Last week, in my 2025 Oscars article, I noted that I would give an update this week on “Marty Supreme,” a JOSH SAFDIE film about MARTY REISER (1930-2012), a top table tennis player and a very colorful person.
TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET, 29, who plays Reiser, has been acclaimed in dramatic films, action films, a musical film and a BOB DYLAN bio-musical. But most people don’t know he has been very good in comedy films, too. Maybe they don’t know because he had ‘just’ a supporting role in “Lady Bird” (2017), a hit dramedy. He was a lead in the WOODY ALLEN comedy “A Rainy Day In New York” (2019). However, since 2016, bad publicity about Allen’s personal life led most to stop going to his movies.
“Marty Supreme” looks like it’s going to be a rollicking, cheeky, cool dramedy hit. It is not a dry, bio-pic. We now know that the screenplay is inspired by Reiser’s life — but, a lot of cool stuff is fictionalized. (Filming is complete. The movie opens on Dec. 25, 2025.)
FRAN DRESCHER plays Marty’s mother — and while the roles of the rest of the cast are under wraps, we now know that other funny folk have big parts: SANDRA BERNHARD, Kevin O’Leary, Penn Gillette, GWYNETH PALTROW, and ODESSA A’ZION.
And, I have to say that Chalamet seems to like to work with Jewish filmmakers and with Hebrew-heavy casts. Another reason to like him.
Starting in 2022, I provided a list of men who served in WWII and became famous after WWII. There weren’t many Jewish and non-Jewish (vet) celebrities still alive in 2022. In 2025, there are only two living Jewish celeb vets; MEL BROOKS, now 98, and songwriter ALAN BERGMAN, now 99. In 2024, two of the three surviving non-Jewish celebs (veterans) died: film producer/writer, Roger Corman (98) and director Norman Jewison (97; “Fiddler on the Roof”). Dick Van Dyke is now 99.
The good news is that I found two more (non-Jewish) survivors: (1) Ray Anthony, 103. He was a very popular trumpeter and band leader in the ‘40s-80s; He led an army band to entertain soldiers in the Pacific during WWII; he composed the “Bunny Hop” (1953), a big ‘simcah dance song for decades. And (2) William Daniels, 97. He was in bootcamp when WWII ended. He was a star of “St. Elsewhere” and “Boy Meets World.” He played DUSTIN HOFFMAN’s father in “The Graduate.”
Just before PAUL SIMON, 83, performed on the SNL 50th Anniversary Special (February 16) a stream of connections entered my mind. First, I thought about William Daniels acting in “The Graduate.”
Almost simultaneously, I recalled that Simon and Garfunkel’s songs (written by Simon) were perfectly used as the main soundtrack of “The Graduate.” Those songs (like “Sound of Silence” and “Mrs. Robinson”) helped make “The Graduate” a huge, memorable hit, and the hit film hugely boosted the duo’s popularity.
I thought about another “Graduate” star: Anne Bancroft (“Mrs. Robinson”). She died in 2005, and she was the wife of another WWII vet: Mel Brooks. The movie’s screenplay was co-written by the (late) BUCK HENRY and he had a small part in the movie. He co-created “Get Smart,” a huge ‘60s TV hit with Mel Brooks!
All these things made me write up this list of the few survivors. I believe Mel Brooks is the last living, famous American celebrity who saw combat during WWII.
All this longevity news turned me back to Paul Simon. Last year, Simon revealed that he had lost all but 6% of his hearing in his left ear. It seemed like he would not be able to perform in public again. He did an intimate concert last September to benefit a Stanford University unit that has greatly helped him to deal with his hearing loss. That concert was a test case to see if Stanford’s suggestions would work: Simon should switch to larger monitor speakers and he should re-arrange the speakers to surround him onstage.
With these hearing aids, Simon was able to sing on the SNL special and it was disclosed, last week, that he would do a North American tour (called “A Quiet Celebration”) with his wife, singer/songwriter Edie Brickell, and many backing musicians. (The nearest concerts are in Chicago in May.) Songs from his most recent album, “Seven Psalms,” will be featured in the tour. Oldies, too.
I have mixed feelings about concerts by quite aged musical “legends” (like Simon and Dylan). There is a loss of so many aspects of their voices that I can’t be as happy as I am when I listen to recordings made in their prime. But there are still moments that move me. I do like that they rage against the dying of the light.
