Thursdays – Famous Jewish Personalities in Politics, Science, Music and Art
4/16, 4/23 & 4/30 @ 3:00 PM/ CH
Instructor: Stuart Liss
4/16 Joey Bishop was the comedian, actor, and TV show host who warmed up audiences before his fellow Rat Pack members crooned their way into their hearts. But a feud between Bishop and Frank Sinatra sent him packing from the pack. His exile from the infamous Rat Pack came with consequences.
4/23 House of Unamerican Activities and Hollywood
Hollywood and the structures that prop it up—from the movie studios to the tabloids—seems like immutable forces that have been around forever. But really, several people and institutions-built Hollywood from the ground up in the early 20th century. As it became the behemoth we know today, people on every level tested their limits. Early scandals led to attempts, like the Hays Code and the HUAC hearings, to rein the whole industry in. But, in one lesser-known case, the stars themselves attempted to fight back against part of the Hollywood machine they felt had gone too far. That case became known as the “Trial of a Hundred Stars”
4/30 Barbra Streisand’s career is the stuff of Hollywood legend. From almost the very beginning, her outsized talent, perfectionism, and loyalty to her own genius have made men fall for her and fight with her—sometimes at the same time. Yet the public’s perception of Streisand is only half the story, and her personal dramas go deeper than you think.
