I find it quite upsetting, in a way, that Bernard Levin despises Woody Allen to such an extent he feels obliged to cross the street if he is passing a cinema where one of Allen's movies is playing. Upsetting, because I admire Levin and adore Allen (not all the movies, granted, but very many). I also dig, for the record, Groucho Marx, Lenny Bruce, Zero Mostel, Mike Nichols and Elaine May... the list goes on...
In Venice, I head straight for Gam-Gam, to enjoy kosher cuisine (they make their own iced tea, a drink I first learned to enjoy in Italy) and soak up the atmosphere of the Ghetto (kids playing, craft workshops, kosher food shops...).
Excellent, isn't it, that Ralph Lauren should have made so much out of traditional WASP attire? Think about anti-semitism in the US in the same way you think about Billie having to go round to the back door of the resturant to be given so much as a sandwich...
If black is cool, then Jew is very, very hip. Look at the East End and around parts of north London. Look at Soho: Ronnie Scott's. Think of the young Feld and his mates zipping around on their scooters... the great Alfie Bass... all those tailors and cutters whose traditions fed creatively into mod...
What would the gentile be without Jewish inspiration?
he'd be nothing i'd say
You're quite right and to be honest i'd never thought about that... very interesting
great stuffs
hope theres more to say\ about it
Well, yes, there was the nebbish Jewish skinhead in Richard Allen's book (better in some ways than it's given credit for, e.g. discussing the changes made to the docks).
Just dealing in massive generalisations here, K!
All I really remember is that ditsy Southern tart the main character is screwing around with and the Wall Street guy with Tweety Pie on his suspenders (I think I've got it right...)...
It's a story I tell... I'm a WASPy, white-bread, happily married family man but I'm absolutely the product of Gay Jewish culture.
My own sort never really did all that much for me in reality. It took an older and more generous culture to encourage me to explore the world and to really bring me out.
And it's a debt I'm very happy to owe.
Did we ever do a thread on "Ivy Mentors"? It might be fun to play with.
Jews have always served WASPS as tailors, bankers and lawyers.
The point being what precisely?
Apologies: that sounds brusque and offensive. Could you perhaps define the relationship a little?
Jim's right; hence my interest in the subject. My original observations should perhaps have been restricted to England, where Jews make up about only 1% of the total population. My Jewish acquaintances are always up to something: standing for the council, charity work etc. They tend to be 'movers and shakers' at multiple levels.
My main interest, naturally, is in how Jewish energy and intelligence feeds the various sub-cultures that often underpin either 'mod' or 'modernism'. This is to put on one side, albeit temporarily, the WASP Ivy elements coming via the universities, the pages of 'Esquire' etc. and focus on, for example, the 'hipster', who found/finds so much in common with, say, black jazz musicians. Wasn't Dustin Hoffman fired from his waiting job at the Village Gate for paying more attention to the musicians on stage than his prospective punters?
I'm interested in the restrictions that were placed upon American Jews in clubs etc. as guyed by Groucho Marx and Woody Allen ('The Moose' sketch): not too sure how these places managed to get away with it. Anyone know? rs?
J(acobi)Press
Marty Feldman.
"Damn your eyes!"
"Too late"
Gone but not forgotten. There was no one else quite like you.