III "
would call an anti-Semitic neighbor-
hood.
"I got a few 'dirty Jews' and got beat
up a couple of times. It was substan-
tial enough for me to always deny
my being Jewish as I was growing up.
Someone would ask me what religion
[I was], and I would pretend I didn't
know the answer. I would say, 'I'm
American: and when they would say,
`No, what religion are you?' I would
say, 'I'm an American. I had to work
my way through that."
Hoffman's first marriage was to a
Catholic woman.
"We got married in a church, but
with a rabbi present, so it was kind of
a two-for-one. That lasted only a few
years. My second marriage, to Lisa
— we've been married 31 years and
together about 35.
"We proceeded to have four chil-
dren, two boys and two girls, and,
ao yes, through her leadership, both boys
were bar mitzvahed and both girls
Dustin Hoffman is behind the camera
were bat mitzvahed. Also we celebrate
for Quartet.
Jewish holidays, which is something
I'd never done. I don't have a memory
of celebrating any Jewish holidays
when I was growing up."
doesn't want to leave until she has
The closest they came was when
done the best she can on that particu-
Dustin would hang bagels on the
lar day."
Christmas tree. "Miniature bagels so
As for those directors who don't
the branches wouldn't break."
appreciate the steadfastness he brings
He doesn't read Hebrew, but "I
to his work, Hoffman says, "They
were critical of me in print, and that is know a bissel (little) Yiddish because
my grandmother lived in the house
something I would never do. I refuse
from the day I was born until the day
to bring something from the set to the
she died when I was 16. When they
public's attention. It's not their busi-
wanted to talk in front of us but didn't
ness."
It feeds the media's hunger for nega- want us to know what they said, they'd
talk in Yiddish. So I picked up a little."
tive and sensational news, Hoffman
Hoffman doesn't think he brings
says.
anything particularly Jewish to his
"Barry Levinson, on Rain Man, we
work "because I don't have a Jewish
had this extraordinary relationship.
background in the sense that we've
He told me, after all the interviews
been talking about. I've always felt I
and junkets, when he read the stuff
was a Jew; it's just an internal feeling.
there wasn't one mention of how
I also feel I'm a Russian-Romanian
much he enjoyed working with me.
Jew, because my father's people were
He said, 'Isn't it interesting that they
from Kiev and my mother's people
never print good stuff."'
were from Lasi, Romania, meaning I
Hoffman feels good vibes about
love mamaliga (Romanian porridge)
Quartet.
and I love borscht and I love vodka.
"I'm Jewish, so I wouldn't say con-
"There's a specific humor to which
fident. I would say more confident
I've always been attached, and I would
[than normal]."
identify myself by my sense of humor
He was raised in what he calls a
as — there's no other way to put it
"nonreligious" household. "My father
— I'm a Jewish person with a Jewish
was an atheist. My brother and I, nei-
sense of humor."
ther of us was bar mitzvahed. Luckily
Assistant Amanda interrupts again.
we got circumcised, but that was
Hoffman invites me for drinks and
about it."
when I tell him if he actually calls, I'll
It was in some ways a hardscrabble
pay, he chuckles, says zay gesunt (stay
existence.
well) and hangs up.
"We moved around a bit. My father
kept trying to upgrade himself.
He would fail, and then we would
Quartet is scheduled to open on
downgrade to a lower neighborhood.
Friday, Jan. 25. Check your local
During a long stretch of my formative
movie listings.
years, pre-teenage, we lived in what I
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ii
Pitztereil
Roland Optics
mourns the
passing of
(Doc) Harold
Roland
Our condolences
go out to
his Family & Friends
JN
January 24 • 2013
39