arts & entertainment food Behind The Rich & Famous Film documents life of talent manager Shep Gordon, whose "Jewish DNA" has guided his celebrity-strewn life. Michael Fox Special to the Jewish News A half-hour doesn't go any fast- er than time spent listening to longtime music manager Shep Gordon's anecdotes. In an interview coinciding with the opening of comedian Mike Myers' briskly entertaining documentary, Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon, Gordon offered firsthand memories of Groucho Marx and Barbra Streisand, Bill Graham and Marvin Hamlisch. And those were just the Jews. Gordon was 22 and Groucho's co- manager with Erin Fleming when she took him to a meeting with a music executive in 1972. Fleming, the comic icon's mercurial late-in-life compan- ion, berated and cursed A&M Records co-founder Jerry Moss until he asked Gordon outside for an explanation. "Groucho can't afford his nurses:' Gordon said, "and you have an album coming out with him. I thought maybe you'd give him an advance because you have a way to recoup it:' Moss wrote a large personal check and handed it to Gordon. "I'm only going to ask you one thing:' he said. "Don't bring her back:' Gordon laughs with pleasure at the recollection, noting that he and Moss are friends to this day. "He's a great Jew:' Gordon says. "I am proud to be a landsman of his:' The lively and affectionate Supermensch, which opens in the- aters on Friday, June 20, assembles celebrities Michael Douglas, Sylvester Stallone, Emeril Lagasse, Detroit-born Alice Cooper — Gordon's first and longest-tenured client and friend — and others to describe the path and character that led a gangly talent man- ager to wind up cooking dinner for the Dalai Lama. Or, to put it another way: how a nice guy finished first. "I give all credit to my DNA and my cultural background:' says the New York native. "A lot to my father, but I think it's much broader than my father. I think there's a strain in many Jews of being social liberals, and that's one of the things I love about being Jewish: So many people I meet who are Jewish actually care about other people:' 48 June 19 • 2014 JN Gordon says he was very vocal with prospective clients that other managers could make them more money. His particular talent, which '9011111 1 111PAPMAII —,_, he deployed on behalf of Cooper, Teddy Pendergrass, Anne Murray, numerous other performers and countless celebrity chefs (a category he pioneered), was making people famous. "I always felt that my social liber- alism didn't come from conscious- ness:' Gordon muses. "By cause and effect, it came from DNA — it was Shep Gordon in Maui beyond me; there was nothing I could do about it. "So many times, like with the chefs, I was not going to do that. I knew they had this need for some- body to make them famous. I was not going to be that guy, and at some point the consciousness went away and the DNA took over, and they needed help and I could help them. That's Jewish." He turns serious at the mention of hard-nosed Holocaust survivor and promoter Bill Graham, who booked and ran the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco among other venues. "I had the utmost respect for Shep Gordon and Alice Cooper in an him:' Gordon recalls, "because archival photo he had the tattoo [number]. And because he had the tattoo, I acted in ways that weren't the smartest, but "That was difficult:' Gordon sighs. I'm glad I did them. But they always "But I was glad I did it. I would do it backfired on me because he was a very again. I understood the tattoo wasn't difficult guy:' just numbers; this was a guy who lived On one occasion, Graham called a life for all of us. The scars he had I to object to Pendergrass playing a could never in my wildest dreams ever competing Bay Area venue. Gordon approach, so God bless him:' phoned Pendergrass, explaining As for Streisand, suffice it to say that Graham's background while making it a wary Gordon's perception — based clear that his offer was for less money on hearsay — that she was tough and and might provoke a lawsuit from the demanding was erased by her gracious original promoter. behavior as a guest, with her husband, Pendergrass didn't hesitate for a sec- at Gordon's house in Maui, Hawaii. ond, nor did he ever bring it up to his If one needs more evidence that manager. "If it's important enough for Gordon is no more than two degrees you to make the call:' he told Gordon, of separation from anyone in show "we're doing his show:' business: Marvin Hamlisch had rela- tionships with Erin Fleming as well as A touching tale, but the capper is Graham withheld a portion of the songwriter Carole Bayer Sager, one of fee because he was dissatisfied with Gordon's clients. the sound quality of Pendergrass' "I moved his piano more times than show. Gordon was unable to change I like to think of:' Gordon says. Graham's mind and made up the dif- ference — without the late singer ever Supermensch: The Legend of finding out — from the safe of Carlos Shep Gordon is scheduled to open and Charlie's, a restaurant he owned in on Friday, June 20. nearby Tiburon, Calif. •. ❑ On The Menu Welcome summer with appetizers. T he solstice marks the day of the year with the most hours of sunlight — until nearly 10 o'clock at night. With few Jewish holidays that require large celebra- tions during the sum- mer months, it's also the time of year we invite friends and fam- ily over "just because:' And nothing's better for summer eating than easy, savory appetizers to begin the meal. When happens next — whether it's simple grilled fare or an elaborate meal — is almost secondary. With all this daylight, we want to stand and walk around outside as long as we possibly can. The following are great additions to your favorite hors d'oeuvres repertoire. Some are uncomplicated versions of more time-con- suming classics, such as ratatouille, nachos and green gazpacho. What they all have in common is that you get to spend your precious summertime days enjoying the season instead of spending long hours cooking. ❑ SMOKED SALMON PATE WITH WASABI MAYONNAISE 1 Tbsp. prepared wasabi (Japanese horse- radish) 8 oz. mayonnaise (low-fat is fine) 1 lb. smoked salmon or lox '/2 cup chopped fresh chives 36 Belgian endive spears, seedless cucum- ber rounds, gourmet crackers or party pumpernickel breads cut into circles with a cookie cutter freshly ground black pepper fresh chopped parsley (garnish) Prepare wasabi mayonnaise: Combine wasabi with the mayonnaise in a small bowl, and stir well. Set aside. Chop the smoked salmon by hand, or pulse a few times in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the chives, and stir or pulse to combine.