Actor James Franco, a graduate of Palo Alto High two decades ago, has celebrated his bar mitzvah in a religious ceremony at the age of 37.
At the Oct. 3 ceremony, held in a private home, the actor wore a tallit and chanted from the Torah. Afterward, he posted a photo on Instagram and included the message, “I am now a MAN! Got Bar Mitzvahed tonight!!! Finally!”
The posting also included an invitation to the “Hilarity for Charity” variety show at the Hollywood Palladium on Oct. 17, to raise awareness and money for Alzheimer’s disease, sponsored by actor Seth Rogen and his wife, Lauren Miller Rogen. The couple set up the foundation in 2012 after watching Lauren’s mother deteriorate over the years after being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s at age 55.
As for Franco’s bar mitzvah, “The rabbi wouldn’t do it [at] the actual event [on Oct. 17], so he did it at our friend’s house and we filmed it and we’ll show it at our fundraiser,” Rogen told the culture website Vulture. — jta