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