Becks bends (a bit) kosher
David Beckham, the English soccer player, is the most famous athlete in the world. He’s an incredible package of great talent and movie-star good looks — and he’s married to the glamorous Victoria Adams, aka Posh Spice of the Spice Girls.
As you probably heard, Beckham, 31, just signed a five-year, $250 million deal with the L.A. Galaxy team of Major League Soccer. He’ll starting playing for the Galaxy this August.
In 1999, Beckham told the press that his maternal grandfather was Jewish. He said that he was close to this grandfather and “wore skullcaps” when, as a boy, he went to a Jewish wedding or two with his grandpa. Becks, as he is called, added that this little contact with Judaism was the only exposure he had to any religion while growing up.
No, I wouldn’t claim Beckham as Jewish. But I do I give him credit for disclosing his Jewish roots and being proud of them. The European soccer world is marred by racist “fans” who shout vile words at black, Arab, and Jewish players. In a way, Becks’ pride is a slap in the face of these idiots.
Piven plays for keeps
Jeremy Piven (“Entourage”) stars in the film “Smokin’ Aces” (opens Friday, Jan. 26). He plays Buddy ‘Aces’ Israel, a comic and card trick expert who is going to inform on the mob. But before he goes into protective custody, Buddy decides to have one more blast at Lake Tahoe casinos. Ben Affleck plays an FBI agent who protects Buddy and singer Alicia Keyes makes her screen debut as a mob “hit-woman” who pretends to be a prostitute to get close to Buddy.
Jewish actors Peter Berg (“Chicago Hope”) and David Proval have supporting parts. Proval is best known for playing gangster Richie Aprile Sr. on “The Sopranos.” (If you’re watching the Sopranos reruns that just started airing on A&E, Proval’s episodes will start running in March).
Piven, 41, said on CNN that he knew nothing about card tricks when he was cast in the role of Buddy Israel — “I couldn’t even entertain at a bat mitzvah.” He got the tricks down, he said, after months of practice.
Local guy gets Grammy nod
Bay Area native Steven Bernstein is up for a Grammy for best contemporary jazz recording for his CD “Sextopia,” with his group, Sex Mob. Bernstein’s a trumpeter, bandleader, arranger, and composer. He has also made three critically acclaimed Jewish-themed CDs for John Zorn’s Tzadik label: “Diaspora Soul,” “Diaspora Blues” and his most recent, “Diaspora Hollywood.”
Bernstein, who studied jazz at Berkeley High, will be playing with his band Diaspora Blues at this year’s Jewish Music Festival in Berkeley on Sunday, March 18. (The Grammy awards are on CBS on Sunday, Feb. 11.)
Briefly quoted
Famous rock musician Henry Rollins, who isn’t Jewish, just played Israel. He told the Jerusalem Post: “I love Israel. I’ve been here before … Having been here and experienced the people here in Israel and loving it, it personally grieves me to see all this pain. Too bad that we’re not at a point where this can be settled, but I think some day we will be. It’s just too bad that kids are fighting their grandfathers’ wars every year.”
Zach Braff of “Scrubs” recently talked to Parade magazine about his now-kaput fling with actress Mandy Moore: “We were together for a while, and that is the only true thing that has ever been written about my romantic life.”