I MAKE YOU AN OFFER
YOU CAN’T REFUSE:
WATCH THE MOST JEWISH
(WITH AN ASTERISK) MINI-
SERIES EVER MADE
The Offer, a Paramount+
original limited series, pre-
mieres on April 28. There
are 10 episodes total, with
the first three steaming on
the 28th. It is about the
drama surrounding the mak-
ing of the original Godfather
film (1972). My readers know
that I “kvetch” about Jewish
actors not getting Jewish
parts. Well, I’ve gone over
the large cast list, and I’ve
got to say that The Offer is
“the most Jewish” (writer,
characters, actors) mini-se-
ries or film that I know of.
This statement excludes
Israeli or Israel-related
series/films, Holocaust-
related works and some
small budget films about a
Jewish family.
For the first time, I am
recommending that my read-
ers subscribe to a stream-
ing service, if only for two
months. The regular price is
$5 a month. The Offer series
ends in mid-June, so for
$10 you can see it all. Plus,
Paramount is bringing out
of its vault all the Godfather
films and begins streaming
them on Paramount+ around
the 28th.
All 10 episodes were writ-
ten by Michael Tolkin, 71.
The really Jewish aspect of

this series starts with him.
His father was comedy writer
Mel Tolkin (1913-2007). Born
Shmuel Tolchinsky in a shetl
near Odessa (Ukraine), Mel
and his family fled pogroms
(1926) and settled in Canada.
He moved to New York
(1946) and quickly stopped
being an accountant and
became a top TV comedy
writer for Sid Caesar, Danny
Kaye and many others.
Michael’s credits include
writing the acclaimed 1993
film The Player (from his
novel of the same name)
and co-creating Escape
at Dannemora (2018), a
well-received Showtime
mini-series. He met his wife,
author and psychologist
Wendy Mogel, 71, in college
(Google her!). The couple
became practicing Jews in
the 1990s and, after a year
of Talmud and Torah study,
Mogel began incorporating
Jewish religious teachings
into child-rearing books for
“everyone.”
Four of the episodes were
directed by Adam Arkin,
65, the son of Alan Arkin,
88. Adam is best known as
an actor. After the first three
episodes stream, I’ll return
to The Offer with comments
about how the Jewish char-
acters were depicted. Right
now, here are the real-life
Jewish characters in the
series, who plays them, and
the Jewish actors who play
non-Jewish characters. All
those listed appear in all 10
episodes.
Here goes: (1) Robert
Evans (1930-2019) was the
(very handsome) head of
Paramount studio when The
Godfather was made. He is
played by Matthew Goode, a
good-looking Brit.
(2) Albert Ruddy, now
92, was the principal pro-

ducer of The Godfather.
He is played by Miles Teller,
whose paternal grandfather
was Jewish.
(3) Francis Ford Coppola,
the (Italian-Catholic) direc-
tor of The Godfather. He is
played by Dan Fogler, 45,
who looks a lot like Coppola.

(4) Charles Bludhorn
(1926-1983), was the owner
of Paramount studio.
Records show he was born
Jewish in Austria, but he hid
his Jewish background. He
is played by Burn Gorman,
a Brit.
(5) Peter Bart, now 89.
Formerly a journalist, he
became a Paramount pro-
ducer in 1967. He worked
closely with Evans and
Ruddy on The Godfather.
His parents were secu-
lar Jews, the children of
Austrian Jewish immigrants.
Bart is played by Josh
Zuckerman, 37, who is hard
to run-down. I believe his
father is Jewish; mother, not.
(6) Ali MacGraw, now
83. Best known as the star
of Love Story (1970), she
wed Evans in 1969. Her
marriage-ending affair with
Steve McQueen began
around the time The
Godfather was being made.
MacGraw found out as an
adult that her Jewish mother

hid her background from her
and her bigoted father.
(7) Francoise Wizenberg
Glazer (1937-2014). She
was Albert Ruddy’s wife
during the making of The
Godfather. Born in France,
she survived the Holocaust
in hiding. After the war,
she moved to Israel, then
came to the States in 1955.
She wed a wealthy Jewish
industrialist, they divorced,
and she married Ruddy.
She is played by Nora
Arnezeder, 32, a very pret-
ty French actress. Nora’s
father is Austrian Catholic.
Her mother is Sephardi and
Nora identifies as Jewish.
Nora’s great-grandparents
were Italian Jews who set-
tled (1914) in Egypt. Nora’s
mother and “grands” had to
leave Egypt in 1956. (Nora
co-starred in the TV series
Zoo with Farmington Hills
native James Wolk, 37). (
8) Mario Biaggi, a Bronx
(not Jewish) congressman.
He’s played by Danny
Nucci, 53. His parents were
Moroccan Jews. He spent
his first seven years in Italy,
then moved to the States.
(9) Dean Tavoularis, now
89, an Oscar-winning pro-
duction designer. He is
played by Eric Balfour, 44, a
“steady-working” TV actor.

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ARTS&LIFE

BY FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CINE EN GUADALAJARA

Michael Tolkin

BY KINGKONGPHOTO

Adam Arkin in 1999

BY KELEIGHK

Nora Arnezede

48 | APRIL 28 • 2022