44 | MARCH 7 • 2024
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ARTS&LIFE

T

he Oscars will be
presented on Sunday,
March 10 (ABC; 7
p.m.). Jimmy Kimmel will
host. The Governors’ Awards
(Honorary Oscars) were pre-
sented last November. Mel
Brooks, 97, was one of three
awardees. He gave an amusing
short speech (on YouTube).
Here are the Jewish nominees
in all but the “technical” cate-
gories (like costumes, makeup
and sound).

This is the oddest year I’ve
ever seen. No Jewish actor or
actress was nominated for play-
ing a non-Jew and five actors/
actresses were nominated for
playing “real” Jews. But only
one of the five has a “claim” to
being Jewish.
In the best actor category,
there is Cillian Murphy as phys-
icist J. Robert Oppenheimer
in Oppenheimer and Bradley
Cooper as Leonard Bernstein
in Maestro.
Carey Mulligan, a best
actress nominee, played
Felicia Montealgre Bernstein
(Leonard’s wife) in Maestro,
and Jodie Foster, a support-
ing actress nominee, is up for
playing Bonnie Stoll (now 71),
Diana Nyad’s swim coach and
best friend in Nyad.
That leaves Robert Downey
Jr., 58, a supporting actor
nominee. He’s up for playing
Lewis Strauss, a government

official, in Oppenheimer.
Downey’s mother was not
Jewish. His paternal grandfa-
ther was Jewish, and his pater-
nal grandmother had a Jewish
mother.
Downey will probably win
the Oscar. So, some detail is
called for. Downey’s father, the
late director Robert Downey
Sr., was born Robert Elias. He
took the name of his stepfather
(“Downey”). In 1992, Downey
Jr. said Downey Sr. changed his

name to enlist, underage, in the
army. In a 2022 documentary,
Downey Sr. said he changed
his name to avoid antisemitism
in the service. (Robert Jr. has a
tattoo that says “Elias.
”)
No doubt, Downey Jr.
’s ties
to “Jewishness” were greatly
enhanced by his (2005) mar-
riage to Susan Levin Downey,
now 50. She was an important
producer when they married.
They wed in a Jewish ceremo-
ny. They have a son, Exton,
12 (his middle name is Elias),
and a daughter, Avri (a Hebrew
name). She’s 9.
Downey Jr. always credits
Susan with helping him remain
sober and with revitalizing his
career. He sings her praises
every time he wins an award.
After their marriage, Downey
Jr. began calling himself “Jew-
Bu” (Jewish and Buddhist) and,
just a month ago, he was spot-
ted wearing a chai. However,

The Most Complete
Guide to Jewish
Oscar Nominees
Oscar Nominees

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ANGELA GEORGE, WIKIPEDIA

Mel Brooks

GAGE SKIDMORE, WIKIPEDIA

Robert
Downey Jr.