, Mary Elizabeth Williams
Ryan MacPherson, Torrance Blaisdell
and Timothy Mix

G.

Comp

The 2008 Fag Opera Season is made
emit* try Ford War Company.

Opening Night Sponsor

mother's love in an inconceivable situation.

Composed by Grammy Award winner Richard Danielpour,
with libretto by Pulitzer Prize—winning author Toni Morrison

FREE Opera Talk one hour prior to performance
Featuring Dr. Wallace Peace

TICKETS OD SOLE (IOW

Call 313.237.SIOG
or at michiganopera.org

C 2005 Associated Music Publishers. Inc.
Used by arrangement with Associated Music Publishers. Inc.

BankAmerica

Snee, Oct.
Yttme Ws,

elver Dewey Mach
FamdatIon
Encs., 0,....,Scasr

Itlarrwca

1438100

Tashlich Time

Who knew? Comedian Michael
Ian Black, 37, often makes fun of
Jewish stereotypes in his comedy.
But every year, he says, he and
his family go to a New York City
bridge on the first afternoon of
the New Year
and casts bits of
bread into the
water as part
of their annual
tashlich ritual.
"Rosh Hashanah is
a time for family,"
Michael Ian
he says. "It's about
Black
looking back at all
that's happened
to us the past year. Rosh Hashanah
is a chance to start again, to con-
nect or reconnect, even if only for a
moment." ❑

ArvOrsillertkor

Hm • up. aAa u .A

Nate Bloom

;SUP

Jews

Saturday, November 8, 2008 8pm

Ford Community & performing Arts Center

15801 Michigan Avenue

Tickets: $29-$59
For tickets call 313-943-2354 or order
on-line at www.dearbornfordcentercorn

October 9 &s 2008

B21