Book him now
Elliott Yamin, the young Jewish singer who finished third in the “American Idol” competition, hasn’t yet committed to a project. Now’s the time to get him for a Jewish community event or a really big wedding/bar mitzvah.
Not only can this guy sing, he’s a Jewish “Cinderfella” story. He was born in 1979 in Los Angeles to an Israeli father of Iraqi descent and a Jewish-American mother (she’s a synagogue director). In 1988, his parents divorced and his mother moved Elliott, and his brother, to Richmond, Va., where she had family.
Elliott’s mother, Claudette, told her hometown paper about her son’s daunting health problems. Ear infections left him all but deaf in one ear. But, she said, much worse was the diabetes that struck him when he was 16. His diabetes was life-threatening and he didn’t get it really under control until five years ago when he committed to a tough diet and had an insulin pump implanted under his skin.
Claudette, who also loves to sing, was surprised and gratified when the shy Elliott auditioned for “American Idol.” When her son made the first audition cut, Claudette exclaimed, “I’m so verklempt!”
Well, the rest is Idol history — including tough judge Simon Cowell saying that Yamin “was quite possibly the best male vocalist ever on the program.”
Idol judge Paula Abdul is also a fan and was visibly upset when Yamin was eliminated. The young singer says of Abdul’s emotional reaction: “I think [Paula] just loves my voice and likes me as a person. She’s just a sweetheart, and she’s got a big heart like I do. And we’re both Jewish too. Us Jews, we kind of have a bond at birth.”
Mazel tov
Actor/director Jon Favreau and his wife, Dr. Joya Tillem, a former Sonoma resident, recently announced that they are expecting their third child. Favreau is also celebrating ABC’s decision to pick-up his TV series “In Case of Emergency.” Jon co-produced this comedy/drama about four old high school friends and directed the pilot. It co-stars Jonathan Silverman and David Arquette.
Right now, you can catch Favreau in a supporting role in the new Jennifer Aniston/Vince Vaughn film comedy, “The Break-Up.”
Tony time
The Tonys, for outstanding work on the Broadway stage, air 8 p.m. Sunday, June 11 on CBS. Some of the more notable Jewish nominees: Lisa Kron, up for best leading actress in a play (“Well”). “Well,” which Kron authored, was mounted by San Francisco’s ACT company in 2005; Judy Kaye, also up for best leading actress in a play (“Souvenir”); Danny Burstein, up for best featured actor in a musical (“The Drowsy Chaperone”); and Zoe Wanamaker, up for best featured actress in a play (for her role as a Jewish mother in the current revival of Clifford Odets’ “Awake and Sing”).
Upcoming
Brad Garrett (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) returns to TV next fall in the Fox series, “Til Death.” It tracks two couples, one long married and the other just hitched. Garrett and Joely Fisher play the older couple and Kat Foster and Jewish actor Eddie Kaye Thomas, 26, are the newlyweds. Thomas played the suave Paul Finch in the first three “American Pie” movies.
This columnist can be reached at [email protected].