Here Paris
Charlie Chaplin — Jewish or not?
The debate over Charlie Chaplin’s Jewishness has resumed in France, after a Paris court found the newspaper «Aspect de France» guilty of racist and antisemitic incitement, after it concluded an article condemning Chaplin with the statement: “Everything about him is Jewish.”
«Le Monde» recalls in this connection that in the film «The Kid», now being shown again in Israel, the character of the owner of the shelter is depicted in the classic antisemitic manner, as a greedy swindler. He even reads a newspaper written in Hebrew. The newspaper also reports that Chaplin tried for a long time to sabotage the career of his “kid,” the little Jewish Jackie Coogan, and the question remains: Charlie Chaplin — Jewish or not?
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The only way
The French Minister of Industry, André Giraud, said that recently Saudi businessmen buying French factories have been asking to retain a French share, even if only a token one, in the factory’s capital.
When Giraud asked whether they were short of money, they replied, he said, that this was the only way to ensure that in August, the month of France’s sacred and total holiday, a French engineer would be found at the factory...
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A bad teacher
Yves Montand has gone to New York these days to brush up a little on his English ahead of the filming of Malraux’s «On Man’s Condition», directed by Costa-Gavras, which will also have an English-language version. He promises that there is at least one person he will not ask for help.
“When we were filming ‘The Big Gamble,’” he says, “I played poker during breaks with a shy young American who could hardly be coaxed into saying a word”...
The young man’s name was Woody Allen!
“Maybe he’s intelligent,” says Yves Montand, “but you can’t tell at first glance”...
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“The brothers” retire
The four «Frères (Brothers) Jacques», who introduced a new style to the worlds of entertainment and song in the 1950s and also gave us the fondly remembered «Theatre Club Quartet», are now, as they reach retirement age, giving a farewell show at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. The show has been running for several months already, because so many people really have no wish to say goodbye to them at all.
But each of the “brothers” already has a definite plan for retirement: Paul will be a photographer. The tall François will return to being a potter and make pots in the village. Little, mustachioed Jojo will devote himself to painting. Only the leader of the group, André, has decided to continue as a stage actor.
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[illegible] Pluto
Demis Roussos, the large-framed singer, recently missed out on the role of «Pluto» in Robert Altman’s new film «Popeye», despite his imposing personality and its 120 kilograms.
The reason: he did not reach the required height of two meters. The furious Roussos decided to grow taller, as his regular menu at the Hôtel George V in Paris will attest. He is staying there in his special room with its private giant bed: two dozen snails, a whole chicken, [illegible] of potatoes and [illegible] Charlotte tart.
Television · 2008
Gideon Kouts’s special report from Damascus for the Mabat news program
Journalist Gideon Kouts reports to Channel 1’s Mabat program from Paris after returning from Damascus, where he was part of the press delegation accompanying French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Kouts describes being received as an Israeli journalist, the appearance of the city, the heavy security at Assad’s presidential palace, and the four-way summit held there.
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