56 | DECEMBER 26 • 2024
J
N

DYLAN MOVIE AND MORE
A Complete Unknown, a biop-
ic about Bob Dylan, opened in
theaters on Dec. 25. Dylan was
born (1941) Robert Zimmerman,
the son of Abraham, a small-time
Minnesota appliance store owner.
Bob was 19 when he left Duluth
and moved to New York City (early
1961).
Yes, Dylan had a bar mitzvah
and spent several summers at
a Wisconsin Jewish camp. From
about 1978 to about 1984, he
seemed to follow Christianity. This
was followed by him appearing at
Chabad Chasidic events. Where
he now stands (religiously) will
probably be somewhat murky
until — and after — the day he dies
(even if he has a Jewish funeral).
I can add that Bob had five
children with Sara, his first wife,
who is Jewish (1965-77). All five
had bar/bat mitzvahs. He had one
child, a daughter, with his second
wife, African American singer
Carolyn Dennis (1986-92). I don’t
know anything about this daugh-
ter’s religious background.
From advance publicity, we
know that Complete Unknown
covers Dylan’s arrival in NYC; his
early folk music years (c. 1960-
64); and his decision (1964-65)
to embrace “electric” rock music.
In his folk years, he wrote some
famous songs that explicitly
protested racism and war (like
“Blowin’ in the Wind”). His rock
songs (like, “Like a Rolling Stone”)
were often social critiques, but
their message(s) weren’t so explic-
it. (Dylan’s move to rock upset
“old” fans, and it is a major issue in
the latter part of the film).
Timothée Chalamet, 28, plays
Dylan. The actor is on a hot streak
now. He starred in two “monster”
hits in the last two years: Dune
and Wonka. In Wonka, Chalamet
proved that he could really sing.
A released Complete trailer let
us know that Chalamet could be

made up to look like Dylan and
that he can almost perfectly imitate
Dylan’s singing voice.
Various good sources are pre-
dicting that Chalamet will get a
best actor Oscar nomination. If he
wins at the 2024 Oscars ceremony
(held on March 2, 2025), he’ll be
the youngest person, ever, to win
the best actor Oscar. He will be a
few months younger than Adrien
Brody (The Pianist) was when
Brody won at the 2002 Oscars
ceremony.
As I have noted before,
Chalamet is the son of an
American Jewish mother and a
French Protestant father. He’s
essentially secular but identifies as
Jewish.
There are four other Jewish
characters in Complete Unknown,
but only one is played by a Jewish
actor. Dan Fogler, 48, plays Albert
Grossman (1926-1986). He was
most famous as Dylan’s agent and
the agent of Peter, Paul and Mary
(Peter Yarrow, now 86, is Jewish).
Grossman arranged for Peter,
Paul and Mary to record (1962)
“Blowin’ in the Wind” right after
Dylan wrote the song. Their
recording was a best seller, and it
jump started the trio’s career and
Dylan’s career.
Grossman was a “tough” guy
who made good recording and
concert deals for his clients.
However, the large take he took
from Dylan’s income (25%) and
song publishing royalties (50%),
led Dylan to end their contract in

1970.
The others: Harold Leventhal

(1919-2005), was a top jazz and
“folkie” manager and song pub-
lisher. He was often referred to
as a “mensch” who got his clients
fair deals; Al Kooper, now 80,
was a top rock guitarist. Also, he
created and played the now “icon-
ic” organ riffs for “Like a Rolling
Stone”; and Mike Bloomfield
(1943-81), an incredibly good
guitarist who, along with Kooper,
played on Dylan’s first rock album
(1965). Kooper and Bloomfield are
in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
James Mangold, 63, directed
the Dylan film, and he co-wrote
the screenplay. His mother, artist
Sylvia Plimack Mangold, 86, is
Jewish, and James identifies as
“half-Jewish.” His father, artist
Robert Mangold, 87, isn’t Jewish.
Mangold has directed 13 films
since 1997, and he’s written or
co-written most of these films.
Every film, except for the most
recent Indiana Jones flick (2023),
has gotten good reviews and has
made a lot of money. Here’s a few:
Walk the Line (2005), about sing-
er Johnny Cash (a close friend of
Dylan); 3:10 to Yuma (2007); and

Logan (2017).

ROCK NOTES
A few more rock notes: the
Kennedy Center Honors ceremony
took place on Dec. 8. You can view
it on Paramount+ and most of the
ceremony will end up on YouTube
(free) in the months to come. The
entire Grateful Dead band (living
and not) were inducted. The Dead
long had two drummers. One of
the drummers, Mickey Hart, 81, is
Jewish. He played Israel (solo) in
2013. (By the way, the Dead often
collaborated with Dylan).

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

CELEBRITY NEWS
ARTS&LIFE

RAPH_PH

Bob Dylan

Timothée Chalamet

IMDB

Dan Fogler

GAGE SKIDMORE