arts & Life
Lake Effect
Ricki Lake opens
Sara Eaker
I Special to the Jewish News
up about her
influences and
the causes most
important to her.
Ricki Lake will be
the featured speaker
at the Lois Linden
Nelson Woman's World
Wednesday, May 6,
Congregation Shaarey
Zedek, Southfield. The
event is held 9 a.m.-4
p.m.; Lake will speak at
11:45 a.m. Boutique Show
is open to the public and
free of charge. Luncheon/
speaker tickets start at
$72. (248) 357-5544;
Ilnwomansworld.org .
Celebrity Jews
Nate Bloom
Special to the Jewish News
WORKING THE
DIAMOND: JEWISH
BASEBALL PLAYERS
As of opening day (April 6), the
following Jewish players were
on a MLB roster. All these play-
ers have at least one Jewish
parent and were raised either
Jewish or secular. Players:
Ryan Braun, 31, outfielder,
Milwaukee. Braun was named
Rookie of the Year in 2007,
the only Jewish player ever to
win this award. He had a so/so
54 April 23 • 2015
or me, being memorable is
more important than winning;
says Ricki Lake.
The pop-culture icon has managed
to do both for nearly two decades.
Lake, 46, has reinvented herself at
every stage of her career. From singing
and dancing her way into millions of
hearts in John Waters' 1988 cult-classic
film, Hairspray, to her Emmy-award
winning talk show (1993-2004); she
acts, writes, produces and is an advo-
cate for women's issues. Lake, who has
two sons, made a highly successful
2008 documentary, The Business of
Being Born, which will soon be re-
released and includes footage of Lake's
own life-changing home-birth while
chronicling a day in the life of a mid-
wife. Her most recent projects include
two documentaries: Sweetening the
Pill raises questions about the long-
term effects of hormonal birth control;
and Breast Milk examines society's
double-standard on female breasts and
breastfeeding. She's currently at work
on Weed the People, about children
with cancer and parents' choices to
find alternative treatment for their
children.
Lake continues her role as an advo-
cate, this time in the Jewish com-
munity, when she will appear as the
featured speaker at the Lois Linden
Nelson Woman's World at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek in Southfield on May 6.
Talking to Lake is like talking to a
F
season in 2014 and had hand
surgery in the off-season. This
season will tell us whether he
can return to top form; Craig
Breslow, 34, reliever, Boston.
As for Braun, 2015 will be a piv-
otal test season for Breslow. He
missed part of 2014 to injuries
and his pitching quality was
way below his career-average.
He's an honors Yale grad from
a religious home; Ike Davis,
28, first base, Oakland. Davis
broke in to the majors with the
Mets in 2010 and remained
with them until early 2014. He
was traded to the A's in the off-
season. He has a lot of power,
but suffers from anemic bat-
longtime girlfriend. "I have a theory
about why I am not aging and why my
skin is looking good:' she says. "It's
because I'm a little fat — that is the
secret to not looking so wrinkly. My
friend Courtney Cox says, 'You have to
choose if you want the a** or the face.
I'm choosing the face."
On the agenda for her appearance
in Detroit is discussing the impact her
grandmother — who raised her until
her death from breast cancer when
Lake was 9 — had on her life.
"I would like to answer questions and
share. I am an open book, and I love
expressing myself and sharing what has
gotten me through this crazy life of mine
Lake says. "My grandmother Sylvia was a
true matriarch and got me through hard-
ships and this amazing career.
"She was such a support for me. I was
the first-born grandchild on her side
of the family, and I was the light of her
life. I loved performing, even at a young
age. At 3 years old, I was doing Shirley
Temple. I wanted to be an orphan in
Annie. She said I was the best, the most
talented, the most beautiful. I don't
think I was the prettiest or the best, but
she believed in me and that has gotten
me so much through my life. Because
she believed it, I believed it."
Lake continues, "You have to have
one person that you love that believes
in you, that role model or big brother,
and my grandmother was that for
me. I grew up in New York City, and I
remember going to see the opera and
Pirates of Penzance. I have her to thank
for those experiences — that uncon-
ting streaks; Scott Feldman,
32, starting pitcher, Houston. A
10-year veteran, Feldman had
a good season in 2014, with
a career best ERA; Sam Fuld,
33, outfielder, Oakland. He's
very good when his batting
eye is sharp; Ian Kinsler, 32,
second base, Detroit Tigers.
Named several times to the
All-Star team
(including
2014), Kinsler
has speed
and power
and is off to
a very good
start; Ryan
Lavarnaway,
ditional love. She was so special, like a
presence, and I think of her often."
Her grandmother also influenced
how she connects to Judaism. "It was a
vibe of family and tradition and safety:'
says Lake, who adds that many of her
memories are cultural. "I remember
hiding the matzah [at seders]," she says.
"But, I was more concerned about how
I could get chocolate gelt. There are a
lot of food-related memories! My Uncle
Murray Klein started Zabar's [in New
York City]. Every weekend at the coun-
try house, we would have a platter of
Zabar's with bagels and sturgeon. The
paper label with the orange writing;
that was my childhood."
Lake, who stresses that she's always
been very independent, won the role of
Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray and never
looked back. "I had my own life outside
of my home life and school life she
says. "I moved to California when I was
19. I was my own mother."
She's also very proud of her role in
the film. "[It's the film] that never dies.
It is amazing. I love that girls who are
not a size zero can see themselves in my
character. It is an iconic role."
She adds that working with director
John Waters was an opportunity she's
grateful for. "We are still in touch:' she
says. "He is like a big brother to me,
and he instilled great values in me.
[My life] was about to get crazy from
becoming famous overnight. He told
me to never lose sight of who I am
— and to not believe the good press,
because then you have to believe the
bad press."
•
••
❑
27, catcher, Baltimore. He's
been shuttling between the
majors and minors since being
called up in 2011 by Boston.
He's a Yale grad, like Breslow;
Jason Marquis, 36, start-
ing pitcher, Cincinnati. The
much-traveled Marquis broke
into the majors in 2000. He's
had some very good seasons,
but 2014 wasn't one of them;
Joc Pederson, 22, outfielder,
L.A. Dodgers. Great things are
expected from Pederson, who
was called up last September
after a stellar minor league
season. He played for Israel
in the 2012 World Baseball
Classic qualifiers; Kevin Pillar,
26, outfielder, Toronto. This for-
mer bar mitzvah boy has been
shuttling between the big club
and the minors since mid-2013;
Danny Valencia, 30, third base,
Toronto. Like Pillar, Valencia
had a bar mitzvah. He had a
good season with two clubs in
2014.
AT THE MOVIES
Opening this week: The Age of
Adaline is a romantic fantasy-
drama. The title character
(Blake Lively) was born in
1908; 20 years later she's in
an accident that somehow
stops her from aging. To avoid
attention, she conceals her
-.