TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

PBS Documentary Chronicles Jewish-American Experience

ADVERTISEMENT

By SUSAN YOUNG Special to The Washington Post

Published: January 7, 2008

Tackling the history of Jews in America became much more complex than documentarian David Grubin first imagined.

Four hours seemed about the right length for his miniseries, "The Jewish Americans," when the "American Experience" veteran first pitched the idea to PBS. But after interviewing more than 100 people, poring over 10,000 photographs and screening about 150 hours of film, Grubin came to the conclusion that there simply was too much material to compress into that amount of time.

Even paring the project down to its current length - six hours, airing in two-hour blocks - was difficult, Grubin said. The series airs from 9 to 11 p.m. Wednesdays from this week to Jan. 23.

"We needed to find the theme around which we could focus," Grubin said.

That theme came from one of his interview subjects: actor-writer-producer Carl Reiner, creator of "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

In the 1950s, when Reiner was working with Sid Caesar on "Your Show of Shows," they were afraid to use Yiddish words because no one thought the American public would understand, Reiner told Grubin.

The solution was to create a "cover," a physical cue so audiences would understand.

For instance, Caesar would play a German character and use Yiddish words such as shprits. His comedy partner would spit words out to him, and Caesar would clean his monocle and say, "The hoosah shpritsed on my monocle." There was no doubt the reference was to spitting.

"The word shprits is funny for some reason," Reiner said, so in the context of the joke, people understood what it meant and rolled it into their everyday speech. "Words that do creep from any different ethnic group usually have a hook to them, and the hook usually is humor.

"Think of the words that have crept into the language - 'nebbish,' 'schlumpy' - there's an onomatopoeic silliness to them," Reiner said. "'Schmuck,' which was very interesting because that became prominent and acceptable because a gentile named Steve Allen didn't quite know that 'schmuck' also meant 'penis.'"

A half-century later, many people in this country have eaten lox and bagels, given a tchotchke, schlepped to the store and commented on someone's chutzpah. That's where Grubin found his theme.

"It's a story of how a tiny minority made their way into the mainstream of American life," Grubin said. "Jews have always embraced America - they believe in the American dream - but America hasn't always embraced them. That is the story we trace over 350 years" in the documentary.

The film begins with the arrival of the first Jews in 1654 in New Amsterdam (now New York) and darts back and forth between history and present-day voices.

Among those speaking: playwright Tony Kushner, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, actor-singer Mandy Patinkin and various historians, architects, politicians and businessmen sharing what it means to them to be Jewish in the United States. Liev Schreiber narrates.

Grubin covers the Jewish-American experience, including anti-Semitism, which he said tends to flare during times of crises and tension. The series documents deep anti-Semitic sentiment during the Civil War and the Great Depression, Grubin said.

There are many things most people don't know about Jewish-American history, Grubin said. For instance, he said, Jewish marshals worked in such Old West towns as Dodge City, Kan., and Tombstone, Ariz., and Jews in the South owned slaves.

"This shows all sides of the Jewish experience," Grubin said.

VIDBITS: Bay area resident Hulk Hogan is scheduled to be on the "Today" show and "Live With Regis and Kelly" this morning. The former wrestler has been tabbed to host NBC's prime time update of "American Gladiators," hence the promotional appearance.

It's unlikely he will discuss family issues. His son, Nick Bollea, faces charges stemming from a Clearwater car crash in August that left a close friend comatose. His wife, Linda, filed for divorce in November.

•Now that the holidays are over, so is maternity leave for Elisabeth Hasselbeck. "The View" co-host will return to the talk show today.

•Finally, the news gets what it deserves. Expected back this week with fresh episodes are Comedy Central's current-events jestfests, "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" (11 and 11:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday). Check for episode updates at www .comedycentral.com/tv_schedule.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT