90 | SEPTEMBER 14 • 2023 

NOT A NICE DAY IN THE 
PARK AND THE MAMA’S 
DAUGHTER

Wilderness is an original 
Amazon Prime mystery-thrill-
er series that will premiere 
Sept. 15. Oddly, the number 
of episodes isn’t stated 
anywhere. Amazon never 
“drops” a whole season 
when a show premieres. 
So, be ready to follow it 
for “about” 10 successive 
weeks.
Here’s the basic plot: 
Wilderness revolves around 
a British couple Liv (Jenna 
Coleman) and Will (Oliver 
Jackson-Cohen, 36) who 
seem to have it all: a 
rock-solid marriage and a 
glamorous new life in New 
York. Then Liv learns about 
Will’s affair. Her heartbreak 
is followed by furious rage, 
and she wants revenge.
Will proposes a trip 
around America’s epic 
National Parks to give their 
relationship a fresh start. 
Liv thinks the trip will give 
her opportunities to get 
revenge. 
Four Jewish actors are 
“top credited,” but except 
for Jackson-Cohen, it is 
unclear (now) if the other 
three will appear in every 
episode. They are Jonathan 
Keltz, Talia Balsam and Eric 

Balfour. 
Jackson-Cohen, a very 
handsome fellow, is best 
known for playing the title 
role in The Invisible Man, a 
2020 film, and for his lead 
role in the two Haunting 
series on Netflix (2018 and 
2020). Critics liked Invisible 
Man, and it made a lot of 
money. The Haunting series 
got “thumbs-up” from critics 
and Netflix viewers. 
Jackson-Cohen’s late 
father, David, and his 
Orthodox Jewish family 
left Egypt in the 1950s and 
settled in the U.K. David’s 
widow, and Oliver’s mother, 
is fashion designer Betty 
Jackson. She isn’t Jewish. In 
a couple of interviews, 
Jackson-Cohen talked about 
his Jewish background but 
didn’t discuss his religious 
upbringing. 
Keltz, 34, is also the son 
of a Jewish father and a 
non-Jewish mother. He 
was raised (only) celebrat-
ing Jewish holidays. He 
was born in New York, but 
mostly grew up in Toronto. 
He had a recurring role on 
Entourage, an HBO series, 
and he had a biggish role 
in Reign, a CW series. He 
plays Detective Wiseman in 
Wilderness. 
Talia Balsam, 64, plays 
“Bonnie” in Wilderness. 
Balsam is the daughter 
of the late actor Martin 

Balsam, an Oscar winner. 
Her mother is non-Jewish 
actress Joyce Van Patten, 
now 89. Her parents’ mar-
riage was brief. I don’t 
believe Talia has ever talked 
about her religious back-
ground. 
Talia has worked steadily 
since 1979, but never hit it 
“big.” Sadly, until George 
Clooney remarried in 2014, 
and had kids, Talia was most 
famous as George Clooney’s 
“only” wife (1989-93). She 
had a recurring role on 
Mad Men as the wife, and 
ex-wife, of star character 
Roger Sterling. Roger was 
played by John Slattery, 
Balsam’s real-life husband.
Balfour, 46, plays “Garth” 
in Wilderness. He’s worked 
steadily since 2000, with big 
recurring roles on Six Feet 
Under and 24. Both his par-
ents are Jewish. In 2015, he 
wed fashion designer Erin 
Chiamulon, and they have 
two children. Erin’s father 
is of Greek (not Jewish) 
background. Her mother is 
Jewish. Her Jewish grand-
mother’s obit noted that she 
was very involved in the 
Jewish community (choir 
and counseling). 
The third season of the 
Apple TV+ series The 
Morning Show began on 
Sept. 13. Apple, like Amazon, 
doles out episodes (10 per 
season) every week. I think 
The Morning Show is one of 
the best series anywhere. 
But it works better, I think, 
if you binge watch a whole 
season. 
This week, I was going 
to lay out the background 
of Julianne Margulies, a 
Morning Show star. But I 
just discovered a recent, 
but almost obscure video 
interview with Margulies. It 
provides so much info about 
her Jewish community activ-
ities that I have to briefly 

postpone my Morning Show 
and Margulies item.
Not that long ago, I 
happened on an online 
bio of “Mama” Cass Elliot 
(1941-1974), the very tal-
ented Jewish member of 
the Mamas and the Papas, 
the famous 1960s group. 
It noted that Cass had one 
child, a daughter named 
Owen Elliot-Kugell (born 
1967). After her mother’s 
death, Owen was raised by 
Cass’ sister, Leah (also a 
singer).
I looked elsewhere and 
found out that Owen mar-
ried (1991) Jack Kugell, a 
versatile music producer. 
They have two children. 
Jack’s father, the late Marty 
Kugell, produced (1956) “In 
the Still of the Night,” a “doo-
wop” classic. 
I was 99% sure Jack 
Kugell, now 57, is Jewish. 
Then I asked a Jewish 
friend, an “oldies” DJ, about 
Jack. He had already con-
firmed that Jack was Jewish. 
It’s nice that Cass’s daughter 
married a Jewish guy with 
maybe the cutest, and “most 
tasty” Jewish last name I’ve 
ever come across. 
Owen and Michelle 
Phillips (of the Mamas and 
Papas) were on hand when 
Cass got (October 2022) a 
star on the Hollywood Walk 
of Fame. 

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ARTS&LIFE

BY GREG2600 

Oliver Jackson-Cohen

IMDB

Jonathan Keltz

PINTEREST

Owen Elliott-Kugell

