 DECEMBER 3 • 2020 | 35

Helicon Records, a licensee of 
Universal and EMI Records.
While she was a presenter on 
a daily TV show, her second sin-
gle, “Time to Say Goodbye,
” was 
chosen to represent Israel in the 
2005 Eurovision Song Contest. Her 
namesake first album launched her 
first concert tour.
Credits since then include roles 
in a musical version of the movie 
HaLehaka (The Band) and in the 
Habima National Theatre produc-
tion of Evita. 
Martin Laker remains enthusi-
astic about the concerts, especially 
because they celebrate his late 
father’s love for music, both spiritu-
al and secular. He watched Maimon 
for the first time on the web after 
Cantor Smolash recommended 
shining the spotlight on her. 
“She was magnificent with a 
wonderful voice, and we’re lucky 
she was available,
” said Laker, 
whose one criterion for choosing 
performers is imagining his father 
tapping his toes to the beat and 
softly singing along. “There’s no 
doubt in my mind that people will 
love seeing her, particularly during 
this time, when joy and entertain-
ment are so needed.
”
While the Lakers look forward 
to a return of in-person performers 
for future concerts, they welcome 
viewers outside of Michigan tuning 
in digitally. One viewer will be Aviv 
Ezra, Israel’s consul general to the 
Midwest.
“Let me congratulate Temple 
Israel on presenting one of the 
Jewish state’s brightest stars,
” he 
said. “I am very proud of any 
chance to share the sublime arts 
and culture scene in Israel and 
so excited for Michiganders and 
Israelis to connect through Shiri’s 
uplifting music and captivating 
presence. Enjoy this musical trea-
sure.” 

DETAILS
To preview Shiri Maimon’s talents 
To preview Shiri Maimon’s talents 
and learn how to watch her 
and learn how to watch her 
show at 4 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 13, 
show at 4 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 13, 
go to temple-israel.org.
go to temple-israel.org. 

SHAY FRANKO

BAD WAKE-UP, AND 
KANE’S CREDIT
The Flight Attendant, an 
8-episode HBO Max series, 
began streaming on Nov. 
26 (2 episodes). Kaley 
Cuoco (Big Bang Theory) 
stars as Cassie, a flight 
attendant who wakes up in 
the “wrong” hotel with the 
body of a dead man next to 
her — she has no idea how 
this all happened. Zosia 
Mamet, 32 (Girls), has a big 
role as Annie, an attorney 
who is Cassie’s best friend. 
Bebe Neuwirth, 61 (Lilith on 
Cheers), has a large recur-
ring role as Diana, a highly 
respected senior partner in 
the law firm where Annie 
works. She is a mentor to 
Annie.
A bio-pic, Mank, about 
famous screenwriter Herman 
Mankiewicz (1897-1953), 
begins streaming on Netflix 
on Dec. 5. It focuses on the 
period during which “Herman 
M.” co-wrote the script for 
the great film Citizen Kane 
with Orson Welles. They 
were the co-winners of the 
1941 Oscar for best screen-
play for Kane. Mank, which 
opened in limited theatrical 
release, has got some great 
reviews and many mixed 
ones. Many critics say that 
the script (by the late Jack 
Fincher, the father of Mank 
director David Fincher) slav-
ishly followed the opinion 
of the late film critic Pauline 
Kael. In a 1971 book, she said 
that Herman M. wrote almost 

all of Kane. Since then, film 
scholars have shown that 
Welles wrote a lot of Kane 
before and after Herman M.’s 
contribution. What seems 
clear is both men always had 
major problems with finish-
ing a project and, by some 
miracle, on Kane they com-
pensated for each other and 
made a great movie. 
I should note that a bio-
pic about Herman M. can’t 
be dull. He was extremely 
funny; he improved hundreds 
of films, usually without 
screen credit — including 
a big part of The Wizard of 
Oz; and he just couldn’t stop 
drinking until it killed him. 
All the well-known people 
named Mankiewicz (includ-
ing movie writers/directors 
Joseph and Tom; TV hosts 
Josh and Ben; and former 
National Public Radio presi-
dent Frank), were/are closely 
related to Herman. By the 
way, the next time you see 
a lot of Jews playing non-
Jews, think of this film: 13 
important characters — no 
Jewish actors play any of 
them — although six were 
“all” Jewish in real life and 
two more had Jewish fathers. 
(The former group includes 
Herman M., his wife, Sara; 
director Joseph Mankiewicz, 
Herman’s brother; film execs 
Irving Thalberg and Louis 
B. Mayer, and producer 
David O. Selznick. Producer/
actor John Houseman had 
a Jewish father, as did writer 
Charles Lederer.)

ARTS&LIFE
CELEBRITY JEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

HBO MAX

Kaley Cuoco 

with Zosia 

Mamet

