By Nate Bloom
Contributing Columnist
Scary Film, The Grammys & More
“Send Help” opens in theaters on Jan. 30. The film is described as a “horror or psychological thriller with a darkly comedic tone.” Here’s the premise: Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) is mistreated by her sexist boss, Bradley Preston. The situation changes when a plane crash strands them on a deserted island. Their survival is difficult and tensions rise between them.
The director is SAM RAIMI, 66. He grew-up in a suburban Detroit town and his family belonged to a Conservative synagogue. Raimi is best known as the director of the hit “Spider-Man” trilogy of films (2002–2007) and the creator of the “Evil Dead” films (1981–present).
This year, the Grammy ceremony will air on CBS on Feb. 1 (Sunday; 8 p.m.). I’ve long defined the Grammy Awards this way: “It is for excellence in music. However, only the most popular Grammy categories (that make money) are shown on the Grammys on TV. “
For reasons too difficult — to shortly explain — the number of Jewish Grammy nominees (on TV) has shrunk about 80% in the last 20 years.
JACK ANTONOFF, 41, has emerged in the last few years as the one Jew who is annually racking up many Grammy nominations. He’s annually nominated for producing recordings and/or co-writing songs. He got 7(!) Grammy nominations this year: mostly for co-writing songs, and for producing music (songs and albums) — for singers Sabrina Carpenter and Kendrick Lamar.
Linkin Park, a veteran rock band, is up for a “Best Rock Album” Grammy (“From Zero”) and a Grammy for the “Best Rock Performance.” Their (Jewish) lead guitarist is BRAD DELSON, 48.
MATT SCHWARTZ, is nominated for co-writing “Zombie,” a “Best Rock Song” nominee. Schwartz, 54, was born in Haifa, Israel and settled in England around 1991. He’s a top producer and songwriter. His stage name is “The Drill.”
“The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two” is a BARBRA STREISAND album that is nominated for the “Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.” “Partners” consists of duets with other singers. This 2025 album made the top-40 Billboard sales charts. Streisand, 83, has now made a top-40 album in every decade since the ‘60s.
BELA FLECK, 67, has almost been nominated for a Grammy every year since 1987. He’s been nominated in more Grammy categories than any other musician. Here are some of the categories: bluegrass, country, classical and folk. He’s won 16 Grammys. His 2026 nomination is for “Best Contemporary Instrumental Album”.
Fleck is best known as a top banjo player. He grew-up in Manhattan. His father, a musician, is not Jewish and he left his family when Bela was a year old. (Bela was in his 40s when he met his father). Bela’s mother is Jewish and he was raised Jewish.
PAUL SIMON, 83, is one of six very famous musicians who have been awarded a 2026 “Lifetime Achievement Award.” These Grammy awards are just mentioned on TV.
Bob Weir, the Grateful Dead guitarist, died on Jan. 10, age 78. Weir’s recent death was widely reported. Paul Simon became a lifelong friend of Weir in 1967. That year, Simon went to the “Grateful Dead House” in San Francisco. He went there to ask the “Dead” to play the nearby Monterey Music Festival. Simon knocked and Weir opened the door. They quickly became lifelong friends. (In 2019, they finally played together before an audience).
Last week, I said I would profile, in this column, about 15 Jews in show biz who died last year. MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (1985–2025) is the second profiled.
The death of this actress is a real tragedy. She died, age 39, from complications from diabetes.
She was a child actor. At 15, she gained fame when she played (2000–03) the younger sister of Buffy in the hit TV show, “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.” She went on to star in the TV series “Gossip Girl” and “Mercy”. She had guest roles in many TV series. Her biggest film hit was “17 Again” (2009), a teen comedy that was a huge box-office hit.
Trachtenberg’s Jewish parents were immigrants and religious — her father came from Germany and her mother from Ukraine (Odessa).
Michelle virtually stopped acting in 2024. She had a liver transplant in that year. Sadly, her health kept going down and she died early in 2025.
She was survived by Jay Cohen, her romantic partner of 5 years. Cohen is the “finance guy” of a major talent agency. Various “things” make me pretty sure that he is Jewish.
