T

he Disney+ origi-
nal film Better Nate 
Than Ever premieres 
on April 1. Nate, 13, is an 
unpopular Pittsburgh teen 
who fantasies that he will 
become a big Broadway 
star. His best friend, Libby, 
convinces him to go to 
New York and audition for 
a big Broadway musical. 
He lucks out when he runs 
into his Aunt Heidi (Lisa 
Kudrow, 58), a “showbiz 
smart” person who has 
long been estranged from 
Nate’s parents.
April 4-5 most PBS sta-
tions will air a two-part 
biography of Benjamin 
Franklin (8-10 p.m.). 
Documentary maker Ken 
Burns directed the epi-
sodes. It is narrated by 
actor Peter Coyote, 80.
I doubt that Burns (whose 
wife is Jewish) will even 
mention this — but I will — 
in case you come across 
the many antisemitic sites 
that say Franklin wrote a 
lengthy attack on Jews. 
Usually called the “Franklin 
Prophecy,” this “big lie” 
junk was actually written by 
a notorious antisemite in 
the 1930s. Check the very 
good Wikipedia entry (enti-
tled “Franklin’s Prophecy”) 
for more details. 
 As many scholars have 
noted, Franklin (really) gave 
a small cash donation to a 
struggling Philadelphia syn-
agogue. Not something an 
antisemite would do.

Moon Knight, a Marvel 
Comics character, is the 
title character of a five-ep-
isode Disney+ mini-series 
that will begin streaming on 
March 30. The Moon Knight 
character was introduced 
in 1975 and was a hit with 
readers. Moon Knight was 
co-created by Don Perlin, 
now 92, the son of Jews 
who fled Russia in 1905. 
Here’s Moon Knight’s 
comic book “origin story.” 
He was born Marc Spector, 
the son of a rabbi who 
fled Europe in the 1930s. 
Spector experienced 
antisemitism as a child and 
as a young man. He served 
briefly in the Marines, 
became a mercenary and 
was killed. But he was 
brought back to life by the 
Egyptian moon god. This 
“god” turned Spector into 
“Moon Knight,” a superhero 
who “redeems his life of 
violence by protecting and 
avenging the innocent.” 
(It’s important to know 
that Spector suffers from 
dissociative identity order. 
He has other personalities 
“in his brain” and isn’t sure 
who he really is.)
 There has been a big 
controversy in comic book 
fan land, and elsewhere, 
preceding the premiere of 
the Moon Knight TV series. 
Fans, Jewish or not, have 
been outraged by the way 
Disney has eliminated the 
Jewish origins of Marvel 
Comic characters when 

they appear in films or on 
TV. The site InsideMagic 
recently said [fans are 
anxious because] “Marvel 
Studios has erased the 
Jewish heritage of similar 
characters such as Wanda 
Maximoff/Scarlett Witch.”
This site, and others, 
also noted that Wanda, and 
other Jewish characters, 
were played by non-Jew-
ish actors, and that cast-
ing practice continued in 
Moon Knight. Oscar Isaac, 
a Hispanic actor who was 
raised an Evangelical 
Christian, plays Moon 
Knight in the Disney series.
Isaac has had a good 
run playing Jewish charac-
ters. He played the main 
Israeli agent in Operation 
Eichmann (2017), and he 
played the Jewish hus-
band in the HBO series 
Scenes from a Marriage 
(2021). This is fine — except 
when you remember the 
flack Steven Spielberg got 
for casting an actress of 
Colombian background 
to star as Maria, a Puerto 
Rican character, in West 
Side Story. 
For months, nobody 
connected to the Disney 
series would say wheth-
er the Moon Knight 
character would remain 
Jewish. Finally, on March 
20, there was an answer 
from Mohammed Diab, 
the Egyptian director of 
three of the Moon Knight 
episodes. InsideMagic 

reports that in response a 
fan question whether Oscar 
Isaac’s character would 
share the Jewish heritage 
of the comics version, Diab 
tweeted, “Wait until the 
end of the show. You’ll be 
pleased.”
When We Were Bullies, 
an Oscar-nominated doc-
umentary, will premiere on 
HBO on March 30. Director 
Jay Rosenblatt interviews 
his fifth-grade teacher 
about a brutal bullying inci-
dent. Also on HBO is the 
original series Julia, about 
the life of Julia Child, the 
famous chef and cook-
book writer. The first three 
episodes will premiere on 
March 31. Bebe Neuwirth, 
64, plays Avis Devoto, a 
good cook and a top book 
editor who was a great 
friend of Ms. Child. 
Judith Light, 73, has a 
supporting role as Blanche 
Knopf (1894-1966), the 
wife of Julia’s publisher, 
Alfred Knopf (1892-1984). 
The Knopfs were born into 
affluent New York Jewish 
families. They bonded over 
their love of books. They 
were a professional team, 
a rare thing in their day. 
Three years after Knopf 
books was founded (1915), 
Blanche was named a vice 
president. She became 
president in 1957 (Alfred 
was made chairman). 
She was a top editor who 
launched the careers of 
many famous writers. 

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ARTS&LIFE

96 | MARCH 31 • 2022 

A Disney Movie and, 
Finally, a Disney Jewish 
Superhero, Ben Franklin

Oscar Isaac as 
 
Steven Grant in 
Marvel Studios’ 
 
Moon Knight.

MARVEL STUDIOS. ©MARVEL STUDIOS 2022. 

