Celebrities you were surprised to find were not Jewish

Joy Behar Valerie Harper Nathan Lane Anne Bancroft Lily Tomlin Josh Grobin (only half) Matthew Broderick (only half)

• Cyndi Lauper Jimmy Kimmel I always thought the founder of the Singer sewing machine fortune was Jewish, but he wasn't. And he turned out to be something of a bigamist as well as a serial philanderer/baby daddy.

• Jason Biggs

• Norman Jewison Penny and Garry Marshall

• Martin Short Andrea Martin

• Mel Gibson OJ Simpson Colin Farrell

  hmm

• Jennifer Lopez Cameron Diaz Peter O'Toole Liza Minelli Phylicia Rashad

• Ben Vereen Katie Holmes Leontyne Price David Letterman

• Jesus

• Joy Behar owns this thread, but how about Whoppi Goldberg

  Barbara%20Walters%20the%20closet%20case%20Jew

• Neil Sedaka

• R10 Neil Sedaka's parents were both Jewish, so I don't think there's much doubt about him.

• I never thought Joy Behar was Jewish. I lived in Queens for a while in an Italian/Jewish neighborhood and she was undoubtedly Italian to me. She looks damn good for a 70 year old.

• r sorry to disappoint but Jesus was (is) Jewish..

• AGAIN?

• Michael Musto And Why did someone mention Anne Bancroft ? Sure she is Jewish, where does it say that she isn't - and if not then what is she ? And Italians are often interchangeable with Jews and have in their ancient history semitic and Arab elements, many are Jews but. Identify as roman catholic italian due to historical events and conversions and persecution

  Minx

• Julia Louis-Dreyfus Dustin Hoffmann Barbra Streisand Beyonce Steven Spielberg Harvey Fierstein Natalie Portman

• JLDreyfuss IS jewish And why the hell would anyone think Beyonce was jewish?? Lena Dunham

• Greeks are just Jews without money.

  Jeri%20Blank

• R15 Her real name was Anna Maria Italiano, so I'd guess Italian.

• How do you get through life, R17?

• I think many new yorkers can be confused for american jews to be honest.

• R19. I am shocked, did not know that - you should see FATSO starring Dom Deluise, where Bancroft plays his sister - very good movie

  Minx

• Celebrity I was surprised to find WAS Jewish: Phoebe Snow

  And NOT African-American!

• Which half, OP, for Grobin and Broderick? Judaism is matrilineal, so if their mothers were Jewish, they are considered fully Jewish.

• Alan Dershowitz

• Supposedly Phoebe Snow was shocked that so many thought she was black.

• Lena Dunham's mother is Jewish, so she is a Jew.

• R23e looked like a black woman when she was younger

• How about Rachel Maddow? I see her as Jewish, but either she isn't or she's a closet case Jew.

• Ann Romney Cher Bonnie Bedelia Sara Ramirez Pat Sajak Lola Falana Andrew Lloyd Webber Joey Patton Dave Grohl Ellen Pompeo Claire Danes Julianna Marguiles Elaine DuBois Sandra Oh

• Alan Adla Marilyn Manson Liza Minnelli Weird Al Yankovic

• Michael Richards.

  anonymous

• Gregory Peck

  Anonymous

• Barbra Streisand's NOT Jewish, R16?

• So many Italians.

• [quote]How about Rachel Maddow? I see her as Jewish, but either she isn't or she's a closet case Jew. You're nuts. Maddow screams WASP. She's not Jewish. There's no such thing as a closet case Jew. This isn't the 1930s, dear.

• R16, Spielberg is totally Jewish. He both set up the Shoah Foundation AND got ripped off by Bernie Madoff!

• [quote]Why did someone mention Anne Bancroft ? Sure she is Jewish, where does it say that she isn't - and if not then what is she ? Anne was Italian. She changed her name. And [quote]Italians are often interchangeable with Jews and have in their ancient history semitic and Arab elements, many are Jews but. Identify as roman catholic italian due to historical events and conversions and persecution Did you complete your GED?

• Penny and Gary Marshall Italians yet again.

• I' shocked to discover Liza Minellis is not jewish

• Ethel Merman

• Not that it's a big deal, but these days you really can't tell who is Jewish based on a last name. Based on experience I would guess that there are far more "Jewish sounding" last names than there are Jews, at least in America.

  Jew with very Jewish first, middle & last names

• I can't believe how many people on this thread can't tell what a joke post looks like.

  R16

• Why are you shocked, R40? She's a genealogical mongrel (Sicilian, French-Canadian, Scots Irish, German, Colonial American, possibly Native American) but not Jewish.

• All of these ARE Jewish: Julia Louis-Dreyfus Dustin Hoffmann Barbra Streisand Steven Spielberg Harvey Fierstein

• Joy Behar uses her first husband's last name, she's obsessed with the whole New York Jew persona, she LOVES when people assume she's Jewish. Her second husband is also Jewish. Joy is Italian Catholic, from Brooklyn. One of her best friends is a priest, I bet that's not something she brags about! I know this for a fact because he's the godfather of a friend's son.

• Back in the late 80s I was shocked to find out Roseanne was/is Jewish.

• That's a cop out, R43. The R16 post has both Jews and non-Jews listed. You just didn't know who was and who wasn't.

• R36, Yes there is such a thing in 2013 as a "closet case Jew." Apparently you haven't been told non-stop that the apartment buildings where you live normally don't rent to Jews, subjected to constant anti-Semitism rants a la KKK "literature" everyplace that you've worked (especially if the owners/upper-level mgrs are Jewish) and have come to realize that your very survival means always having to be an excellent actress and a liar. Some of the worst insults come from other Jews. The truth is that many confuse stereotypical New Yorkers with Jews. If they dislike the former, then they're usually biased against the latter.

  Lucky%20to%20have%20fair%20skin%2C%20light%20eyes%2C%20blond%20hair%2C%20%26%20l

• I second Ethel Merman r41, she all but screamed "I'm Jewish" and her literally screaming other stuff reinforced that impression. One could easily assume the name Merman is Jewish too. I was absolutely amazed that she supposedly wasn't Jewish as she seemed quintessentially so and still find it unbelievable.

  Anonymous

• Tony Curtis (Bernie Schwartz) was a shock to find out he's Jewish. Any other old timers you were shocked to find out were Jewish?

• R51, Actors who don't fit the stereotypical "Jewish look" are still told to quickly change their name or lose work. Same with actors who have other culturally identifying names that look "different" than expected.

• Ethel Merman was born Ethel Agnes Zimmerman. To quote Lenny Bruce "All italians are Jewish. All Irish who have lost the faith are Jewish. All New Yorkers are Jewish. There are no Jews between Chicago and Las Vegas...

• OMG, I clearly posted obvious Jews and included Beyonce as a joke. I can't believe anyone thinks I was serious in listing Babs and Spielberg as not Jewish.

  R16

• Joy Behar used to joke in her act that even her [italic]mother[/italic] used to think she was Jewish.

  R75

• [quote]One could easily assume the name Merman is Jewish too Merman was a stage name. Her real surname was Zimmerman, but she cropped it 'cause she said it wouldn't all fit on a billing.

• Louis Armstrong Bing Crosby John Wayne Butterfly McQueen Grace Kelly Betty Windsor Catherine Zeta Jones

  still%20shocked

• Wasn't Bob Dylan's real name Zimmerman? And most people know he's Jewish, I think. I had read somewhere that Elvis Presley had a Jewish ancestor as well as a Native American one. Can anyone confirm this? I have no idea whether he explained what this meant to him.

  Anonymous

• R18 I disagree. Greeks are hardworking & always have plenty of money. Jews with crosses, I thought.

• The guy from American pie Jason Biggs, the son is not Jewish.

• What's with the Italian bashing, they don't even like Jews. They enjoy life, Jews enjoy money.

  Sons%20of%20Italy

• Jews are mostly peasant stock and thank God the upper classes see them for what they are.

• Native Americans - I was raised Mormon, in the book it say they are descendants of Jews. We are the riotous people of the land, not the natives! By the way, god also says all dark people are cursed.

  John%20Smith%20

• Yeah like Grace Kelly would ever be Jewish. Jews are considered pigs in Europe by the upper classes and by anyone who has any class. Jesus!

• Jews are piggish

• Valerie Harper not Jewish? That explains her good looks.

• Jews are the first to whine about being persecuted. Meanwhile, they look down at everyone else.

• Is it true that Jews only like to do business with Jews? A friend of mine said she was basically taught growing up not to trust Gentiles? Translation = dont trust non Jews.

• Since Josh Groban and Matthew Broderick are 50% Jewish they are absolutely Jewish op.

• I am pretty sure that Grace Kelly was Jewish. She looks just like one, you fool.

  r57

• Isnt the old Spock Jewish?

• Breckin Meyer

  mark paul gosselaar

• Most of Hollywood is not Jewish. It's mostly the guys at the top, the CEO's Power Brokers, Lawyers, Studio Heads. FACT: In the early days of Hollywood, the studio head changed their names so people would not know they were Jewish. Goldwyn and Cecil B. de Mille for example.

• The kind of thread that makes DL as irrelevant as the Roman Catholic Church.

  It%20proves%20that%20young%20gays%20are%20no%20more%20evolved%20than%20main%20st

• R68, I can answer this question in more detail but yes, the Torah details (what is considered to be) proper finance including money lending, setting interest rates and ideal vs. verboten borrowers. Some Jews adhere to the ancient guidelines.

• Tim Roth (his dad changed the family name to make it sound jewish)

  Surprised%20my%20Grandma%20*was*%20Jewish

• I realize R63 is being a wiseacre but the mark of Cain isn't "dark skin" even if English speaking holy rollers and their mockers wish to have it that way.

• Jesus was only Jewish on his mother's side, R13.

  Archie%20Bunker

• Paul Newman? Not Jewish? I've met and worked with Jewish people in present day who try to hide that they're Jewish, in L.A., no less. How? They use their middle names as their "last" name -- get rid of the identifying surname. However, their schnozz and their demeanor gives their Jewishness away after you get to know them.

• Amanda Plummer Patti Deutsch Barbara Sharma John Astin Jodie Benson Diane Ladd Sean Penn Thelma Ritter Audrey Hepburn Anne Frank Nicole Kidman Spiro Agnew Judy Blume Jacey Farrow Cassandra July Guy Pearce Diana Sands Tennessee Williams Angela Lansbury Leigh Anne Tuohy

• There was huge shock among all the Jewish people I know (I've qorked in NYC hospitals for 30 years and my partner is Jewish. I know a lot of Jews) that Bernie Madoff scammed fellow Jews. I said, "Do you realize that your shock at Madoff scamming Jews sounds to Gentiles as if it is ok for Jews to scam non-Jews?" And they we all ,"But it's different! You don't understand!" I said, "Yeah, I do understand. And you'd better stop talking that way in front of non-Jews because it's pretty horrifying and it just reinforces anti-semitism." They really didn't think there was anything wrong with feeling that Madoff was a bad guy mainly because many of his victims were Jewish. I will tell you this -- if Madoff didn't have so many Jewish clients, nobody would have seen a penny of their money again. It's the only reason why a large part of his scam money has been recovered.

• Mad Men character Don Draper is not considered Jewish , but the actor playing him in fact is very Jewish - compare the facial expressions - totally different

  Minx

• Archie Bunker @ R78, Jesus was an Abrahamic Jew by lineage through both parents and in practice because he kept Torah.

• Rachel Maddow may seem like a wasp but she is Roman Catholic, although her paternal grandfather was an Eastern European Jew.

• Norman Jewison, the director. Not Jewish. Ironic, no?

• R82 What are you talking about? Jon Hamm is not Jewish. (Certainly not with a non-Kosher name like that!)

• Bruce Springsteen, is the only one I can think of right now that hasn't been listed in this thread so far. For the longest time I thought he was Jewish. I finally looked up his biography and found he wasn't.

• For the longest time I thought Billy Joel was, but my father told me he wasn't.

• I was surprised to learn Zachary Levi from 'Chuck' isn't Jewish. He's actually an evangelical Christian

• R15, ROTFLMAO! Italians interchangeable with Jews? Wrong. Completely.

• R90 Obviously you never watched The Golden Girls.

• Nancy Walker (Ida Morgenstern)

• [A] Shonda [for the goyim] Rimes

• Martha Stewart all the Jonas brothers the voice for Jack in the Box Davy AND Goliath Micheal K

• Incidentally, I learned the other day that when Martha Stewart was a teenager she babysat for the kids of Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and other Yankees players. A fact. Use it as you wish.

• Valerie Harper is Irish. Nancy Walker was Italian. Garry and Penny Marshall are Italian. Harry Connick's mom is a NY Jew. Joan Collins and her late husband Anthony Newley, Vidal Sassoon, Peter Sellers, all British and Jewish. Actually I think Vidal was Russian or Polish, not sure. I knew a Chinese Jewish woman married to an Italian Jew. Jews are all over the world, big surprise.

• R38. , Although my response was not scholarly, I think you get my gist

  Minx

• oh, and Die Antwoord

• Sammy Davis jr.

  Sammy%27s%20baptist%20glass%20eye.

• Julianna Margulies is Jewish

• Ethel Merman was German and her name was Zimmermann.

• R86. Yes he is, he said so in an interview , it was mentioned in an article - and his girlfriend is also R90. They are exactly the same phenotype, physically, esp in the face and hair - too many examples to mention and can play each other in plays and movies etc without any trouble Ernest Borgnine was 0 Italian, both parents - I thought he was Jewish for some reason, especially with the wife named Tovah, who was from Norway of all places

  Minx