In this Book

summary
The outsized influence of Jews in American entertainment from the early days of Hollywood to the present has proved an endlessly fascinating and controversial topic, for Jews and non-Jews alike. From Shtetl to Stardom: Jews and Hollywood takes an exciting and innovative approach to this rich and complex material. Exploring the subject from a scholarly perspective as well as up close and personal, the book combines historical and theoretical analysis by leading academics in the field with inside information from prominent entertainment professionals. Essays range from Vincent Brook’s survey of the stubbornly persistent canard of Jewish industry “control” to Lawrence Baron and Joel Rosenberg’s panel presentations on the recent brouhaha over Ben Urwand’s book alleging collaboration between Hollywood and Hitler. Case studies by Howard Rodman and Joshua Louis Moss examine a key Coen brothers film, A Serious Man (Rodman), and Jill Soloway’s groundbreaking television series, Transparent (Moss). Jeffrey Shandler and Shaina Hamermann train their respective lenses on popular satirical comedians of yesteryear (Allan Sherman) and those currently all the rage (Amy Schumer, Lena Dunham, and Sarah Silverman). David Isaacs relates his years of agony and hilarity in the television comedy writers’ room, and interviews include in-depth discussions by Ross Melnick with Laemmle Theatres owner Greg Laemmle (relative of Universal Studios founder Carl Laemmle) and by Michael Renov with Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner. In all, From Shtetl to Stardom offers a uniquely multifaceted, multimediated, and up-to-the-minute account of the remarkable role Jews have played over the centuries and ongoing in American popular culture.

Table of Contents

Download PDF Download Full Book
  1. Cover
  2. open access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Cover Page
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. Title Page, Copyright
  2. pp. i-iv
  3. open access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Halftitle Page
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. Contents
  2. pp. v-vi
  3. open access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Title Page
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. Foreword
  2. Steven J. Ross
  3. pp. vii-viii
  4. open access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Copyright Page
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. Editorial Introduction
  2. Michael Renov and Vincent Brook
  3. pp. ix-xvi
  4. open access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Contents
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. PART 1: HISTORIES
  1. Foreword
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. CHAPTER 1. Still an Empire of Their Own: How Jews Remain Atop a Reinvented Hollywood
  2. Vincent Brook
  3. pp. 3-22
  4. open access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Editorial Introduction
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. CHAPTER 2. The Ben Urwand Controversy: Exploring the Hollywood-Hitler Relationship
  2. pp. 23-24
  3. open access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Part 1: Histories
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. Caution or Collaboration? The Doherty-Urwand Controversy
  2. Lawrence Baron
  3. pp. 25-34
  4. open access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 1: Still an Empire of Their Own: How Jews Remain Atop a Reinvented Hollywood
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. Hollywood and Nazi Germany: Reflections on What Might Have Been
  2. Joel Rosenberg
  3. pp. 35-42
  4. open access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 2: The Ben Urwand Controversy: Exploring the Hollywood-Hitler Relationship
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. Coda to the Doherty-Urwand Panel
  2. Vincent Brook
  3. pp. 43-46
  4. open access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Part 2: Case Studies
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. PART 2: CASE STUDIES
  1. Chapter 3: Dirty Jews: Amy Schumer and Other Vulgar Jewesses
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. CHAPTER 3. Dirty Jews: Amy Schumer and Other Vulgar Jewesses
  2. Shaina Hammerman
  3. pp. 49-72
  4. open access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 4: “The Woman Thing and the Jew Thing”: Transsexuality, Transcomedy, and the Legacy of Subversive Jewishness in Transparent
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. CHAPTER 4. “The Woman Thing and the Jew Thing”: Transsexuality, Transcomedy, and the Legacy of Subversive Jewishness in Transparent
  2. Joshua Louis Moss
  3. pp. 73-98
  4. open access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 5: Eastern-European Fatalism in Minnesota: The Mournful Destinies of A Serious Man
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. CHAPTER 5. Eastern-European Fatalism in Minnesota: The Mournful Destinies of A Serious Man
  2. Howard A. Rodman
  3. pp. 99-108
  4. open access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 6: “If Jewish People Wrote All the Songs”: The Anti-Folklore of Allan Sherman
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. CHAPTER 6. “If Jewish People Wrote All the Songs”: The Anti-Folklore of Allan Sherman
  2. Jeffrey Shandler
  3. pp. 109-124
  4. open access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Part 3: Up-Close and Personal
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. PART 3: UP-CLOSE AND PERSONAL
  1. Chapter 7: Comedy and Corned Beef: The Genesis of the Sitcom Writing Room
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. CHAPTER 7. Comedy and Corned Beef: The Genesis of the Sitcom Writing Room
  2. David Isaacs
  3. pp. 127-136
  4. open access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 8: The Faemmle Business: Laemmle Theatres, Los Angeles, and the Moviegoing Experience—an Interview with Bob and Greg Laemmle
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. CHAPTER 8. The Faemmle Business: Laemmle Theatres, Los Angeles, and the Moviegoing Experience—an Interview with Bob and Greg Laemmle
  2. Ross Melnick
  3. pp. 137-156
  4. open access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 9: An Outsider’s View of Sixties America: Matthew Weiner Talks with Michael Renov about the Jews of Mad Men
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. CHAPTER 9. An Outsider’s View of Sixties America: Matthew Weiner Talks with Michael Renov about the Jews of Mad Men
  2. Michael Renov
  3. pp. 157-184
  4. open access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. About the Contributors
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. About the Contributors
  2. pp. 185-188
  3. open access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. The USC Casden Institute for the Study of the Jewish Role in American Life
  2. open access
    • View HTML View Summary
  1. The USC Casden Institute for the Study of the Jewish Role in American Life
  2. pp. 189-190
  3. open access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Back Cover
  2. open access
    • Download PDF Download
Back To Top