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116-535: He was born into a Jewish family in Brooklyn , New York , the son of Jean ( née Gerson), a piano player for dance classes, and David Mazursky, a laborer. Mazursky's grandfather was an immigrant from Ukraine . Mazursky graduated from Brooklyn College in 1951. Mazursky began his film career as an actor in Stanley Kubrick 's first feature, Fear and Desire (1953). Mazurksy, who never liked his first name of Irwin,

232-452: A 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research , approximately two thirds of American Jews identify as Ashkenazi , 3% identify as Sephardic , and 1% identify as Mizrahi . An additional 6% identify as some combination of the three categories, and 25% do not identify as any particular category. During the colonial era, Sephardic Jews who arrived via Portugal represented the bulk of America's then-small Jewish population. While their descendants are

348-495: A Jewish state; it had little apparent effect however, with 90% still voting other-than-Republican. In every election since, except for 1980, no Democratic presidential candidate has won with less than 67% of the Jewish vote. (In 1980, Carter obtained 45% of the Jewish vote. See below.) During the 1952 and 1956 elections, Jewish voters cast 60% or more of their votes for Democrat Adlai Stevenson , while General Eisenhower garnered 40% of

464-588: A Love Story (1989), and once as producer of An Unmarried Woman (nominated for Best Picture ). He was also twice nominated for a Golden Globe and twice for the Cannes Film Festival 's Palme d'Or , among many other awards. In 2000, he was the recipient of the Austin Film Festival 's Distinguished Screenwriter Award. In 2000, he was awarded the Amicus Poloniae (Latin: "Friend of Poland"), which

580-408: A bar where Esther Hoffman is singing. One of John's fans finds him there and starts a fight. Esther grabs John and helps him escape out a back door. They go to Esther's, but she invites him to come back for breakfast. Over breakfast (pepperoni pizza), she agrees to go to a concert with him. After arriving by helicopter, John rides a motorbike around the stage, snags a cable and crashes off the front of

696-515: A great deal of quiet charm." In the Mad issue #193 dated September 1977, the movie was parodied in the "Rock of Aged Department" section as "A Star's A Bomb." On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , the film received an approval rating of 37% based on 43 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's consensus states; "A lack of memorable music, chemistry between its leads, and an overlong runtime prompts this modish iteration of A Star

812-429: A historical art form. They tell us how Jews have survived being uprooted and transformed. Many immigrant narratives bear a theme of the arbitrary nature of fate and the reduced state of immigrants in a new culture. By contrast, ethnic family narratives tend to show the ethnicity more in charge of his life, and perhaps in danger of losing his Jewishness altogether. Some stories show how a family member successfully negotiated

928-458: A major role in left-wing politics and, after 1936, in Democratic Party politics. Although American Jews generally leaned Republican in the second half of the 19th century, the majority has voted Democratic since at least 1916, when they voted 55% for Woodrow Wilson . With the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt , American Jews voted more solidly Democratic. They voted 90% for Roosevelt in

1044-454: A major-party ticket when he was chosen as Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore 's vice-presidential nominee. The elections of 2000 and 2004 saw continued Jewish support for Democrats Al Gore and John Kerry , a Catholic, remain in the high- to mid-70% range, while Republican George W. Bush 's re-election in 2004 saw Jewish support rise from 19% to 24%. In the 2008 presidential election , 78% of Jews voted for Barack Obama , who became

1160-433: A means to define Jews in a world that threatened to overwhelm and absorb Jewish uniqueness. The journal represented the ideals of the menorah movement established by Horace M. Kallen and others to promote a revival in Jewish cultural identity and combat the idea of race as a means to define or identify peoples. Siporin (1990) uses the family folklore of ethnic Jews to their collective history and its transformation into

1276-403: A minority nowadays, they represent the remainder of those original American Jews along with an array of other Jewish communities, including more recent Sephardi Jews , Mizrahi Jews , Beta Israel-Ethiopian Jews , various other Jewish ethnic groups , as well as a smaller number of gerim (converts) . The American Jewish community manifests a wide range of Jewish cultural traditions , encompassing

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1392-669: A minority population of the older Sephardi Jewish families remained influential. Jewish migration to the United States increased dramatically in the early 1880s, as a result of persecution and economic difficulties in parts of Eastern Europe. Most of these new immigrants were Yiddish -speaking Ashkenazi Jews, most of whom arrived from poor diaspora communities of the Russian Empire and the Pale of Settlement , located in modern-day Poland , Lithuania , Belarus , Ukraine , and Moldova . During

1508-564: A number of modern social subjects, The Hollywood Reporter stated that "from the late '60s through the '80s, [he] seemed to channel the zeitgeist..." and Variety stated that "his oeuvre smacks of cultural significance." Other films made by Mazursky during this time include the Hollywood satire Alex in Wonderland (1970), the cutting Los Angeles relationship comedy Blume in Love (1973), and

1624-509: A part of the Los Angeles operation of The Second City troupe. In 1965, they crafted the script of the original pilot of The Monkees television series, in which they both also appeared in cameos, although the pilot ended up being their only script for the series. Mazursky's debut as a film screenwriter was the Peter Sellers comedy I Love You, Alice B. Toklas (1968). The original intent

1740-513: A per-capita basis for incorporated areas in the US are Kiryas Joel Village, New York (greater than 93% based on language spoken in home), City of Beverly Hills, California (61%), and Lakewood Township , New Jersey (59%), with two of the incorporated areas, Kiryas Joel and Lakewood, having a high concentration of Haredi Jews, and one incorporated area, Beverly Hills, having a high concentration of non-Orthodox Jews. The phenomenon of Israeli migration to

1856-455: A potential 7.0–7.4 million Americans of Jewish descent. Those higher estimates were however arrived at by including all non-Jewish family members and household members, rather than surveyed individuals. In a 2019 study by Jews of Color Initiative it was found that approximately 12-15% of Jews in the United States, about 1,000,000 of 7,200,000 identify as multiracial and Jews of color . The overall population of Americans of Jewish descent

1972-399: A profound impact on the Jewish community in the United States, especially after 1960 as Holocaust education improved, as Jews tried to comprehend what had happened during it, and especially as they tried to commemorate it and grapple with it when they looked to the future. Abraham Joshua Heschel summarized this dilemma when he attempted to understand Auschwitz : "To try to answer is to commit

2088-458: A red sports car is on its side. A helicopter lands at the scene and Esther and Brian run out towards John, whose dead body is covered by a blanket. Esther asks for another blanket and cleans his face. She lies down on John and while crying she asks him what is she supposed to do without him. He is taken away in an ambulance. Back at the LA mansion, Esther hears John's voice calling out for someone to answer

2204-430: A remake of the 1937 original with Janet Gaynor and Fredric March , notably adapted in 1954 as a musical starring Judy Garland and James Mason ; and subsequently again in 2018 with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper . John Norman Howard, a famous and self-destructive singer/songwriter rock star , arrives late for a concert. He is drunk, and leaves the stage after singing only a few songs. John's driver takes him to

2320-426: A respectable 35%, but during Bush's re-election attempt in 1992, his Jewish support dropped to just 11%, with 80% voting for Bill Clinton and 9% going to independent Ross Perot . Clinton's re-election campaign in 1996 maintained high Jewish support at 78%, with 16% supporting Bob Dole and 3% for Perot. In the 2000 presidential election , Joe Lieberman became the first American Jew to run for national office on

2436-526: A scene. Later, Esther tries to talk Brian into giving John a last chance. John is writing songs again but in a different way. Brian calls on John and likes the new songs, but suggests John release some of his old hits along with the new songs. However, John wants to go with the new work only, so he turns down the offer. Back at his Los Angeles mansion, John finds Quentin, a magazine writer, swimming half-naked in his swimming pool. She says she would do anything to get an exclusive interview. Initially he thinks it

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2552-527: A sense of complete identification and solidarity born of our own painful historic experience." During the World War II period, the American Jewish community was bitterly and deeply divided and as a result, it was unable to form a united front. Most Jews who had previously emigrated to the United States from Eastern Europe supported Zionism , because they believed that a return to their ancestral homeland

2668-478: A similar split among Israelis and led to a parallel rift within the pro-Israel lobby , and even ultimately to the United States for its "blind" support of Israel. Abandoning any pretense of unity, both segments began to develop separate advocacy and lobbying organizations. The liberal supporters of the Oslo Accord worked through Americans for Peace Now (APN), Israel Policy Forum (IPF) and other groups friendly to

2784-455: A state's presidential primary election. For congressional and senate races, since 1968, American Jews have voted about 70–80% for Democrats; this support increased to 87% for Democratic House candidates during the 2006 elections. The first American Jew to serve in the Senate was David Levy Yulee , who was Florida's first Senator, serving 1845–1851 and again 1855–1861. There were 19 Jews among

2900-485: A supreme blasphemy. Israel enables us to bear the agony of Auschwitz without radical despair, to sense a ray [of] God's radiance in the jungles of history." Zionism became a well-organized movement in the U.S. with the involvement of leaders such as Louis Brandeis and the promise of a reconstituted homeland in the Balfour Declaration . Jewish Americans organized large-scale boycotts of German merchandise during

3016-544: A total of twelve Academy Award nominations, with one win, and nineteen Golden Globe nominations, with two wins. Film critic Roger Ebert was a particular fan of Mazursky's work, giving six of his films the optimal four stars in his reviews. In 1986, Ebert stated that "Mazursky has a way of making comedies that are more intelligent and relevant than most of the serious films around." Mazursky was married to librarian and social worker Betsy Mazursky ( née Purdy) from 1953 until his death. They had two daughters, Meg and Jill. Mazursky

3132-739: A tribute to her late husband. She sings the song John wrote for her “With One More Look at You” and then ends with his famous track, “Watch Closely Now”, done in her own style. At the last beat of the song, Esther spreads her arms wide and looks up to the heavens. Directed by Frank Pierson , the film updates the original story and screenplay of William A. Wellman and Robert Carson with additional contributions by Pierson, John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion . It also features Gary Busey and Sally Kirkland . Venetta Fields and Clydie King perform as Streisand's backing vocalists "The Oreos". Kristofferson's then-wife Rita Coolidge and Tony Orlando appear briefly as themselves. The earlier films had portrayed

3248-557: A twofold experience—one of the spirit and one of our history.   ... From our Jewish historic experience of three and a half thousand years we say: Our ancient history began with slavery and the yearning for freedom. During the Middle Ages my people lived for a thousand years in the ghettos of Europe.   ... It is for these reasons that it is not merely sympathy and compassion for the black people of America that motivates us. It is, above all and beyond all such sympathies and emotions,

3364-457: A wide release by Warner Bros. the following day. A huge box office success, grossing $ 80 million on a $ 6 million budget in North America, the film became the 2nd highest-grossing that year . Reviews praised its performances and musical score, but criticized the screenplay and runtime. At the 49th Academy Awards , the film won Best Original Song for its love theme " Evergreen ". The film is

3480-476: Is Born to fizzle out quickly." On Metacritic , the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". In the 1937 and 1954 versions, Janet Gaynor and Judy Garland were each depicted on screen as winning an Academy Award , yet neither won for their film in real life (though Gaynor and Streisand had won Oscars before, and Garland had won an Academy Juvenile Award ). In this film, Barbra Streisand

3596-485: Is a 1976 American musical romantic drama film directed by Frank Pierson , written by Pierson, John Gregory Dunne , and Joan Didion . It stars Barbra Streisand as an unknown singer and Kris Kristofferson as an established rock and roll star. The two fall in love, only to find her career ascending while his goes into decline. A Star Is Born premiered at the Mann Village Theater on December 18, 1976, with

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3712-726: Is a distinction established by the Polish ambassador to the United States and conferred annually on citizens of the United States for special contributions to Polish-American relations. In 2010, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association honored him with an award for Career Achievement. On December 13, 2013, Mazursky was awarded the 2,515th star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame , in front of Musso & Frank Grill . Friends and collaborators Mel Brooks , Richard Dreyfuss , and Jeff Garlin were all present. On February 1, 2014, at

3828-663: Is demographically characterized by an aging population composition and low fertility rates significantly below generational replacement. However, the Orthodox Jewish population, concentrated in the Northeastern United States , has fertility rates when taken alone which are significantly higher than both generational replacement and that of the average U.S. population. The National Jewish Population Survey of 1990 asked 4.5 million adult Jews to identify their denomination. The national total showed 38% were affiliated with

3944-854: Is estimated that up to 15 million Americans are part of the "enlarged" American Jewish population, accounting for 4.5% of the total US population, consisting of those who have at least one Jewish grandparent and would be eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return . Jews were present in the Thirteen Colonies since the mid-17th century. However, they were few in number, with at most 200 to 300 having arrived by 1700. Those early arrivals were mostly Sephardi Jewish immigrants, of Western Sephardic (also known as Spanish and Portuguese Jewish ) ancestry, but by 1720, Ashkenazi Jews from diaspora communities in Central and Eastern Europe predominated. For

4060-406: Is going to pick up Brian from the airport. Esther asks him to hurry back. John leaves the house with a beer in hand and drives off in his flashy sports car. He leaves playing his track “Watch Closely Now” but gets bored and puts on one of Esther's songs. He continues to drink his beer, while driving too fast and recklessly. In the next scene, a police dispatch is discussing an accident. The shell of

4176-492: Is her secretary. When Esther returns home, she wants to find out how it went with the band and John tells her it did not work out. He changes the subject to find out about Esther's day and goes through the messages he has taken for her, one of which is that she is up for a Grammy Award . At the Grammy Awards, Esther wins for best female performance. While she is giving her acceptance speech, John arrives late and drunk and makes

4292-467: Is instead depicted as winning a Grammy Award (in real life, the film's song " Evergreen " won her both a Grammy Award for Song of the Year and an Academy Award for Best Original Song ). The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: A Star Is Born was the second remake of the original 1937 drama , the prior being the 1954 musical starring Judy Garland and James Mason . The story

4408-494: Is outstanding, and Frank Pierson's direction is brilliant." Vincent Canby of The New York Times called it "a transistorized remake, louder than ever, but very small in terms of its being about anything whatsoever." He also noted that Kristofferson "walks through the film looking very bored." Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "The treatment of Streisand is so ceaselessly close up and reverential from

4524-459: Is with him, but she confirms it is an interview with Esther that she wants. When Esther arrives soon after, she finds them in bed together. Quentin tries to interview Esther, but John tells Quentin to get out. Esther and John fight, him telling her “I love you” and she says “I hate you”, until Esther confesses that she does love him. They return to their small home out west, where they have been happiest. One day, John wakes early and tells Esther he

4640-480: The Los Angeles Times commented that "No filmmaker has been wiser or funnier about the L.A. cavalcade than Mazursky. It's not simply a matter of being hip to the scene; what makes such L.A. movies as Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and Alex in Wonderland and Blume in Love and Down and Out in Beverly Hills soar is Mazursky's wide-eyed infatuation with the city's rampant pop nuttiness." His films received

4756-598: The American Jewish Yearbook that the American Jewish population totaled 7.15 million, making up 2.17% of the country's 329.5 million inhabitants. In the same year, the American Jewish population was estimated at 7.6 million people, accounting for 2.4% of the total US population, by other organization. This includes 4.9 million adults who identify their religion as Jewish, 1.2 million Jewish adults who identify with no religion, and 1.6 million Jewish children. The American Jewish Yearbook population survey had placed

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4872-621: The Anti-Defamation League was asked by the conference to apologize for criticizing ZOA's Morton Klein . The conference, which under its organizational guidelines was in charge of moderating communal discourse, reluctantly censured some Orthodox spokespeople for attacking Colette Avital , the Labor-appointed Israeli Consul General in New York and an ardent supporter of that version of a peace process. As of 2020,

4988-707: The New York metropolitan area , establishing the world's major concentrations of the Jewish population. In 1915, the circulation of the daily Yiddish newspapers was half a million in New York City alone, and 600,000 nationally. In addition, thousands more subscribed to the numerous weekly papers and the many magazines in Yiddish. At the beginning of the 20th century, these newly arrived Jews built support networks consisting of many small synagogues and Landsmanshaften (German and Yiddish for "Countryman Associations") for Jews from

5104-678: The Reform tradition , 35% were Conservative , 6% were Orthodox , 1% were Reconstructionists , 10% linked themselves to some other tradition, and 10% said they are "just Jewish." In 2013, Pew Research's Jewish population survey found that 35% of American Jews identified as Reform, 18% as Conservative, 10% as Orthodox, 6% who identified with other sects, and 30% did not identify with a denomination. Pew's 2020 poll found that 37% affiliated with Reform Judaism, 17% with Conservative Judaism, and 9% with Orthodox Judaism. Young Jews are more likely to identify as Orthodox or as unaffiliated compared to older members of

5220-575: The Republican Party . The 114th Congress included 10 Jews among 100 U.S. Senators : nine Democrats ( Michael Bennet , Richard Blumenthal , Brian Schatz , Benjamin Cardin , Dianne Feinstein , Jon Ossoff , Jacky Rosen , Charles Schumer , Ron Wyden ), and Bernie Sanders , who became a Democrat to run for President but returned to the Senate as an Independent. In the 118th Congress , there are 28 Jewish US Representatives. 25 are Democrats and

5336-886: The WGA Awards , Mazursky received the Screen Laurel Award , which is the lifetime achievement award of the Writers Guild of America . Comedian, filmmaker and close friend Mel Brooks presented the award. In May 2014, Mazursky received the Best of Brooklyn Award at his alma mater Brooklyn College's annual gala in New York City. In 2015, Joe Swanberg 's film Digging for Fire was dedicated in memory to Mazursky. In 2019, Greg Pritikin dedicated his film The Last Laugh to Mazursky. American Jews American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish , whether by culture , ethnicity , or religion . According to

5452-694: The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), Americans For a Safe Israel (AFSI), and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) tried to counterbalance the power of the liberal Jews. On October 10, 1993, the opponents of the Palestinian-Israeli accord organized at the American Leadership Conference for a Safe Israel , where they warned that Israel was prostrating itself before "an armed thug", and predicted and that

5568-509: The full spectrum of Jewish religious observance . Depending on religious definitions and varying population data, the United States has the largest or second largest Jewish community in the world, after Israel . As of 2020, the American Jewish population is estimated at 7.5 million people, accounting for 2.4% of the total US population. This includes 4.2 million adults who identify their religion as Jewish, 1.5 million Jewish adults who identify with no religion, and 1.8 million Jewish children. It

5684-555: The "thirteenth of September is a date that will live in infamy". Some Zionists also criticized, often in harsh language, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres , his foreign minister and chief architect of the peace accord. With the community so strongly divided, AIPAC and the Presidents Conference, which was tasked with representing the national Jewish consensus, struggled to keep the increasingly antagonistic discourse civil. Reflecting these tensions, Abraham Foxman from

5800-484: The 1930s to protest Nazi Germany . Franklin D. Roosevelt 's leftist domestic policies received strong Jewish support in the 1930s and 1940s, as did his anti-Nazi foreign policy and his promotion of the United Nations . Support for political Zionism in this period, although growing in influence, remained a distinctly minority opinion among Jews in the United States until about 1944–45, when the early rumors and reports of

5916-422: The 435 US Representatives at the start of the 112th Congress ; 26 Democrats and 1 ( Eric Cantor ) Republican. While many of these Members represented coastal cities and suburbs with significant Jewish populations, others did not (for instance, Kim Schrier of Seattle, Washington; John Yarmuth of Louisville, Kentucky; and David Kustoff and Steve Cohen of Memphis, Tennessee). The total number of Jews serving in

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6032-436: The American Jewish population is, depending on the method of identification , either the largest in the world, or the second-largest in the world (after Israel ). Precise population figures vary depending on whether Jews are accounted for based on halakhic considerations, or secular, political and ancestral identification factors. There were about four million adherents of Judaism in the US as of 2001, approximately 1.4% of

6148-565: The Democrat, with only 45% support, while Republican winner Ronald Reagan garnered 39%, and 14% went to independent (former Republican) John Anderson . During the Reagan re-election campaign of 1984, the Republican retained 31% of the Jewish vote, while 67% voted for Democrat Walter Mondale . The 1988 election saw Jewish voters favor Democrat Michael Dukakis by 64%, while George H. W. Bush polled

6264-542: The House of Representatives declined from 31 in the 111th Congress . John Adler of New Jersey, Steve Kagan of Wisconsin, Alan Grayson of Florida, and Ron Klein of Florida all lost their re-election bids, Rahm Emanuel resigned to become the President's Chief of Staff; and Paul Hodes of New Hampshire did not run for re-election but instead (unsuccessfully) sought his state's open Senate seat. David Cicilline of Rhode Island

6380-579: The Israeli response; the great majority came to accept the war as necessary. Similar tensions were aroused by the 1977 election of Menachem Begin and the rise of Revisionist policies, the 1982 Lebanon War and the continuing administrative governance of portions of the West Bank territory. Disagreement over Israel's 1993 acceptance of the Oslo Accords caused a further split among American Jews; this mirrored

6496-831: The Jewish community. Many Jews are concentrated in the Northeastern United States, particularly around New York City . The world's largest menorah is lit annually at Grand Army Plaza in Manhattan , while the largest menorah in New Jersey is similarly celebrated in Monroe Township , Middlesex County . Many Jews also live in South Florida , Los Angeles , and other large metropolitan areas, like Chicago , San Francisco , or Atlanta . The metropolitan areas of New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami contain nearly one quarter of

6612-519: The Jewish vote for his reelection, the best showing to date for the Republicans since Warren G. Harding 's 43% in 1920. In 1960, 83% voted for Democrat John F. Kennedy against Richard Nixon , and in 1964, 90% of American Jews voted for Lyndon Johnson , over his Republican opponent, arch-conservative Barry Goldwater . Hubert Humphrey garnered 81% of the Jewish vote in the 1968 elections in his losing bid for president against Richard Nixon . During

6728-580: The Labour government in Israel. They tried to assure Congress that American Jewry was behind the Accord and defended the efforts of the administration to help the fledgling Palestinian Authority (PA), including promises of financial aid. In a battle for public opinion, IPF commissioned a number of polls showing widespread support for Oslo among the community. In opposition to Oslo, an alliance of conservative groups, such as

6844-515: The Midwest. Gradually the Cincinnati Jewish community would adopt novel practices under the leadership Rabbi Isaac Meyer Wise , the father of Reform Judaism in the United States, such as the inclusion of women in minyan . A large community grew in the region with the arrival of German and Lithuanian Jews in the latter half of the 1800s, leading to the establishment of Manischewitz , one of

6960-504: The Nixon re-election campaign of 1972, Jewish voters were apprehensive about George McGovern and only favored the Democrat by 65%, while Nixon more than doubled Republican Jewish support to 35%. In the election of 1976, Jewish voters supported Democrat Jimmy Carter by 71% over incumbent president Gerald Ford 's 27%, but during the Carter re-election campaign of 1980, Jewish voters greatly abandoned

7076-607: The Rio Opera House available for only three days of shooting, Mazursky cast himself as a dictator's mother when Judith Malina was unavailable, playing the character in drag. He also acted in 1990s in projects such as Man Trouble (1992), Carlito's Way (1993), Love Affair (1994), 2 Days in the Valley (1996), Miami Rhapsody (1995), Crazy in Alabama (1999), and I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2006). He also performed

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7192-626: The US is often termed Yerida . The Israeli immigrant community in America is less widespread. The significant Israeli immigrant communities in the United States are in the New York City metropolitan area, Los Angeles, Miami, and Chicago. According to the 2001 undertaking of the National Jewish Population Survey , 4.3 million American Jews have some sort of strong connection to the Jewish community, whether religious or cultural. A Star Is Born (1976 film) A Star Is Born

7308-487: The US population. According to the Jewish Agency , for the year 2023 Israel was home to 7.2 million Jews (46% of the world's Jewish population), while the United States contained 6.3 million (40.1%). According to Gallup and Pew Research Center findings, "at maximum 2.2% of the US adult population has some basis for Jewish self-identification." In 2020, the demographers Arnold Dashefsky and Ira M. Sheskin estimated in

7424-576: The United States in large numbers due to antisemitic laws and restrictions in their countries of birth. They primarily became merchants and shop-owners. Gradually early Jewish arrivals from the east coast would travel westward, and in the fall of 1819 the first Jewish religious services west of the Appalachian Range were conducted during the High Holidays in Cincinnati , the oldest Jewish community in

7540-694: The acclaimed Isaac Bashevis Singer adaptation Enemies, a Love Story (1989). Late in his life, Mazursky was developing a Broadway musical adaptation of his 1988 film Moon over Parador . He had supporting roles in History of the World Part I (1981), Into the Night (1985), Punchline (1988) and Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills (1989). Mazursky appeared in supporting roles or cameos in most of his own films. In Moon over Parador (1988), with

7656-458: The air. Esther happens to be at the radio station at the same time, taping a commercial. John takes Esther to his mansion and writes her name on the wall with a can of spray paint. There, they make love, have a bubble bath together, and he listens to her playing his piano. She thinks no one would be able to sing to the tune she has written, but he makes up some lyrics and starts singing. At his next concert, John gets Esther on stage to sing. Although

7772-424: The audience boos when she starts to sing, she wins them over. Later, she tells John she wants them to get married. John replies that he is no good for her, but she persists, and they marry. John takes Esther to a plot of land he has out west where they build a simple house. She wants a tour co-starring with him, but he thinks she should do the tour on her own. Esther's career takes off, eclipsing his. John returns to

7888-516: The ballad " Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born) ", which became one of the biggest hits of Streisand's career, spending three weeks at number one in the United States, and peaking at number three in the United Kingdom. The filming locations included many in Arizona such as downtown Tucson , Tucson Community Center , Sonoita and Tempe , including Sun Devil Stadium . Streisand's wardrobe

8004-540: The behind-the-scenes world of Hollywood filmmaking. However, this version adapted the story to the music business. For example, the 1937 and 1954 films each portrayed the lead female character winning an Academy Award , while the 1976 and 2018 versions depicted the heroine winning a Grammy Award instead. A Star Is Born was co-produced by Streisand and her then-partner Jon Peters for Barwood Films and Warner Brothers , with Peters and Streisand as producers and Streisand as executive producer. Among actors considered for

8120-668: The camera continued for the next two decades as he wrote and directed a prolific string of quirky, dramatic and critically popular films. His most successful films were contemporary dramatic comedies and include the Academy Award-winning Harry and Tonto (1974), the Best Picture-nominated An Unmarried Woman (1978), and popular hits such as Moscow on the Hudson (1984) and Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986). In light of his comedies that tackled

8236-567: The conflict between ethnic and American identities. After 1960, memories of the Holocaust , together with the Six-Day War in 1967 had major impacts on fashioning Jewish ethnic identity . Some have argued that the Holocaust highlighted for Jews the importance of their ethnic identity at a time when other minorities were asserting their own. In New York City, while the German-Jewish community

8352-410: The elections of 1940, and 1944, representing the highest of support, equaled only once since. In the election of 1948, Jewish support for Democrat Harry S. Truman dropped to 75%, with 15% supporting the new Progressive Party . As a result of lobbying, and hoping to better compete for the Jewish vote, both major party platforms had included a pro-Zionist plank since 1944, and supported the creation of

8468-479: The fact that some of them were denied the right to vote or hold office in local jurisdictions, Sephardi Jews became active in community affairs in the 1790s, after they were granted political equality in the five states where they were most numerous. Until about 1830, Charleston, South Carolina had more Jews than anywhere else in North America . Large-scale Jewish immigration commenced in the 19th century, when, by mid-century, many German Jews had arrived, migrating to

8584-422: The film two and a half stars out of four, writing in his review, "There is, to begin with, no denying Barbra Streisand's enormous talent. At the end of 'A Star Is Born' the camera stays on her for one unbroken shot of seven or eight minutes, and she sings her heart out, and we concede that she's one of the great stars of the movies, one of the elemental presences...I thought Miss Streisand was distractingly miscast in

8700-450: The first African American to be elected president. Additionally, 83% of white Jews voted for Obama compared to just 34% of white Protestants and 47% of white Catholics, though 67% of those identifying with another religion and 71% identifying with no religion also voted Obama. In the February 2016 New Hampshire Democratic Primary , Bernie Sanders became the first Jewish candidate to win

8816-560: The first time, the English Plantation Act 1740 permitted Jews to become British citizens and emigrate to the colonies . The first famous Jew in US history was Chaim Salomon , a Polish-born Jew who emigrated to New York and played an important role in the American Revolution. He was a successful financier who supported the patriotic cause and helped raise most of the money needed to finance the American Revolution. Despite

8932-537: The formation of new centers, as Jewish school enrollment more than doubled between the end of World War II and the mid-1950s, while synagogue affiliation jumped from 20% in 1930 to 60% in 1960; the fastest growth came in Reform and, especially, Conservative congregations. More recent waves of Jewish emigration from Russia and other regions have largely joined the mainstream American Jewish community. Americans of Jewish descent have been successful in many fields and aspects over

9048-483: The horrors of the Holocaust. This attention was based on a natural affinity toward and support for Israel in the Jewish community. The attention is also because of the ensuing and unresolved conflicts regarding the founding of Israel and the role for the Zionist movement going forward. A lively internal debate commenced, following the Six-Day War . The American Jewish community was divided over whether or not they agreed with

9164-488: The largest producers of American kosher products and now based in New Jersey , and the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the United States, and second-oldest continuous published in the world, The American Israelite , established in 1854 and still extant in Cincinnati. By 1880 there were approximately 250,000 Jews in the United States, many of them being the educated, and largely secular, German Jews, although

9280-585: The late 1950s, most notably with Herb Hartig , with their comedy act being named "Igor and H" before breaking up to do a solo act. He applied to (and was rejected by) the Actors Studio , but he took classes with Lee Strasberg as instructor, having previously studied under Paul Mann and Curt Conway . Soon after starting his acting career, Mazursky became a writer and worked on The Danny Kaye Show in 1963 with Larry Tucker , who he had first known when Tucker went from personal manager of comedy clients to being

9396-526: The late 19th and early 20th centuries abandoned a racial definition of Jewishness in favor of one that embraced ethnicity. The key to understanding this transition from a racial self-definition to a cultural or ethnic one can be found in the Menorah Journal between 1915 and 1925. During this time contributors to the Menorah promoted a cultural , rather than a racial, religious, or other views of Jewishness as

9512-532: The male lead were Neil Diamond and Marlon Brando . Streisand and Peters wanted Elvis Presley for the role: they met with Elvis and discussed the film, and he was interested in taking the part, thinking it would revive his film career. Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker , insisted Elvis have top billing and asked for a substantial sum of money for the role, even though he had not had an acting role since 1969, and people were unsure what kind of box office draw he would be. This effectively ended Elvis's involvement with

9628-728: The mid-20th century, there were American Jews who were among the most active participants in the Civil Rights Movement and feminist movements. A number of American Jews have also been active figures in the struggle for gay rights in America . Joachim Prinz , president of the American Jewish Congress , stated the following when he spoke from the podium at the Lincoln Memorial during the famous March on Washington on August 28, 1963: "As Jews we bring to this great demonstration, in which thousands of us proudly participate,

9744-634: The most liberal programs of the New Deal . They continued as a major element of the New Deal Coalition , giving special support to the Civil Rights Movement . By the mid-1960s, however, the Black Power movement caused a growing separation between blacks and Jews, though both groups remained solidly in the Democratic camp. While earlier Jewish immigrants from Germany tended to be politically conservative ,

9860-532: The number of American Jews at 6.4 million, or approximately 2.1% of the total population. This figure is significantly higher than the previous large scale survey estimate, conducted by the 2000–2001 National Jewish Population estimates, which estimated 5.2 million Jews. A 2007 study released by the Steinhardt Social Research Institute (SSRI) at Brandeis University presents evidence to suggest that both these figures may be underestimations with

9976-702: The original wardrobe test. In 2007, the Region 2 DVD with the same extras was released in Germany. In 2008, the Region 4 DVD was released in Australia, the content of which appears to be the same as the Region 1 edition. The DVD has yet to be released in any other region. Warner Bros. released the film worldwide on the Blu-ray format on February 6, 2013. The DVD and Blu-ray reissues were released as manufacture-on-demand titles on May 14, 2019 by Warner Archive Collection who also reissued

10092-517: The ostensible dramatic tragedy, because the real tragedy appears to be Streisand's misuse of her talent." Geoff Brown of The Monthly Film Bulletin faulted the film for "Streisand's failure to convince as a rock star, even when singing the docile brand of rock supplied here. Luckily, Kris Kristofferson makes a far better impression. His eyes have the proper faraway look that betokens a mind besotted either with booze or love, and he drifts toward his destiny with none of James Mason 's fireworks but with

10208-488: The other 3 are Republicans. All 10 Jewish Senators are Democrats. Additionally, 6 members of President Joe Biden 's cabinet are Jewish ( Secretary of State Antony Blinken , Attorney General Merrick Garland , DNI Avril Haines , White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain , Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas , and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ). Members of the American Jewish community have included prominent participants in civil rights movements. In

10324-479: The part of John Norman Howard. Kristofferson denied modelling his character on Jim Morrison : "That's a good idea but it's not true. I don't think I ever met Morrison. A lot of people said we looked alike – shirts off, beards – but that washed-up rock star was more about me." The film cost around $ 6 million to produce. Its soundtrack album was also an international success, reaching number 1 in many countries and selling nearly 15 million copies worldwide. It featured

10440-539: The project. Parker also did not want to have Elvis portrayed as having a show business career in decline because this was far from the truth, with Elvis playing to packed auditoriums wherever he toured in the States. Diamond, who knew Streisand and had attended high school with her at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, was also seriously considered but had to decline due to his extensive concert commitments, and Kristofferson got

10556-449: The role, and yet I forgave her everything when she sang." Gene Siskel also gave the film two and a half stars, calling it "a lumbering love story made palatable by Streisand's superb singing." Variety was positive, calling Streisand's performance "her finest screen work to date, while Kris Kristofferson's portrayal of her failing benefactor realizes all the promise first shown five years ago in ' Cisco Pike .' Jon Peters' production

10672-534: The same period, great numbers of Ashkenazic Jews also arrived from Galicia , at that time the most impoverished region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire with a heavy Jewish urban population, driven out mainly by economic reasons. Many Jews also emigrated from Romania . Over 2,000,000 Jews landed between the late 19th century and 1924 when the Immigration Act of 1924 restricted immigration. Most settled in

10788-477: The same town or village. American Jewish writers of the time urged assimilation and integration into the wider American culture , and Jews quickly became part of American life. Approximately 500,000 American Jews (or half of all Jewish males between 18 and 50) fought in World War II , and after the war younger families joined the new trend of suburbanization . There, Jews became increasingly assimilated and demonstrated rising intermarriage . The suburbs facilitated

10904-659: The semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976). Mazursky also played supporting roles in The Other Side of the Wind (1972; finished 2015), A Star Is Born (1976). He also directed during the 1980s the New York City -based Jules and Jim homage Willie & Phil (1980), the contemporary Shakespeare comedy Tempest (1982), the Caribbean -set political farce Moon over Parador (1988), and

11020-520: The stage. John is taken away by ambulance and his entourage leave in the helicopter, forgetting Esther. Afterwards, John is resting at home by his pool. A radio DJ, Bebe Jesus, hovers over the pool in a helicopter and invites John to his studio. John gets angry and shoots at the helicopter. Bebe Jesus then threatens to never play John's songs. Later, John goes to the radio station with a case of whiskey to make peace with Bebe Jesus. The disc jockey does not accept John's apology and calls John an alcoholic over

11136-431: The start that there really seems nowhere to go but further up, and little of the mutuality of need that is essential to a love, or a love story ... A half-hour in, I wrote 'a star is boring' in my notes, and was not later persuaded I'd been wrong." Gary Arnold of The Washington Post suggested that the film "should be retitled 'A Star is Embalmed' or 'A Star is Entombed' or simply 'A Star is Lost' .... One loses sight of

11252-409: The studio thinking of restarting his career. He's told by Bobbie that the band has gone on without him and have renamed themselves. To save face, John asks Bobbie to tell them that he has found some new artists to work with and wishes them luck. At home alone, John begins to write a new song. As he sings, he is constantly interrupted by the telephone. Someone asks for Esther and wants to know whether he

11368-599: The systematic mass murder of the Jews in Nazi-occupied countries became publicly known with the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps . The founding of the modern State of Israel in 1948 and recognition thereof by the American government (following objections by American isolationists) was an indication of both its intrinsic support and its response to learning

11484-405: The telephone but she discovers it is just a tape of the old songwriting session during which the telephone had interrupted his singing. She cries on the step in the now empty house, saying that he was a liar and he was not supposed to leave her. The final scene is what seems to be a memorial concert for John. Esther walks out and is introduced as Esther Hoffman-Howard. The audience raises candles as

11600-528: The voice of the Psychologist in Antz (1998). He then experienced less success in the 1990s. He directed Scenes from a Mall (1991), starring Woody Allen and Bette Midler . Following his filmmaking satire The Pickle (1993), which was his last writing credit, Mazursky worked only sporadically as a director on such films as Faithful (1996), Winchell (1998), and Coast to Coast (2003). His final film

11716-476: The wave of Jews from Eastern Europe starting in the early 1880s were generally more liberal or left-wing and became the political majority. Many came to America with experience in the socialist, anarchist and communist movements as well as the Labor Bund , emanating from Eastern Europe. Many Jews rose to leadership positions in the early 20th century American labor movement and helped to found unions that played

11832-487: The world after the Tel Aviv metropolitan area in Israel. Several other major cities have large Jewish communities, including Los Angeles , Miami Baltimore , Boston , Chicago , San Francisco and Philadelphia . In many metropolitan areas, the majority of Jewish families live in suburban areas. The Greater Phoenix area was home to about 83,000 Jews in 2002, and has been rapidly growing. The greatest Jewish population on

11948-493: The world's Jews and the New York City metropolitan area itself contains around a quarter of all Jews living in the United States. According to a study published by demographers and sociologists Ira M. Sheskin and Arnold Dashefsky in the American Jewish Yearbook, the distribution of the Jewish population in 2020 was as follows: The New York City metropolitan area is the second-largest Jewish population center in

12064-496: The years. The Jewish community in America has gone from being part of the lower class of society, with numerous employments barred to them, to being a group with a high concentrations in members of the academia and a per capita income higher than the average in the United States. Scholars debate whether the historical experience of Jews in the United States has been such a unique experience as to validate American exceptionalism . Korelitz (1996) shows how American Jews during

12180-412: Was also adapted as the 2013 Bollywood film Aashiqui 2 . Bradley Cooper later starred, directed, co-wrote, and co-produced a 2018 retelling , with Lady Gaga co-starring and composing new music for the film. All four of the official "A Star is Born" movies have been nominated for at least four Academy Awards. In August 2021, while promoting her upcoming album, Streisand suggested that the 2018 film

12296-413: Was an atheist . Mazursky went into cardiopulmonary arrest and died on June 30, 2014, aged 84, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Acting credits TV movies Acting credits Mazursky received five Academy Award nominations, four for his screenplay writing on Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), Harry and Tonto (1974), An Unmarried Woman (1978), and Enemies,

12412-701: Was asked by his then-girlfriend Betty Purdy what name he wanted to use in the credits for the film, as he had told Kubrick to use her as a go-between when he was busy waiting tables at Sunrise Manor. When on the phone with her, she suggested using Paul for his screen name, which he agreed with. Two years later he appeared in a featured position as one of a classroom of teenagers with issues towards authority in The Blackboard Jungle (1955). His acting career continued for several decades, starting with parts in episodes of television series such as The Twilight Zone and The Rifleman . He also did shows for nightclubs in

12528-515: Was elected as the House Minority Whip , the first Jewish Republican to be selected for the position. In 2011, he became the first Jewish House Majority Leader . He served as Majority Leader until 2014, when he resigned shortly after his loss in the Republican primary election for his House seat. In 2013, Pew found that 70% of American Jews identified with or leaned toward the Democratic Party , with just 22% identifying with or leaning toward

12644-473: Was for Tucker to produce and for Mazursky to direct. Peter Sellers , the star of the feature, instead picked Hy Averback to direct the film. The following year, he directed his first film Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) produced and written by Mazursky and Larry Tucker), which proved to be a major critical and commercial success. The film was the fifth highest grossing of the year and earned Mazursky his first Oscar nomination. His career behind

12760-442: Was selected from her own personal clothing. The film credit reads: "Miss Streisand's clothes from... her closet". The film was choreographed by David Winters , who worked closely with Streisand to perfect the movie's dancing sequences. The film entered general release in the United States on December 19, 1976. It grossed $ 80 million at the U.S. box office, making it the 2nd highest grossing picture of 1976 . Roger Ebert gave

12876-587: Was the independent documentary Yippee (2006). In later years, Mazursky had a small part as "Sunshine" the poker dealer in The Sopranos . He also appeared in five episodes of season 4 of Curb Your Enthusiasm as Mel Brooks ' associate Norm, a role that he later reprised in a season 7 episode. In his autobiography Show Me the Magic (1999), Mazursky recounts his experiences in filmmaking and with several well-known screen personalities including Peter Sellers . He

12992-520: Was the only Jewish American who was newly elected to the 112th Congress; he had been the Mayor of Providence . The number declined when Jane Harman , Anthony Weiner , and Gabby Giffords resigned during the 112th Congress. As of January 2014 , there were five openly gay men serving in Congress, and two are Jewish: Jared Polis of Colorado and David Cicilline of Rhode Island. In November 2008, Cantor

13108-418: Was the only solution to the persecution and the genocide which were then occurring across Europe. One important development was the sudden conversion of many American Jewish leaders to Zionism late in the war. The Holocaust was largely ignored by American media as it was happening. Reporters and editors largely did not believe the stories of atrocities which were coming out of Europe. The Holocaust had

13224-548: Was the subject of the 2011 book Paul on Mazursky by Sam Wasson . Mazursky appeared as himself in a number of documentaries on film, including A Decade Under the Influence , New York at the Movies , and Screenwriters: Words Into Image . From 2011 until his death in 2014, Mazursky served as a film critic for Vanity Fair . Every film written and directed by Mazursky used New York City or Los Angeles as one of its settings. In 1991

13340-462: Was unoriginal and the “wrong idea,” despite her version also being a remake and her clear and apparent support and praise of the project both during production and after its release. In 2006, the Region 1 DVD was released in North America in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound with various extras, including a full-length commentary by Barbra Streisand, 16 minutes of never-before-seen and additional footage, and

13456-485: Was well established 'uptown', the more numerous Jews who migrated from Eastern Europe faced tension 'downtown' with Irish and German Catholic neighbors, especially the Irish Catholics who controlled Democratic Party politics at the time . Jews successfully established themselves in the garment trades and in the needle unions in New York. By the 1930s they were a major political factor in New York, with strong support for

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