Tom Teicholz

Q&A With Mel Brooks

Published on February 23, 2010

Mel Brooks is on a hot streak: He was just a Kennedy Center Honoree (along with Dave Brubeck, Robert De Niro, Grace Bumbry and Bruce Springsteen); 20th Century Fox just released “The Mel Brooks Collection” in Blu-ray — a nine-DVD set that includes “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein” and “Spaceballs,” among other classics; and Shout! Factory has released “The 2000 Year Old Man: The Complete History,” a three-CD, one-DVD set that collects the various incarnations in which Carl Reiner, the world’s greatest straight man, interviews a visitor who’s survived since ancient times and who speaks in a thick Jewish accent to hilarious effect.

Rethinking Kasztner

Published on January 27, 2010

“Killing Kasztner: The Jew Who Dealt With Nazis,” a new documentary, portrays filmmaker Gaylen Ross’ attempt to understand why Reszo (Rudolf) Kasztner, a Hungarian Jewish leader who saved more than 1,600 people in war-time Budapest — more than Oskar Schindler — on the so-called Kasztner train, remains so controversial to this day.

Silver Judaica Still Shines

Published on January 20, 2010

As a tough year ended and a new decade began, it seemed a fair question. While The New York Times has looked to bowling alley attendance as a gauge of our nation’s condition, I turned to Jonathan Greenstein and his recent auction of silver Jewish ritual art, or Judaica, to determine the health, wealth and current condition of the Jewish community.

Los Angeles man says his father was alleged Demjanjuk victim

Published on December 21, 2009

Saul Liskin, who was 6 when his father was killed in a DP camp in Germany — had a shock of recognition when he heard that Demjanjuk was being investigated for possibly running over a man with a truck in a DP camp in German — he realized it was his father.

Lessons From the Not-So-Distant Past

Published on December 3, 2009

History often seems to take place on a stage distant from our own experience — yet the exhibition “Road to Freedom: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1956-1968,” which opened at the Skirball on Nov. 19, reminds us that even our recent past can deliver a strong message for our times.

Extraordinary Oddities

Published on December 3, 2009

Ladies and Gentlemen, are you seeking a spectacle that will amaze, entertain and educate you? An evening in which you will encounter some of the most remarkable figures from the history of entertainment, such as Cinquevalli, “The King of the Jugglers,” or George Anderson, "The Living Skeleton," or perhaps a learned goose, a sapient pig or a singing mouse? A night in which the choice will be yours: to spend time with the famous Siamese twins Chang and Eng, or perhaps the less well known but equally well connected Millie-Christine? Then better hurry, hurry to order tickets because for 10 nights only (Dec. 29, 2009-Jan. 10, 2010), Ricky Jay is bringing his new show to the Geffen Playhouse, a show titled “A Rogue’s Gallery: An Evening of Conversation and Performance.”

Shadows of the Sun

Published on October 20, 2009

When the German forces surrendered to the Allies in May 1945, World War II in Europe ended. However, for the Jewish survivors of the Holocaust, the trauma of what they endured wasn’t over. For many, the effects lingered on in ways large and small, noticeable and not, often in ways their families came to know.

The Kraft of Movie Music

Published on September 16, 2009

“If there’s music in a movie,” said Robert Kraft, president of Fox Music, “whether on screen, or underscore, or someone is playing guitar in a scene, I’m involved.”

What Survives From the Sixties

Published on August 11, 2009

The summer of 1969 was host to a pair of historic events — the moon landing and the Woodstock festival — that seemed to define the ’60s. As we revisit those events this summer, it is fair to ask: What did they mean, what did they accomplish and what parts of the ’60s have meaning today?

Vidiots

Published on August 5, 2009

If you believe all the tech pundits, the future of home movie watching will be moving to “the cloud.” We’re already well on the way to where Netflix DVDs will no longer arrive in the mail and sit, unwatched, on an entryway table. Soon all films and many reruns of TV shows will be downloaded and sit on your hard drive — indeed, this option is already available in many cases.

Spies, Celebs, Classics and More —  Good Reads

Published on June 17, 2009

Budapest Designer Melded Classical With Cutting Edge

Published on May 6, 2009

Can a piece of furniture convey the story of Hungarian Jewry or reveal the genius of a little-known master? The story of a career undercut by anti-Semitism and cut short by death?

JEWBALL

Published on April 23, 2009

Who knew that basketball has a storied Jewish past, or that a non-sports guy like me would ever read, no less enjoy, a book about baseball umpires, Bruce Weber’s “As They See ‘Em” (Scribner, 2009)? Maybe it’s because Passover is a time of miracles — or is that Chanukah? Or Purim? Or the entire sweep of Jewish history? No matter. We’re here to talk sports, a subject I now know a little more about.

City of Images Gets Its Own Photography Scene

Published on March 25, 2009

Los Angeles has long held a fascination with the visual; beholden to looks, surfaces and images, it is a city where even the buildings seem to strike a pose. So it might seem surprising that until now, there’s never been an institution here devoted to photography. But that all changes this week with the opening of the stunning new Annenberg Space for Photography in Century City.

Laud the Life of Grauman, Hollywood’s Gold Standard

Published on March 11, 2009

Ever wonder how the movie industry went from five-cent nickelodeons in New York to the glamour of Hollywood with red carpet premieres and the highest of artistic aspirations? Or why a certain pagoda-like Hollywood movie theater in whose courtyard rest footprints of actors is one of the most beloved and frequented tourist sites on the planet?

Holocaust Movies: Winners and Losers

Published on February 19, 2009

Are Holocaust movies good for the Jews? Or even, for that matter, for society at large?

‘Zap! Pow! Bam!’

Published on February 18, 2009

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s two Jewish kids from Cleveland!

Tom Is ...

Published on January 29, 2009

Tommywood is ... Tom is ... on Facebook. Aren’t you? If you read this column online and are not on Facebook, you will soon be.

The ‘Maus’ that roared

Published on December 25, 2008

Art Spiegelman attended Harpur College in Binghamton, N.Y. It was the '60s! Sex, LSD and combinations of both blew his mind, while trips to San Francisco, the East Village and a Vermont commune put flowers in his hair, or at least in some of his drawings.

L.A.‘s new Grammy Museum: A museum as muse

Published on December 10, 2008

New downtown Grammy Museum reflects on music's importance, even during a time of industry uncertainty

Wild about Diamond

Published on November 12, 2008

David Wild wants you to know that he is an unabashed Neil Diamond fan. So much so that he has written a book titled, "He Is ... I Say: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Neil Diamond"

Kaniuk’s writerly riffs probe Israeli psyche

Published on November 7, 2008

" . . . I'm talking to Shlomo Shva about my daughters, trying to dredge up a little sympathy. He knows about that. The harshest criticism of Israel and the Jews has always come from us. The biggest anti-Semites of all are educated Israelis, and my daughters are as fanatical as they are, but sweeter than most . . . "

Showtime is just this cantor’s day job

Published on October 16, 2008

Levine was in the middle of a Showtime meeting when his assistant interrupted saying "Dustin Hoffman's on the line." Hoffman was not calling to pitch Showtime; instead, he was standing on a soundstage and needed Levine to intone the Kaddish for a movie he was mixing

Steven Spielberg dreams anew

Published on October 1, 2008

What does it mean that Spielberg's other founding partners, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg, are no longer with the company?

Defender of Faith:
Rabbi David Wolpe explains why faith matters

Published on September 18, 2008

As we get older, we no longer ask so many questions aloud. Our questions become more private: Why? Why are we on this earth? Events occur, and we ask: Why me? Or, why not me?

Premier theater complex blossoms on West Side

Published on September 11, 2008

"Without people like the Broads,we wouldn't have commissioned work of Mozart and Bach and Beethoven and so many of the great painters. How they use their capital is commendable." -- Dustin Hoffman

Herb Gold, elder statesman of the Beat Generation, writes on

Published on August 13, 2008

It was at college that he first met Allen Ginsberg. "He was 17. He was a bit crazy, and he was more eccentric than I was," Gold said.

Waxing (Philip) Roth

Published on July 23, 2008

I decided to watch every film adapted from Philip Roth's work. My mission started simply enough: a search on imdb.com turned up eight works on film and TV, stretching back to the 1950s. Some had never been released on video, some are only in VHS, some were available at the local video store, some had to be tracked down in specialty shops or in university or museum archives. My quest led me across Los Angeles and afforded me the pleasure of visiting some of the city's most beautiful libraries and research facilities, as well as some of its best-stocked video stores.

The heart and the drive

Published on July 3, 2008

He was famous for being the first man in Hungary to own a car, and my grandmother kept a clipping from the Royal Hungarian Automobile Society with a picture of him seated at the controls of his Benz with a little girl on the rear rumble seat. Beneath the photo was the caption in Hungarian, German and French, proclaiming "Hatsek Bela le premier automobiliste Hongrois sur son voiture Benz en 1895."

Sandler and the Zohan

Published on June 12, 2008

As to whether "Zohan" will advance the cause of peace in the Middle East and increase regard for Israel and Israelis in the world at large, even as Israel itself celebrates its 60th anniversary, that's hard to say

Trolling between the lines: Collecting titles at Publishers’ BookExpo

Published on June 12, 2008

The last time BookExpo was in Los Angeles, the convention floor was constantly, overwhelmingly crowded, with so many booths that the author autographing section had to be relegated to a basement hall

Jazz: Made in New Orleans

Published on May 29, 2008

Preservation Hall's formula was simple and is followed to this day: No reservations, no food, just music in a small room. Shows began at 8 p.m. Each set lasted around 35 minutes, and tickets were priced low (they're now $10 a show, Wednesday through Sunday)

Post-Zionism in a diaspora world

Published on May 15, 2008

What does it mean to be a Jew in a Post-Zionist world?

Set a place for Shatner at the seder

Published on April 17, 2008

William Shatner is God. And Pharaoh. And Moses, too.

Just in time for Passover, the Jewish Music Group (a division of Shout Factory) has released "Exodus: An Oratorio in Three Parts," performed by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. It is conducted by David Itkin, who created and composed the Oratorio, sung by baritone Paul Rowe and includes dramatic readings from the Bible and from the haggadah, spoken by none other than Shatner.

Tommywood: Where is a book-loving soul to go now?

Published on April 3, 2008

Dutton's Brentwood Books, among the best-known and best-loved of Los Angeles' independent bookstores, will close on April 30.

It is hard not to take this as a sign of the times.

Gang of Actors reaches a new stage

Published on March 13, 2008

The Actors' Gang, now in residence at the historic Ivy Substation in Culver City, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The substation, constructed in 1907 by the Los Angeles Pacific Railroad, looks more like a Spanish mission than an electric power facility, strangely appropriate for The Actors' Gang, which is both a theater troupe with a strong sense of mission and a longtime source of power plays and electric performances (and that's as far as I'm willing to stretch this metaphor).

At the crossroads with Elvis

Published on March 13, 2008

So who is Steve Binder, and why was the "Singer Presents Elvis" special from 1968 so special that 40 years later, people still regard it as one of the greatest TV musical performances ever?

Bernstein’s Great Wall

Published on February 21, 2008

Every so often, I read a book that is extraordinary, a book that is so good, so well written, so moving, so memorable that you just want to holler out: Read this! Such a book is "The Invisible Wall" by Harry Bernstein.

The genesis of early Dylan—at the Skirball

Published on February 7, 2008

When it comes to Bob Dylan, I think it's fair to say that I'm a fan of long standing -- my wife still teases me about the time, shortly after we'd moved to Los Angeles, when in her car, radio on, she was surprised to hear me as a call-in contestant to KSCA's "Lyrically Speaking" correctly identify the author of the verse in question as, "My man, Bob Dylan."

So you might think that I would be excited to see "Bob Dylan's American Journey, 1956-66," opening at the Skirball on Feb. 8. But I was somewhat skeptical.

KCRW gives us ‘The Business’

Published on January 17, 2008

In an underground office on the campus of Santa Monica College, Claude Brodesser-Akner is working with his producer, Matt Holzman, and associate producer, Darby Maloney, to describe the current status of the Oscar broadcast -- and work in a pun.

LACMA gets contemporary

Published on December 27, 2007

In February, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art will unveil the first phase of its renovation and expansion, including the opening of a new building devoted to contemporary art -- the Broad Contemporary Art Museum (that's Broad as in Eli and Edythe Broad, our local Medicis) or, as the acronymists at LACMA have dubbed it, BCAM.

The Deep Blue G

Published on December 6, 2007

Let me state, for the record, that I know nothing about sports.

I don't watch them; I don't follow them. My parents didn't. I never did as a kid. I don't now with my family. Occasionally in the finals of a season, a few names flutter into my consciousness and then, just as quickly, disappear. I'm not proud of this. I watch, rather wistfully, as sports informs the conversations of a wide range of folks, as I watch families and friends gather in living rooms or in bars to scream and shout and be together.

The photographer who defined urban L.A.

Published on November 15, 2007

An appreciation of Julius Shulman, the still much-in-demand architectural photographer famous for his photos of Modernist homes, who turned 97 a few weeks ago.

Adventures of Tom & Chabon

Published on November 8, 2007

Interview with novelist Michael Chabon.

Producer/musician’s journey brings him home

Published on October 11, 2007

Producer, songwriter and musician Larry Klein is having a good year. In a way, one could say his current success is the culmination of a process of recontextualizing his background, his experience, his talents and his interests.

Let us travel to Iran

Published on September 20, 2007

Why Iran? Why now, you may ask.

In part, it is incredible that such an old and established Jewish community is unknown to most of us, and that the life they led is, for the most part, no more.

Summer and the start of school

Published on September 8, 2007

With slight trepidation, the new year stands before us, calling us to dive in and embrace the fall.

Zsa Zsa Gabor: Last of the Hungarian Mohicans

Published on August 23, 2007

Lately, I have been thinking about Zsa Zsa, and it makes me sad. A few years ago, she crashed her car on Sunset, and she has been wheelchair-bound since. She had been a recluse for some time before that, depressed, not wanting to leave the house. She, who for so long relied on her looks, no longer wants to be seen in public.

Big fun under the big top

Published on July 26, 2007

When I heard that the circus was coming to town, I couldn't wait to take my daughter. I'm talking about the Greatest Show on Earth, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, appearing in Orange County until Aug. 5.

Jonathan Gold: Mining L.A.‘s eclectic eateries

Published on July 12, 2007

"The plov is great." Jonathan Gold, the LA Weekly's restaurant critic and the 2007 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, e-mailed me the above about Uzbekistan (the restaurant on La Brea, not the country), where we were planning to meet.