Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History 

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

62 | JUNE 23 • 2022 

M

y brother gave me some inside 
information a few months ago. 
He’s an executive vice president 
at Paramount Films, and he said: “Top Gun: 
Maverick [the sequel to Top Gun] is going 
to be a major box-office hit. It’s the first 
old-fashioned, got-to-see-it-at-the-theater 
production released by Hollywood in a 
long, long time.
” 
Indeed, the film made 
a Memorial Day weekend 
record $156 million in 
America and $320 million 
worldwide.
The original Top Gun is 
one of those movies that 
had a major impact upon 
American cultural. Of course, I wondered 
— what would I find about the film in the 
William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish 
Detroit History?
First, there 53 mentions using the term 
“Top Gun.
” All but one occurs after the 
movie’s release in 1988. Before then, there 
was only one sad mention that Sgt. Charles 
Shapiro, a “top gunner” in a bomber, was 
reported missing over Europe (April 23, 
1943, JN). 
After 1988, “Top Gun” becomes a 
colloquial, common-use term to denote 
a person of high-skill and/or standing. 
For example, see an article in the July 14, 
1989, issue of the JN about an attempt 
to resuscitate peace plans in the Middle 
East. It began by stating that the Bush 
administration was sending the State 
Department’s “Top Guns” to Israel to 
meet with Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir. 
Likewise, a story on Dec. 8, 1994, was titled 
“U.S. Top Gun Scouts Israel.
” It was about 
the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 
visiting Israel to talk with IDF officers. 
I also found interesting “Top Gun” 
advertisements. Shortly after the movie 
debuted, Mark Shindler, owner of Brody’s 
Boys & Men’s Wear, predicted that the 
leather “Top Gun” Air Force jacket would 

be a very big seller for children up to 
11 years old (March 26, 1988). A Rock 
Financial ad touted a team of brokers as its 
“Top Guns” (March 3, 2011).
The cover story for the Dec. 22, 1995, 
JN issue, “Double Takes,
” is about local 
celebrity lookalikes, including the star 
of Top Gun. Eric Chupack was the Tom 
Cruise doppelganger. By the way, our 
JN columnist, Al Muskovitz, 
did not make the cut for the 
Tom Cruise lookalike, but he 
was cited as a twin of Jason 
Alexander. To this day, Al 
insists he was robbed. 
Maverick Levy from Detroit 
shares the name of Top Gun’s 
hero. The story about him also 
cites his — and his dad’s — very 
nice community mitzvah (Feb. 
23, 2017).
Most important are Detroit 
Jewish connections to the movie 
itself. An article in the May 26, 2005, JN 
is about former Detroiter Jack Epps Jr. At 
that time, Epps had 25 movie scripts to 
his credit, including Legal Eagles and The 
Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas. However, Epps 
noted that “my most popular character 
would be Maverick (Tom Cruise) in Top 
Gun.
” Indeed, one could say that Epps 
created a cultural icon.
Another Hollywood star with Detroit 
roots (1961 Mumford High graduate) 
is the co-producer of Tom Gun, Jerry 
Bruckheimer (See “Big Picture Man,
” Nov. 
10, 2005). Among his many productions 
are the blockbuster movies Beverly Hills Cop 
and Armageddon, but Top Gun may have 
been his best of all. 
Of course, I can tell you that the real 
“Top Gun” around here is the JN editorial 
director! 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation 
archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation.
org.

Top Gun!

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

