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