Seraphic Secret | Robert J. Avrech: Emmy Award winning screenwriter. Religious Zionist. Republican. Movie fanatic. Gun owner. Helplessly and hopelessly in love with my wife since age nine.

Thanksgiving 2018: The Children of the Children of Israel

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: November 21, 2018

Studio photographers shot millions of still photos of their actors, often with holiday themes. This is the one of the few religiously inclined Thanksgiving stills I have come across. The actress is Barbara Kent, a minor star in the silent ear best known for starring opposite Harold Lloyd in “Welcome Danger” 1929. But her very best role was in a little known but quite wonderful silent film “Lonesome,” 1928.

Studio photographers shot mountains of photographs of contract actors, often with holiday themes. This is a charming Thanksgiving photo. The actress is Barbara Kent, (b. Barbara Cloutman, 1907- 2011) a popular star in the silent era best known for twice starring opposite Harold Lloyd, “Welcome Danger” (1929), and then “Feet First,” (1930). But her very best role was in a little known but quite wonderful silent film “Lonesome,” (1928). Seraphic Secret wrote a memoriam for this lovely actress when she passed away. You can find it here.

As far as I know, there are only two countries in the world that were founded on the idea of hope.

America and Israel.

And what was the hope?

Posted in Actors, Alfred Hitchcock, America, Ann Miller, Audrey Hepburn, Barbara Kent, Bette Davis, Carole Lombard, Clark Gable, Doris Day, Holidays, Hollywood, Shirley Temple, Thanksgiving | Tagged Alice White, America, Ann Miller, Audrey Hepburn, Barbara Kent, Bette Davis, Carole Lombard, Celia Singer, Clark Gable, Doris Day, Dorothy Sebastian, Hollywood, Jeanne Crain, Judy garland, Lowell, Marilyn Monroe, Marsha Hunt, Mass., MIckey Rooney, Paula Corday, Shirley Temple, Thanksgiving, Vera Allen | 1 Response

Lincolna and Thanksgiving: The Origin of an American Holiday

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: November 19, 2018

The very first Thanksgiving happened almost 400 years ago – long before the nation was born. How did it evolve into America’s quintessential national holiday? Credit largely goes to two people – one, a name you know; the other, you’ve probably never heard – but should. Melanie Kirkpatrick, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, gives us the run-down on how a harvest party between Pilgrims and Indians became our oldest national tradition

Posted in Abraham Lincoln, America, Dennis Prager, Holidays, Prager University, Thanksgiving | Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Melanie Kirkpatrick, Prager University, Thanksgiving | 1 Response

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: November 16, 2018

“People think that if you look fairly reasonable, you can’t possibly act, and as I only care about acting, I think beauty can be a great handicap.”
—Vivien Leigh

Posted in Art, Hollywood, Hollywood Stars, Hollywood Still Photography, Israel, Joanne Woodward, Judaism, Movie Posters, Movies, Myrna Loy, Painting, Paul Newman, Photography, Quotes, True Hollywood Confessions, Vintage Cars, Vivien Leigh | Tagged Andrea Mantegna, David Seymour, Elizabeth Montgomery, Errol Flynn, Joanne Woodward, Lauren Bacall, Motorcycles, Myrna Loy, Nickolas Murray, Pantages Theater, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Vintage Cars, Vivien Leigh | 3 Responses

Building Resilience: 5 Ways to a Better Life

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: November 14, 2018

In case you hadn’t noticed, life is difficult and unpredictable. So, how do you move forward in such a complex and confusing world? UCLA Medical School psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Marmer offers 5 tips for coping with life’s unwelcome surprises.

Posted in Prager University | Tagged Prager University, Stephen Marmer | Leave a comment

Veteran’s Day 2018: My Favorite Veteran Rabbi Chaplain Abraham Avrech, z’l

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: November 13, 2018

My father, Rabbi Abraham Avrech. An Army Chaplain in the 42nd Rainbow Division, my father served this great nation through World War II, The Korean War and Vietnam. Retired as a full Colonel, my father often spoke of his Chaplaincy as the most important and fulfilling of his long and distinguished Rabbinic career.

My father, Rabbi Chaplain Abraham Avrech passed away on March 15, 2014. This is the fifth Veteran’s Day without my father’s physical presence in this world.

He is gone, but like all veteran’s certainly not forgotten.

Take a moment to ponder the enormous sacrifices made by our nation’s heroes and their families.

Posted in Abraham Avrech, America, Veterans Day, War, World War II | Tagged Chaplain Abraham Avrech, Veteran's Day | 1 Response

God and Guns in Synagogue

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: November 12, 2018

That’s me, a Jew with a gun.

There is a problem in American Judaism. It is a problem of basic theology. Those of us who believe in Torah Judaism recognize that evil exists, and to combat evil requires common sense and weapons.

Secular American Jews—Democrats almost exclusively—believe in utopian solutions to, well, everything. Which means they advocate for gun free zones, an invitation to Jew-hating mass murderers.

My good friend Daniel Greenfield’s article which analyzes this theological split is both timely and accurate.

Posted in Gun Control, Jew-haters, Jew-hatred, Jews & Guns, Judaism, Second Amendment | Tagged Daniel Greenfield, Guns, synagogue | 2 Responses

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: November 9, 2018

“If there’s anything I hate it’s a goddamned phony, and Hollywood’s filled with them, pretending to be what they are not and some of them never were.”
—Barbara Stanwyck

Posted in Barbara Stanwyck, Baseball, Design, Hollywood, Hollywood Stars, Hollywood Still Photography, Joan Crawford, Judaica, Judaism, María Félix, Movie Posters, Movies | Tagged Barbara Stanwyck, Ed Ruscha, Edward Weston, Erwin Blumenfeld, Frank Lloyd Wright, Gilmore Drive-In Theater, Henry Clarke, Jean Renoir, John Singer Sargent, Marc Chagall, María Félix, Merle Oberon, Norma Shearer, Pasquale de Antonis, Paul Strand, Pierre-August Renoir, R.B. Kitaj, Waldemar Swierzy, William Morris | 4 Responses

Books On My Night Table

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: November 7, 2018

I still remember the day when I heard that Sandy Koufax refused to pitch a World Series opening game because it was Yom Kippur.

It was, to say the least, something of a shock. We, baseball mad yeshiva kids, knew that the great Southpaw was a Jew from Bensonhurst, but we also knew that he was not observant. In fact, Koufax never even had a Bar Mitzvah. Shock was quickly replaced by pride as this assimilated Jewish superstar made a very public stand for, what we saw as, Torah values.

Posted in Baseball, Book Reviews, Books, Books On My Night Table | Tagged Anne Applebaum, Babe Ruth, Baseball, Brooklyn, Gulag, Helen Dunmore, Jane Leavy, Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax, The Siege | 2 Responses

Hamilton: The Man Who Invented America

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: November 5, 2018

Alexander Hamilton: You know the name, but what do you know about the man? Joseph Tartakovsky, senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, details how Hamilton took a country with no past and envisioned its future.

Posted in Alexander Hamilton, America, History, Politics, Prager University | Tagged Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, America, Founding Fathers, George Washington, Joseph Tartakovsky, Prager University | 1 Response

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: November 2, 2018

“I loathe acting. I loathe what it does to my life. It cancels it out; you cannot live while you are working. You are a person completely surrounded by unbreachable walls.”
—Margaret Sullavan, via Haywire, one of the finest, if most depressing Hollywood memoirs I have ever read

Posted in Art, Art Deco, Edward Hopper, Fashion, Friday Fotos, Judaica, Judaism, Lana Turner, Margaret Sullavan, Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, Movie Posters, Movies, Painting, Photography, Quotes, True Hollywood Confessions | Tagged Adolph Menzel, Art Deco, Berenice Abbott, Brooke Hayward, Edward Hopper, Harry Callahan, Haywire, Henry Clarke, Horst P. Horst, Jerzy Flisak, Lana Turner, Margaret Sullavan, Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, movie posters, Nico Jesse, Norma Jean, Norman Parkinson, Paul Huf, Piergiorgio Branzi, Vivian Maier, Wristwatches | 7 Responses

Illegal Immigration: It’s About Power

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: October 31, 2018

Historically, Democrats supported strong borders because they knew American workers could never compete with illegal immigrants. Now, they regularly support “open borders.” So why the drastic change? Tucker Carlson, host of Tucker Carlson Tonight, explains.

Posted in Illegal Immigration, Immigration, Prager University | Tagged Illegal Immigration, Tucker Carlson | Leave a comment

Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: October 29, 2018

Unfortunately, the massacre in a Pittsburgh synagogue was not surprising. Jew-Hatred is a constant in this world and until the arrival of the Messiah, will always be with us.

Posted in IslamoNazis, Israel, Jew-haters, Jew-hatred, Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre | Tagged Bookworm Room, David Simon, Jewish Jew Hatred, Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre | 6 Responses

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: October 26, 2018

“I appeared with many leading men. But working with Cary Grant was different from working with other actors. He was much more fun! I think we were a successful team because we enjoyed working together tremendously, and that pleasure must have shown through onto the screen. I will always remember two compliments he made me. He said I had perfect timing in comedy and that I was the sweetest smelling actress he ever worked with.”
—Irene Dunne

Posted in Actors, Alfred Hitchcock, Art, Art Deco, Automobiles, Clark Gable, Fred Astaire, Hollywood, Irene Dunne, Marie Windsor, Movie Posters, Painting, Photography, Photography, Signs, Quotes, True Hollywood Confessions | Tagged Barnard College, Barnett Newman, Bill Brandt, Bugatti, David "Chim" Seymour, Fred Astaire, Fred Stein, Georgia O'Keeffe, Horst P. Horst, Irene Dunne, Jean Patchett, Joan Miro, Marie Windsor, Marilyn Monroe, Pablo Picasso, Peter Keetman, Rules of the Game, Walter Sanders, Wrist Watches | 11 Responses

David O. Selznick Pitches a Movie in Israel

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: October 24, 2018

Producer David O. Selznick

In 1958, producer David O. Selznick had an idea for a Biblical epic.

He explained to screenwriter Edward Anhalt, “I want to combine Mary the sister of Lazarus, the adulteress Jesus saved from the stoning, the whore who washed His feet, and the Mary Magdalene who was the first to see Him resurrected, into one character and tell the gospel story through her. And I want to tell it as purely a Jewish story.”

Anhalt liked the idea and set to work writing the Mary Magdalene script. When Anhalt finished he handed the screenplay to Selznick and the two men sat down to to discuss it.

Posted in David O. Selznick, Edward Anhalt, Hollywood, Israel, Jennifer Jones, Jerusalem, Screenwriting | Tagged David Ben Gurion, David O. Selznick, Edward Anhalt, Israel, Jennifer Jones, Mary Magdalene, Moshe Dayan, Screenplays | 1 Response

The American Trinity: The Three Values That Make America Great

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: October 22, 2018

Nearly every country on Earth is defined by race or ethnicity. Not America. What makes the United States different? Dennis Prager outlines the values that have allowed the American people to flourish and, unlike immigrants almost everywhere else, transformed those who arrived from across the globe into full Americans—regardless of where they were born.

Posted in America, Big Government, Dennis Prager, Prager University | Tagged 1776, America, Dennis Prager, Equality, Ethnic Origins, European Values, In God We Trust, Liberty, Moral Values, Out of Many One, Prager University, Racial Identity, Values | Leave a comment

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: October 19, 2018

“Having to work hard never had any real appeal for me, and that may have some connection with me being in the movies.“
—Gary Cooper

Posted in Ansel Adams, Art, Art Deco, Automobiles, Design, Dovima, Elvis Presley, Fashion, Friday Fotos, Gary Cooper, Hollywood, Hollywood Stars, Hollywood Still Photography, Judaica, Judaism, Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich, Photography, Quotes, True Hollywood Confessions | Tagged Albrecht Durer, Alfred Wertheimer, Art Deco, Ben Hur, Berthe Morisot, Clyfford Still, Dovima, Elvis Presley, Gary Cooper, George Hoyningen-Huene, German-Jewish Soldiers, Horst P. Horst, Jerzy Flisak, Jessica Tandy, Judy garland, Karen Singer Avrech, Marlene Dietrich, Norman Parkinson, Richard Avedon, Rick McGinnis, Vintage Cars, World War I | 5 Responses

Hidden Hollywood: Jorjett Strumme, Ten Years With Elizabeth Taylor

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: October 17, 2018

Jorjett and Elizabeth Taylor, Italy, 1991

Jorjett Strumme had a fascinating life and career in Hollywood. I first met Jorjett when I discovered that she worked as an assistant to the great costume designer Helen Rose from 1981-1985, which I wrote about here.

Jorjett went on to work with costume designer Nolan Miller from 1982-1985. And then, Jorjett was Personal Assistant and Stylist to Elizabeth Taylor for ten years.

Over the past few months Jorjett has kindly responded to my questions about her years working for Elizabeth Taylor.

Midway through the interview Jorjett made it clear that she would not reveal any details of Taylor’s multiple marriages. So, if you’re looking for juicy Elizabeth Taylor gossip, this is not the place to find it.

We admire Jorjett’s insistence on respecting Elizabeth Taylor’s life and memory. In a world in which privacy is almost completely unknown, Jorjett’s loyalty is a rare and enviable quality.

This interview was conducted via email.

Posted in Costume Design, Elizabeth Taylor, Glamour, Helen Rose, Hidden Hollywood, Hollywood, Hollywood Stars, Jorjett Strumme | Tagged Aaron Spelling, Elizabeth Taylor, Hollywood, Jorjett Strumme, Jose Eber, Nolan Miller, Seaside Oregon, Sydney Guilaroff | 3 Responses

What’s Wrong with Government-Run Healthcare?

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: October 15, 2018

If you get sick or suffer a serious injury, you not only want medical care, you want quality medical care. What’s the best way to get it? Through a government-run program like Medicare for All or through our current free market system? Stanford policy expert Lanhee Chen has the answer in this video from Prager University.

Posted in America, Big Government, Health Care | Tagged Big Government, Biomedical Research, Bureacrats, Canada, Emergency Rooms, Freedom, health care, Illness, Innovation, Medicare, National Health Care, National Health Service, Prager University, Private Sector, Quality Health Care, Single Payer, taxes, United Kingdom, Utopia | 2 Responses

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: October 12, 2018

“The Method school [Brando, Clift, Dean] thinks the emotion is the art. It isn’t. All emotion isn’t sublime. The theater isn’t reality. If you want reality, go to the morgue. The theater is human behavior that is effective and interesting.“
—Agnes Moorehead

Posted in Agnes Moorehead, Anna May Wong, Art, Art Deco, Brigitte Bardot, Constance Bennett, Costume Design, Dorothy McGuire, Edith Head, Edward Steichen, Hollywood, Hollywood Stars, Hollywood Still Photography, Ingrid Bergman, Irving Penn, Israel, Jerusalem, Kees Van Dongen, Movie Posters, Movies, Norman Parkinson, Photography, Picasso, Quotes, Richard Avedon, Rick McGinnis, Shirley MacLaine | Tagged Agnes Moorehead, Anna May Wong, Brice Marden, Brigitte Bardot, Constance Bennett, Dorothy McGuire, Edith Head, Elmer Fryer, Irving Penn, Kees Van Dongen, Myrna Loy, Norman Parkinson, Pablo Picasso, Reckless, Richard Avedon, Rick McGinnis, Shirley MacLaine | 3 Responses

Barack Obama Flashback

By Robert J. Avrech | Published: October 10, 2018

It seems that the Democrat Socialists need a reality check from their Dear Leader.

“Elections have consequences, and at the end of the day, I won.” – President Obama to House Republican Whip Eric Cantor, January 23, 2009.

Posted in America, Donald Trump | Tagged Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Elections, Eric Cantor | Leave a comment

How I Married Karen

The new book
by Robert J. Avrech

Available in All Major Book Stores

Adobe Digital Edition's version is available through the Lulu store!
About Me
Robert J. Avrech
Los Angeles, California
I'm an Emmy Award winning screenwriter. I'm also an observant Jew, a religious Zionist, a conservative Republican, and a member of the NRA. I've been writing and producing in Hollywood for over twenty-five years. But the focus of my life is my family: my radiant wife, Karen—with whom I have been in love with since I was nine years-old—and my two daughters, who, thankfully, look like Karen. Not too long ago, we had three children. But our son, Ariel, died at the age of twenty-two from cancer. We miss him terribly. We think about him practically every minute of every day. People tell us that time heals, but Karen and I know this is not true. Time grinds away doing its terrible work. Ariel is gone. Yet absence becomes presence.

Ariel Chaim Avrech, ZT'L, May His Righteous Memory be a Blessing.
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Annual Ariel Avrech
Memorial Lectures
Young Israel of Century City
NOTE: Click on video titles inside the thumbnail images, below, to open that video in YouTube

Fifteenth: June 10, 2018
Jackie Danicki: “Confessions of a Convert: A Humbling, Joyful Journey to Judaism.”

Blog Post | Audio: (94 MB)

Fourteenth: June 11, 2017
Daniel Greenfield: “Fighting Anti-Semitism and Defending Israel in the Age of BDS.”

Blog Post | Audio: (100 MB)

Thirteenth: May 22, 2016Ben Shapiro: “How You Can Save Israel”

Blog Post | Audio: (70 MB)

Twelfth: June 7, 2015
Larry Elder: “The New Black Anti-Semitism”

Blog Post | Audio: (100 MB)

Eleventh: June 8, 2014
Michael Medved: “Shifting Alliances: Why Liberals No Longer Reliably Support Israel — And Conservatives Do.”

Blog Post | Audio: (97MB)

Tenth: June 9, 2013
David Horowitz: “The War Against Judaism on the University Campus.”

Blog Post | Audio: (16MB)

Ninth: June 3, 2012
Joel B. Pollak: “The Mainstream Media’s Betrayal of Israel.”

Blog Post | Audio: (15MB)

Eighth: June 5, 2011
Yossi Klein Halevi: “What is Expected of a Survivor People: Lessons My Father Taught Me.”

Blog Post | Audio: (18MB)

Seventh: June 13, 2010
Dennis Prager: “Happiness is a Mitzvah, Not an Emotion.”

Blog Post | Audio: (80MB)

Sixth: June 21, 2009
Rabbi Steven Pruzansky: “Conformity in Jewish Life: Vice, Virtue or Affectation?”

Blog Post | Audio: (64MB)

Fifth: June 15, 2008
Rabbi Dr. Gil S. Perl: “What Was the Rosh Yeshiva Reading: Intellectual Openness in 19th Century Lithuania.”

Blog Post | Audio: (70MB)
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