Stars of David — Jewish Celebrities

New offerings and more 

In 1989, Betty Broderick entered the home of her ex-husband, Dr. Dan Broderick, and shot and killed Dan and his wife, Linda, in their bed. Broderick, the mother of Dan’s two children, claimed that she had been the subject of various types of abuse by Dan. The prosecution said that the murder was the culmination of years of bizarre and often violent behavior by Betty, directed at Dan, after he left her for a much-younger woman. 

I vividly recall a 1991 “Law and Order” episode based on the Broderick case. Shirley Knight, a great actress who recently died, gave a powerhouse performance as the Betty Broderick inspired character. 

The Broderick case is the subject of the second season of the crime anthology series “Dirty John.” Christian Slater plays Dan and AMANDA PEET, 48, plays Betty. Peet will win an Emmy if she can match Knight’s performance. The eight-episode series premiered June 2 on the USA Network (many encore showings are planned, and it’s available on-demand).

The 11th season finale of ABC’s “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” (at 7 p.m. June 4) features Anderson Cooper and talk show host ANDY COHEN, 51 (a St. Louis native and Clayton High grad). They met many years ago when they were set up for a blind date. They actually didn’t go out on the date because in the first five minutes of talking, Cohen mentioned that Cooper’s mother was Gloria Vanderbilt. Cooper had a “rule” that he wouldn’t date any guy who did that.  However, they went on, in their words, to be “best of friends.” In other romance news, BEN PLATT, 26, is reportedly dating NOAH GALVIN, also 26 (his mother is Jewish). This surely isn’t the first time that two gay, Jewish, Broadway musical stars have dated. The novelty here is that they both played the title role in the mega-hit Broadway musical “Dear Evan Hansen.”

Comic actress ESTHER POVITSKY, 32, has a Comedy Central special that premieres at 9 p.m. on June 5. It’s a combination of stand-up bits and scenes filmed at her parents’ home in Skokie, Ill. (the ‘very’ Jewish suburb of Chicago).  Povitsky, whose dad is Jewish, has had had many TV guest shots and a Freeform cable series called “Alone Together.”  

Very different is “Lenox Hill,” a Netflix documentary series about the famous Manhattan hospital. It follows four physicians as they balance their personal lives with their professional careers. Only two of the physicians have been identified in advance publicity. One is DR. DAVID LANGER, 50ish, the hospital’s head of neurosurgery. Langer has often appeared as a medical expert on shows like “Good Morning, America.”  The series was filmed before the pandemic. Lenox Hill has been a “ground zero” hospital dealing with the worst of our modern plague (complete first season released June 10).  

In fictional horror, a Hulu original anthology series “Into the Dark” features episodes that stand alone. The one premiering on June 12 stars Judy Greer as a woman who gets an emotional support dog. Unknown to her, the dog kills anyone who causes her stress. Co-stars include STEVE GUTTENBERG, 61. He had a great run of hits in the ‘80s, including “Police Academy” and “Cocoon.” Then he took five years off, and never got his “hit mojo” back again. But you can catch him in guest shots, including five episodes of “The Goldbergs” this past season.

Zach Braff is a mensch

Broadway star Nick Cordero, 41, has been waging an epic battle with the COVID-19 virus. Late last year, Cordero and his wife, Amanda Klotts, decided to settle in Los Angeles. For seven months, they stayed at the guest house of his great friend ZACH BRAFF (“Scrubs,” “Garden State”) while they were house hunting.  They went back to New York in early April just to pack-up their things. During that traveling Nick contracted the coronavirus. He’s been in Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Hospital since early April. Cordero had to have his leg amputated and had a pacemaker installed. Sadly, his condition seriously deteriorated just a week after waking from a coma on May 16.  Meanwhile, Klotts and the Corderos’ one-year old son have been staying on at Braff’s guest house. They’ve been joined by Klotts’ brother and sister. Braff told the Hollywood Reporter: “We [Braff and his girlfriend] help them in any way we can, too. We obviously stay social distanced from them, but we bring them food and wine and flowers.”