The Weekly Schmooze: About (New Girl's) Schmidt

JPost column on hottest Jewish news: Streisand's 70th birthday bash; Hebrew version of top pop song.

Barbra Streisand (photo credit: REUTERS/Danny Moloshok)
Barbra Streisand
(photo credit: REUTERS/Danny Moloshok)
Since the top pop song of the moment is Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know," it was only a matter of time before Israelis made their own version. Roi Lavi and the Good Guys wrote a Hebrew version of the song, played on a bouzouki for a more Middle Eastern sound.
Back in Los Angeles, Neil Diamond is not a "Solitary Man" anymore. The 71-year-old Jewish singer married his manager Katie McNeal, 42. Katie is the third Mrs. Neil Diamond, and the two tied the knot last weekend. Diamond confirmed the news in a tweet, just like his engagement announcement/poem from September: "Good news coming from sunny LA/ and you're the first I want to tell/ Katie & I just got engaged/ and I hope you wish us well."
Tuesday was a momentous occasion for the Jewish music world: Barbra Streisand officially became a septuagenarian. No word on how Babs celebrated the big 7-0, but Streisand megafan and "Glee" star Lea Michele reportedly threw a bash in her honor, watching Streisand's movies and singing her songs. Michele has sang Streisand songs on Glee more than once, and is in the running to play the title role in a remake of Gypsy, which Streisand hopes to direct and act in. Here's Michele singing "Don't Rain on my Parade" from Funny Girl, at the 2010 Tony Awards:
The Zooey Deschanel-starring "New Girl" has been one of the breakout hits of this television season, and nearly every scene of the show has been stolen by Schmidt, the Jewish roommate played by Max Greenfield. Schmidt drops a Jewish joke in almost every episode, whether it's one day wanting to name his baby Menachem Mendel, or cracking wise about doing something "un-Orthodox" with a girl on "Rosh Hashanna '06." This week, Greenfield came out with a hilarious Schmidt workout video:
Another funny Jew on TV is Julia Louis-Dreyfus, best known as Elaine from "Seinfeld," who is starring in a new HBO show "Veep," which premiered last week. Louis-Dreyfus plays Selina Meyers, the first female vice president of the US. In honor of the new show, reporter Adam Baer posted a very funny interview with her that had never been published before, in which Louis-Dreyfus recounted being told by a producer to straighten her hair to be more attractive.
The Weekly Schmooze collects the hottest Jewish culture news from around the world. Ranging from celebrities to philanthropy to quirky communities, we're here to schmooze about Jews. If you have any news to share with The Weekly Schmooze, write to:weeklyschmooze@gmail.com