Jews Making News: Parker, Rudd
SJP Producing AOL Online Series
Sarah Jessica Parker will step back into her role as a producer – but this time, the project has nothing to do with Carrie Bradshaw or “Sex and the City.” The woman commonly known by her initials “SJP” has been working on a docudrama for AOL as the company attempts to join the race for more original online content.
One of 15 new digital series (several of which will feature celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow, Hank Azaria and Nicole Richie), Parker’s “City.Ballet” brings her back to the Big Apple as she focuses on the New York City Ballet. Get ready to watch this fall.
Parker originally hails from Ohio, a far cry from the city that helped make her famous, where she was one of eight children raised by parents Barbara Keck and Stephen Parker before they separated. The star identifies with her father’s Jewish background – the original family surname, Bar-Kahn, is of Eastern European origin.
Rudd to Make 2nd Stage Appearance of Season
In a one-night-only engagement, onscreen stars Paul Rudd (“I Love You Man” and “This Is 40”) and “The Good Wife” actress Julianna Margulies will hold an off-Broadway benefit reading of “The Mercy Seat,” a play by Neil LaBute. Proceeds of the performance, set for the day after the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, will go towards the Manhattan Class Company Theater’s literary development programs.
The plot of “The Mercy Seat” follows two troubled lovers (played by Rudd and Margulies). This will mark Rudd’s second theater role this season, as he earlier appeared in the Broadway production of Craig Wright’s tragicomedy “Grace.”
Meanwhile, back in Hollywood, Rudd has two upcoming films to which fans can look forward: the much anticipated sequel to “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” and the more thoughtful “Prince Avalanche,” an indie project to remake an Icelandic work.
Rudd was born to two Jewish parents – descendants of Russian and Polish immigrants – and became a bar mitzvah. His grandfather shortened the family’s original surname, Rudnitzky, to the current Rudd.
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