58 | NOVEMBER 10 • 2022
JEWISH DETECTIVE
SERIES, SPIELBERG’S
FAMILY MOVIE, THE LAST
VETS
The Calling, an eight-
episode series, begins
streaming on Peacock
Nov. 10. It is loosely based
on The Missing File, a
novel (2013) by Israeli
Dror Mishani, 47. The
central character of The
Calling is NYPD detective
Avraham Avraham. He is
a special investigator in
Crown Heights, a Brooklyn
neighborhood where many
Chasidic Jews live.
Jeff Wilbusch, 34,
plays Avraham. He told
TV Guide: “His [Avraham]
calling is solving missing
persons and homicide
cases thorough uncanny
observational abilities.”
Ben Shenkman, 54, a
veteran character actor,
has a supporting role as a
rabbi.
Wilbusch, born Iftach
Wilbuschewitz, was born
and raised in Israel in
a Chasidic family (he
has 13 siblings). He’s
best known for playing
Moishe Lefkovitch, a lead
character in the hit Netflix
series Unorthodox. (The
“paid part” of Peacock only
costs $5 a month, with ads,
or $10 without ads).
The Fablemans, a
Steven Spielberg film
that’s “sort of” about
his life, will open in Los
Angeles and New York
theaters on Nov. 12. It will
open “wide” on Nov. 23.
The Nov. 12 opening will
be followed by a flood
of reviews and other
coverage. Frankly, you’ll be
able to see so much about
this “Oscar-likely” film in
media outlets that I will just
give you the “bare bones”
here,
The film was directed
by Spielberg and was
co-written by Spielberg,
75, and Tony Kushner, 66.
Here’s the official
description: “Growing up
in post-WWII Arizona from
age 7 to 18, a [Jewish]
young man named
Sammy Fabelman [‘think’
Spielberg] discovers a
shattering family secret
and explores how the
power of films can help
him see the truth.”
Non-Jewish actors play
Sammy’s mother, father
and Sammy (respectively,
Michelle Williams, Paul
Dano and Gabriel LaBelle).
Jewish actors with big
parts include Seth Rogen,
40, as a close family
friend of the Fabelmans
who Sammy calls “Uncle
Benny”; Judd Hirsch, 87,
as Sammy’s great-uncle;
and Jeannie Berlin, 71,
as Sammy’s paternal
grandmother. Berlin’s
mother, the great Elaine
May, 90, is still “very much
alive” in every sense.
A cinephile friend saw
the film and he told me
“the secret.” Without
spoiling things, I will say:
There was a shattering
family secret in the real
Spielberg family. But
the “real Steven” didn’t
ferret that out when
he was a teen, unlike
the film’s“Steven-like”
character. Spielberg was
told that secret as a young
adult. So, if you view the
film, realize it is not a blow-
by-blow memoir.
In a future column, I
may spill this secret. It’s
a secret Spielberg has
candidly talked about
before. By the way, my
friend told me that he’s
sure The Fablemans will
“sweep the Oscars.”
WWII VETERANS
The bloody war in Ukraine,
which was also a bloody
WWII battleground, and
Veterans’ Day (Nov. 11),
made me think about the
surviving WWII veterans.
I am quite sure this is the
last time I can compile a
list of any size of Jewish
and non-Jewish WWII vets
who became famous after
the war. Surprisingly, half
are Jewish. Look online for
more bio details.
Jewish vets: Mel Brooks,
96 (Army, saw combat);
comedic jack-of-all-trades;
Alan Bergman, 98 (Army).
He wrote the lyrics for
many hit songs (“The Way
We Were” is just one).
His co-writer was his
wife, Marilyn Bergman.
She died this year, age
93. Also a vet: Shecky
Greene, 96 (Navy, saw
combat), a very popular
comedian, especially in Las
Vegas. Greene was very
spry in the most recent
interview (2019) I could
find. A Jewish YouTube
channel (“JBS”) spoke to
him. About his service,
Shecky said this: “Guys on
my ship asked me about
the [Jewish] star around
my neck. I told them: It
means I am the sheriff
of the ship.” Other vets:
Bernard Kalb, 100 (Army),
a CBS international news
reporter for three decades;
Henry Kissinger, 99 (Army,
saw combat), former
Secretary of State; Norman
Lear, 100 (Army Air Force,
saw combat), creator of
many great TV sitcoms;
and Newton Minow, 96
(Army, saw combat), former
head of the FCC, who
famously called TV “a vast
wasteland.”
Non-Jews: Bob Barker,
98 (Army), game show
host; Harry Belafonte, 95
(Navy), singer/actor; Tony
Bennett, 96 (Army, saw
combat), singer; Roger
Corman, 96 (Navy), film
director/producer; Norman
Jewison, 96 (Canadian
Navy), director (Fiddler
on the Roof); Dick Van
Dyke, 96 (Army), actor;
and Pope Benedict XVI,
96, born Joseph Ratzinger.
His family was anti-Nazi,
but he was forced into the
German armed forces near
the war’s end. Didn’t do
anything “evil.”
CELEBRITY NEWS
NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST
ARTS&LIFE
MARTIN KRAFT
Jeff Wilbusch
GAGE SKIDMORE
Stephen Spielberg
ANGELA GEORGE
Mel Brooks