50 | DECEMBER 14 • 2023
WHO’S WHO IN MAESTRO;
A NEW WONKA; TEDDY
BEARS, A “KOSHER” DOLL
Maestro, a bio pic about
Leonard Bernstein (1918-
1990), opened in a limited
number of theaters on Nov.
22 (to be eligible for Oscars)
and premieres on Netflix on
Dec. 20. The reviews range
from raves to “mixed.”
Here’s “stuff” that will not
be in most reviews: The
characters are all “real”
people — and most were
Jewish. About half of the
cast is Jewish, too. I can
only devote a few words to
each person. All have bios
online.
The film covers a 30-year
period — roughly the time
of Bernstein’s marriage
to actress Felicia Cohn
Montealegre (1951) until
her death in 1978, age
56. Bradley Cooper plays
Leonard. He also directed
the film, and he co-wrote
the script with Josh Singer,
51. Carey Mulligan plays
Felicia.
The rest of the cast in
credit order: Matt Bomer
as David Oppenheim, a
top music producer and
Bernstein’s lover for a
brief time; Maya Hawke as
Jamie Bernstein, now 71,
Leonard’s daughter; Sarah
Silverman, 52, as Shirley
Bernstein, Leonard’s sister;
Michael Urie as choreog-
rapher/director Jerome
Robbins; Brian Klugman,
48, as “super-star” com-
poser Aaron Copland;
Gideon Glick, 35, as Tom
Cothran, radio music
director and, for a time,
Leonard’s lover; Sam Nivola
as Alexander Bernstein,
now 68, Leonard’s son;
and Alexa Swinton, 14, as
Nina Bernstein, now 61,
Leonard’s daughter.
Do check out the follow-
ing. Jamie Bernstein wrote
a memoir about her parents
in 2018. She gave a terrific
lecture about her parents
in 2018 at a Connecticut
synagogue. View it on
YouTube. The title of the
video has the same title
as her memoir. Jamie
Bernstein — Famous Father
Girl: A Memoir of Growing
Up Bernstein.
Bradley Cooper’s Nov. 22
NPR radio interview with
New Yorker chief editor
David Remnick, 65, was
terrific, too. Search YouTube
for “The New Yorker Radio
Hour: NPR.”
Wonka opens in theaters
on Dec. 15. It is the third
major Wonka movie.
The first was Willie
Wonka and The Chocolate
Factory (1971), a musical
romp for the whole fami-
ly starring the late, great
Gene Wilder in the title
role. The 1971 film didn’t do
well in theaters but became
immensely popular over
time. The second film was
essentially a remake of the
1971 movie. It was titled
Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory (2005) and starred
Johnny Depp. It made
money, but many didn’t like
it.
Wonka stars Timothée
Chalamet, 27, as Wonka.
The new film is a prequel
to the two previous Wonka
films. It tells the story of
how Wonka, a young man,
got into the chocolate busi-
ness.
Chalamet grew up in
Manhattan. His father is of
French Protestant back-
ground and his American
mother is Jewish. While
Chalamet is not religious,
he identifies as Jewish. (The
rest of the cast is almost
all British and none are
Jewish.)
Wonka features new
songs by two British com-
posers. Chalamet, reports
say, can really sing and
dance. However, the two
trailers didn’t feature any
musical moments.
Last week, while shop-
ping for Chanukah, I wasn’t
surprised to see a teddy
bear wearing a sweater
with a Star of David on it.
Cute, of course. I vaguely
remembered reading that
American Jews created
the original Teddy Bear.
Right after that, I got the
December issue of the
Smithsonian. It laid out the
origin story, even if it left out
the Jewish angle.
Here’s the story: In
1902, President Theodore
Roosevelt was on a bear
hunting trip in Mississippi.
No bears were found for
several days. His guides
procured an old, sick bear
and chained it to a tree.
Roosevelt was appalled,
wouldn’t shoot it and had
the bear euthanized. A
newspaper cartoon turned
the old bear into a cute cub
that Roosevelt wouldn’t
shoot.
Morris Michtom (1869-
1938), an immigrant candy
and notions store owner in
Brooklyn, thought a “cub
doll” would sell and had his
wife, Rose, sew a stuffed
version. It sold as soon as
it was in the store window.
More dolls sold quickly.
Michtom named it Teddy’s
Bear (1903) and he mailed
a Teddy Bear to the White
House and asked Roosevelt
to approve using his name.
He got that permission.
About the same time, the
German Steiff Company,
coincidentally, began mak-
ing stuffed bears. But that
competition didn’t stop the
formerly penniless Michtom
and his wife. He founded
the Ideal Toy Company.
By the 1950s, Ideal, which
remained in family hands
until 1982, was the world’s
biggest dollmaker. A big
hit for decades was the
Betsy-Wetsy (1934) doll. In
the 1970s, it had a hit with
Rubik’s Cube.
Nice to note: The
Michtoms were generous
donors to many Jewish
charities and causes.
CELEBRITY NEWS
NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST
ARTS&LIFE
JACK MITCHELL
Leonard Bernstein
PUBLIC DOMAIN
Morris Michtom
HOLLYWOOD FILM ACADEMY/YOUTUBE
Timothée Chalamet