Jay Kanter, Agent for Marlon Brando and Marilyn Monroe, Dies at 97 (by Clay Risen - NY Times)

Jay Kanter, whose long career as an agent to the stars — including Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly — and later as a studio executive made him one of the last of the generation of power brokers who dominated Hollywood in the late 20th century, died on Aug. 6 at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 97.

His son Adam confirmed his death.

Marlon Brando's first starring role was in the play "A Flag is Born" written by Ben Hecht.

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Aviva Returns to Her Hometown of Detroit to Honor Hank's Yom Kippur Stand

The world premiere of the remastered 1999 version of "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg" will play at the Emagine Theater in Royal Oak starting Friday, Sept 20th for a week. Aviva Kempner will be speaking in person at screenings on the 21st and 22nd. The times of her appearances will be determined soon.

DOK.fest München meets U.S. Consulate General in Munich & Amerikahaus

Aviva will visit Munich where she lived as a toddler as part of DOK.aroundtheclock's presentation of the documentary A POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES: A TALE OF TWO SIBLINGS in cooperation with the U.S. Consulate General in Munich and the Amerikahaus.

Berlin-born, Washington, D.C.-based filmmaker Aviva Kempner has been making award-winning documentaries about unrecognized Jewish heroes for more than four decades. In A POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES: A TALE OF TWO SIBLINGS she focuses on the story of her mother, Helen Ciesla Covensky, and her uncle, David Chase – siblings who survived the Holocaust separately and were reunited after the war. 

The diplomatic missions of the USA in Germany regularly invite US experts to Germany as part of the ‘U.S. Speaker Program’ to discuss current topics with an interested audience of experts.

A talk with director Aviva Kempner will take place after the screening.
Moderator: Prof. Dr. Kevin Ostoyich (Valparaiso University)

Venue: Amerikahaus, Karolinenplatz 3, 80333 Munich

Admission is free. Please register via this registration form.

Interested in Screening "A Pocketful of Miracles"?

In "A Pocketful of Miracles" Berlin-born filmmaker Aviva Kempner chronicles her mother’s and uncle’s lives before and during World War II, from their idyllic Jewish upbringing in Poland to their tearful reunion after surviving the Holocaust. This moving documentary ends by sharing the incredible lives they built in America as painter Helen Ciesla Covensky and businessperson and philanthropist David Chase and serves as a reminder of why it is so important to make films about the fate of those who survived. If you are interested in booking the film please reach out to Ben Dally.

Inside Aaron Judge's Swing Change That Helped Propel Another Monster Season (by Brendan Kuty - NY Times)

Aaron Judge wanted a change. One of the most feared hitters in the majors, the New York Yankees center fielder had struggled through the first several weeks of the season. By the end of April, he was hitting just .207.

“I wasn’t doing too hot,” he recently said.

Judge is projected to hit 58 home runs this season, which is what Hank Greenberg achieved in 1938.

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The Enigmatic Life and Complex Legacy of Pinky Deras, America's Greatest Little Leaguer (by Cody Stavenhagen - NY Times)

The cedar chest had been there his whole life. Down in the basement, near the water heater and next to the storage racks filled with all the knick-knacks a person accrues over seven-plus decades. Adam Deras knew the chest was full of Dad’s old stuff, but he had never seen it opened.

Now Art “Pinky” Deras was gone, so Adam and his much older brother, Kevin, cleaned out the house. They came to the old weathered chest. Soon the glorified wooden box was open, and Adam peered inside. He saw a few small trophies, some posters, a scrapbook and a few old signs. There was a brown paper bag, and inside, a red batting helmet from the ’50s or ’60s. Under the brim of the helmet, his father’s initials were inscribed: AD. Inside the crown, there was still a piece of hair.

Unlike Hank Greenberg this is a sad story of a youthful baseball player in Detroit who never realized his full potential.

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A Nazi Villa So Tainted Berlin Can't Give it Away (by Sarah Maslin Nir - NY Times)

Behind thickets of beech trees, overgrown with nettles and beside a blue lake an hour north of Berlin, a villa that once belonged to a Nazi mastermind quietly rots.

No one knows what to do with the estate beside the Bogensee lake in Brandenburg. It was built for Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, by his grateful country just before the start of World War II. Owned by the State of Berlin today, it has sat moldering expensively on the public’s tab, along with a set of dramatic dormitories built later by the Communist Party to house an indoctrination school. It is a nearly 20-acre campus that echoes with the pasts of two totalitarian regimes.

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Trying to Recover the British Museum's Gems, and Its Reputation (by Alex Marshall - NY Times)

A year has passed since the British Museum said it had fired a curator for stealing from its supposedly lock-tight storerooms and selling the artifacts online. Ever since, the museum has struggled to deal with the fallout from the scandal, which has battered its reputation as a protector of world treasures.

Hartwig Fischer, the museum’s director, resigned. Foreign governments used the uproar to renew claims for the return of artifacts from the collection. And the museum brought a lawsuit against a former curator to try to help get back the items, which include gems and carved glass.

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Overlooked No More: Renee Carroll, "World's Most Famous Hatcheck Girl" (by Julie Besonen - NY Times)

For 24 years, as the hatcheck girl at Sardi’s, the storied theater district restaurant on West 44th Street in Manhattan, Renee Carroll found fame from within the close confines of a cloakroom.

From that post, she hobnobbed with celebrity clientele, fed insider gossip to newspaper columnists and wrote an immensely popular, chatty book that dished about which stage actress ate too much garlic (Katharine Cornell, if you must know) and how fading stars wistfully reacted when rising newcomers like Joan Crawford entered the dining room.

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Wally Amos, Enterprising Creator of Famous Amos Cookies, Dies at 88 (by Clay Risen - NY Times)

Wally Amos, an indefatigable entrepreneur who in 1975 took a $25,000 loan from a few friends in Hollywood to start Famous Amos, one of the first brands to push high-quality cookies in its own stores and one of the world’s best-known names in baked goods, died on Tuesday at his home in Honolulu. He was 88.

His children Shawn and Sarah Amos said the cause was complications of dementia.

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Fellow Detroiter Yale is doing a great job celebrating our mutual Jewish roots in Detroit!!!

World-renowned artist Yale Strom considers himself - first and foremost - a son of Detroit. On August 25, 2024 at 3pm, he returns to present the concert "Hallelujahs in the House: A Celebration of Gospel and Khasidic Music" at the Victory Fellowship Baptist Church (2565 Elmhurst) in Detroit, Michigan. This building was originally the Aaron Israel Synagogue more popularly known as the "Stoliner Shul." The "Detroiter rebbe", Reb Yaakov Perlov, would come annually from Williamsburg, Brooklyn to visit his followers and lead services for a week, always just after Passover. Among his followers were Strom's grandparents, with whom the rabbi would stay, and in whose house he passed away. He is buried in Detroit. Strom unifies Detroit's spiritual history through the music that was once heard and is still heard in this building. The Gospel choir of the church, Yale Strom & Hot Pstromi (Elizabeth Schwartz & Norbert Stachel) and superb local artists (Djallo Djakate, A. Spencer Barefield, Marion Hayden) will be performing.

Reservation Dogs Showed D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai What is Possible (by Kate Nelson - NY Times)

Much like his “Reservation Dogs” character, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai grew up wondering if he was a good guy.

If his dedication to his craft and his community is any indication, the 22-year-old actor of Anishinaabe, Guyanese and German descent seems to be a pretty upstanding citizen. The day we chat about his Emmy nomination for lead actor in a comedy series, for example, he is visiting his parents in his native Toronto (from his adopted hometown, Los Angeles) and has spent most of the morning chauffeuring his auntie around on a several-hours-long excursion. After all, mothers, grandmothers and aunties are considered the bedrock of Indigenous communities.

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"Imagining the Indian" Now Available for Rental and Purchase on Amazon & Apple TV 

Also Available on DVD

The reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City football team defended their title in Las Vegas at Super Bowl LVIII. What's indefensible is that same Kansas City team, with the tacit approval of the NFL, will once again be allowed to flaunt its name and logo that many Native Americans find offensive. 

Directed by Aviva Kempner ("The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg") and Cheyenne filmmaker Ben West, "Imagining The Indian" is a comprehensive look at the movement to eradicate the words, images, and gestures that many Native Americans and their allies find harmful, demeaning, and offensive.

The film examines mascoting issues through archival footage and interviews with those involved in the fight. It shows how teams such as the Kansas City football team has refused to consider a change and brings a new attention and urgency to the issue.

The award-winning documentary "Imagining The Indian" is NOW available on Amazon, Apple TV, and DVD. 

If you are interested in booking the film for a screening, please reach out to Ben Dally.

Watch the New "Pissed Off" Teaser

Watch our new updated teaser here. 

Today we imagine a gender equal world and commemorate the women who have paved the way for others. The original architects of the Capitol building did not anticipate women being elected in either the House or Senate. As a result, no female restrooms were constructed off of either chamber. 

Our new film, Pissed Off, will tell the story of how female legislators were excluded in both participation and plumbing, compelling them to fight for potty parity.

We ask for your tax deductible contribution to make Pissed Off.



Donate here.

More Info

Screenings

• Watch Here for Upcoming Screenings

• "A Pocketful of Miracles" - Berlin, Germany - September 12



• "A Pocketful of Miracles" - Munich, Germany - September 16

• "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg" - Royal Oak, Michigan - September 20 - 27

• "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg" - Washington, DC - September 24 - 26