52 | JANUARY 19 • 2023

AUTO, MARKLE’S EX,
LOVING LEAH

American Auto, the hit NBC
comedy series about a
Detroit-based automobile
company, begins its second
season (Jan. 24; 8:30 p.m.)
with two new episodes. The
series was created by Justin
Spitzer, 45, and co-stars Jon
Barinholtz, 43, (the brother
of actor Ike Barinholtz).
Next week, I may add
to what I just wrote. The
Jewish director of the Auto
third episode (airs Jan. 31)
just contacted me, and I may
get some interesting details
about that episode — and
more.
We all have seen the
news tsunami surrounding
Prince Harry and his wife,
Meghan Markle. You might
already know that Markle’s
first husband was Trevor
Engelson, 46, a Jewish
guy. He’s the founder of an
entertainment production
company that seems
successful. Engelson dated
Markle for seven years
and they married (secular
ceremony) in 2011. They
divorced in 2014 and Markle
married Harry in 2017.
Engelson seems to have a
strict policy about not talking
to anyone about Markle. I
thought about it: What does
he have to gain? People talk
“dirt” to the press for two
reasons: revenge and/or
money. Engelson’s divorce
seemed to have been
amicable, and he certainly
doesn’t need the money
tabloids would pay him.
There’s the money he
earns and the money
his wife, Tracey Kurland
Engelson, 36, will or has
inherited. The couple
married in 2019 and have

two children. Tracey, a
dietician, is the daughter
of Stanford “Stan”
Kurland (1952-2021). He
was a big-time mortgage
company exec (Penny-Mac,
Countrywide) and many
sources say that Tracey has
or will get millions.
It was a slog, but I
confirmed in public records
that Stan Kurland was
Jewish. I am 99% sure that
Stan’s widow, and Tracey’s
mother, Sheila Kurland, is
the daughter of a Jewish
father and a non-Jewish
mother.
Engelson and Markle
re-married very rich
spouses. I think most people
would prefer Engleson’s
“out of the limelight” life.
Loving Leah, a 2009
Hallmark film that aired
on CBS, “reappeared” this
past week. I liked this very
Jewish film when I first saw
it. After its only TV showing,
Loving Leah mostly
disappeared. It could only
be found on pay-per view
services.
For some reason, last
week Leah began streaming
for free (with ads) on the
Pluto and Xumo channels.
Pluto is pretty well known.
Xumo is a newish streaming
channel. Both can be
viewed online, or on Roku,
Amazon Fire and on some
Xfinity “options.” Tip: Xumo
has hardly any ads.
Here’s the “back-story”
and just part of the plot:
P’nenah Goldstein, now
about 55, wrote a “little”
play about Leah, a Chasidic
rabbi’s young wife. As the
play begins, she is widowed
when her husband suddenly
dies.
Leah is childless, and
traditional Jewish law
requires that her husband’s
unmarried brother marry
her. The rabbi’s only brother,

Jake, is a doctor who is
not religious at all. He is
informed of this “obligation,”
and he is also told that there
is a Jewish ceremony that
will allow him to be released
from this obligation.
A movie script followed
the play. The script sat in
“limbo” until Ricki Lake, now
54, happened to read it. She
took it to Hallmark and got
the movie made. Lake plays
a “very warm” Reform rabbi
in Loving Leah.
Natasha Lyonne, now
42, plays Leah’s devoted
sister, and Susie Essman,
now 67 (Curb Your
Enthusiasm) plays Leah’s
devout and forceful mother.
Adam Kaufman, the non-
religious son of a Jewish
father and non-Jewish
mother, plays Jake. Kaufman
relayed his family
background in an interview
I did with him just before
Leah premiered. I recall
that Kaufman, now 47, was
a pleasant guy who simply
recited much of the Leah

plot, and little more.
The film’s stand-out actor
is Lauren Ambrose, who
isn’t Jewish, but is just
great as Leah. Ambrose
got splendid reviews in
HBO’s Six Feet Under (2001-
05). But, since then, she
has not got the TV/movie
parts she deserves. She
sings beautifully and has
had success on Broadway
(lead in My Fair Lady; 2018
revival).
Loving Leah isn’t great,
but it is good. It’s good
because it exists. A large-
budget Jewish TV film
like Leah is “super-rare.”
It’s good because it deftly
manages to put American
Judaism and a very sweet
romance at its center. It
also manages to be
respectful toward the
Orthodox and the Reform
communities. And it shows
the struggle of some women
to remain very observant,
while being “more in the
world.”
If, by some miracle,
Leah was remade today,
Timothee Chalamet, 27,
would be the perfect choice
to play the adult Jake.
When Chalamet was 13, he
acted in Loving Leah. He
played the “Young Jake” in
a brief, flash-back scene.
Chalamet has the “dramatic
acting chops” that Adam
Kaufman didn’t have. “Young
Jake” was Chalamet’s first
movie role.

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ARTS&LIFE

BY MINGLE MEDIATV

Ricki Lake

BY PEABODY AWARDS

Natasha Lyonne

IMDB

Adam Kaufman