Volume 18•10

It’s a fact that we are called the chosen

people because God has chosen us to

communicate his truth. He chose our people

to write, preserve and proclaim the Scriptures

and sometimes to even act out a message. He

instructed Ezekiel to lie on his left side, tied in

ropes, for 390 days symbolizing Israel’s sin, and

on his right side for 40 days for Judah’s sin!

So it should come as no surprise that our people

still excel in the communicative arts. For

example, ten Jewish people won Oscars in

2011, including Israeli-born Natalie Portman as

best actress and David Seidler for best original

screenplay for The King’s Speech. Writers and

producers of The Simpsons, Mad Men and The

Sopranos are also Jewish and have won twelve

Emmys between them. And the list goes on . . .

In this edition, we feature three Jewish men in

the dramatic arts who excel in communicating

with their audience, but who also want to be

known for sharing a message from the greatest

script of all time—the Bible. Read on!

And the Award Goes To . . .

2

Iremember myhigh schoolscience teachertelling me,“You’ll never bea scientist.”When Iprotested,citing myexcellentgrades in

science and math, he replied, “Joe, you’ve got show businessin your blood.”

I guess he was right. In my late twenties, I got into acomedy-writing workshop in the home of producer ErnieGlucksman. Ernie brought me to the attention of GarryMarshall, who was producing The Odd Couple at Paramountfor ABC. He took me under his wing and I soon sold my firsttwo scripts, one for Love, American Style, and another for TheOdd Couple. Later on I wrote for Happy Days, and I became co-creator of Mork and Mindy.

There was nothing in my background to suggest I’d end upin the entertainment industry. My father was a civil engineer inthe Puget Sound Naval Shipyards during World War II. I wasborn in Port Orchard, Washington, on November 25, 1943, butmy family moved to Des Moines, Iowa, where my dad went towork for Brown Engineering. My mother helped run the WhiteOak Store, about twenty miles north of Des Moines in a smallrural community. My older brothers, Bruce and Jeff, helped runthe small store and gas station.

My main Jewish childhood memories are of Saturdaynights in East Des Moines, Iowa, at the home of mygrandparents, Casper and Sarah, who had come to the UnitedStates from Russia. They had twelve children. The huge oldhouse was crowded with Jewish families chattering aboutthings that were of little interest to me. A lot of my unmarried

Jewish uncles went to shul on the holidays. I went with themon occasion, but it was all Hebrew to me.

Some of my classmates teased me about being Jewish, towhich my mother’s response was, “Don’t pay any attention tothem. They don’t know what a Jew is.” The one thing that Iseemed to be pretty sure of was that if you’re Jewish, younever mention Jesus.

I really didn’t think much about God, unless you count the timewhen I was seven and Sharon Klonglan asked me why Jews didn’tbelieve in Jesus. I gave her a fairly elaborate answer for a personwho had very little idea what either of us was talking about.

I didn’t have a lot of Jewish identity until I went to collegeand met other Jews, but I continued to have virtually noconcept of God. With the Vietnam conflict raging, I stayed incollege mainly to avoid being drafted, only to find out afterfinally getting a bachelor’s degree in journalism, I had merelypostponed the inevitable. Receiving my draft notice to join thearmy soon after graduation, I enlisted in the Navy chiefly toavoid the likelihood of direct combat.

I was accepted for Officer Candidate School in Newport,Rhode Island. I received my commission in early summer 1968. Butwhen I was released from active duty, I headed for Hollywood.

While writing at Paramount, I became good friends withAnne, a wardrobe lady. As we talked about the horrific plightof the world and the grave environmental pollution over whichI had been concerned for years, she told me there was a book Ireally needed to read. I asked the name of it. “The Late GreatPlanet Earth,” she replied.

“It sounds pretty pessimistic.” “Oh, but it’s not pessimistic. Just the opposite.” “How can a book with a title like that be anything but

pessimistic, talking about the end of the world?” “Oh, it’s not the end of the world. It tells about us getting

new heavens and a new earth.” “Sounds a little preposterous to me.” “Well, it’s all taken from the Bible, most of which was

From Happy Days to Happier Days by Joe Glauberg

ISSN 0741-0352 PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. ©2011EDITOR IN CHIEF: SUSAN PERLMAN EDITOR: MATT SIEGERDESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION: PAIGE SAUNDERS

3

written by your own Jewish people.”She had me there. I’d heard about certain things written in

the Bible thousands of years ago coming to pass, like thedesert blooming like a rose. I wrote down the name of thebook. If the world was coming to an end soon, I figured itwouldn’t hurt to learn a little more.

I bought the book and read it in a fairly short time. Icouldn’t seem to get the idea out of my mind behind one of themain themes of the book—the personal return ofJesus to the earth, to rule and reign as thepromised Messiah, having comeoriginally as the suffering Messiah todie for the sins of mankind nearly2,000 years earlier.

It was a lot to grasp, and Icalled Anne on the phone: “Iread that book, and I’m callingyou because you got me intosomething here, and I wantyou to help me get out.”

I was soon sitting in herliving room asking her what Ishould do about it. Judgingfrom the overwhelmingamount of biblical prophecy, itseemed clear that Jesus’ returnwas imminent. I wanted to be onhis side when he came back, but Ididn’t know how.

“It’s quite simple,” Anne explained.“You just surrender your life to him.”

“It’s not quite that easy. See, I’m Jewish.”“So?” Anne responded. “Jesus was Jewish. He came for the

Jews. His disciples were all Jews. What’s more Jewish thanfollowing the king of the Jews?”

“Well, that’s not really what I was taught.”So over the next several weeks I had fairly extensive

discussions with Anne. Finally, I said, “You know, I guess thereare just too many things I can’t figure out. I’m just going tohave to hold off.”

Anne said, “You know, we can only understand so muchabout God. At some point, everyone who comes to God has tomake that final step by faith.” That somehow made sense tome. I vaguely remember surrendering my life to Jesus andreceiving forgiveness for my sins. I also recall being struck withan understanding that if this was the creator of the world I’vecommitted to follow, I’m going to have to devote myself fromhere on out to finding out what he wants me to do, and do it!”

Since that day in 1973, I’ve read the Bible, a bookwhich had seemed so enigmatic and confusing to

me, every year (several different versions) coverto cover, and I understand it better every time.I really don’t believe anyone can convinceme it’s not the inspired Word of the livingGod, though many have tried.

After giving my life to Jesus, Iwas willing to do anything the Lordwanted me to do, except go back towriting for television situationcomedies. I resisted that to such anextent I spent nearly two and a halfyears running from it. I traveled toIsrael, Switzerland and Amsterdam.On my return to the United

States, I decided to visit Paramountafter a long absence and share my

newfound faith. When I was told Isounded a lot like Bill Bickley (of Bickley

and Warren, a comedy writing team whoworked with Garry Marshall), I decided I’d better

talk to them. It was primarily from Bickley andWarren that I learned I could be a Christian and still write

for television. It wasn’t long after my visit to Paramount that Garry

Marshall’s office called. They had done the first season ofHappy Days, and Garry asked me if I would be interested incoming on staff. I took it as a call from the Lord to go back totelevision writing, where I had considerable success for anumber of years and was able to share my faith among manyof my Jewish friends and others in the

ISSUES is a forum of several Messianic Jewish viewpoints. The author alone, where the author’s name is given, is responsible for the statements expressed. Those wishing to take exception orthose wishing to enter into dialogue with one of these authors may write the publishers and letters will be forwarded. E-mail: editor@issuesmag.org • Web: jewsforjesus.org

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4 5

You don’t have to be Jewish toplay a part in the stage

production of The Diary of AnneFrank. But it helps. Mark Friedlanderplayed the role of Henk Gies who,with his wife Miep, hid the Frankfamily from the Nazis. Most of thecast was not Jewish. So when theygot to the scene where Mr. Frankleads the group in a Hanukkahcelebration, Mark had to explain theholiday to his peers.

“The scene required them to light a menorah and sing theprayer,” he says. “I got to teach them not only the words andthe tune, but the meaning behind it all, the history, and thehope it would have been to the characters they were playing.”

Mark, 28, has already played a broad spectrum of roleswith the National Theater for Arts and Education andConnecticut Free Shakespeare, including Jonas in The Giver,Ponyboy in The Outsiders, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, andClaudio in Much Ado About Nothing.

Currently Mark is acting with Only Make Believe (OMB), anon-profit organization that performs interactive theater forchildren in New York City hospitals. OMB was founded byDena Hammerstein, daughter-in-law of lyricist and librettowriter Oscar Hammerstein, and is run by influential membersof the Broadway community.

Mark was raised in a Jewish home, but not a typical one—both of his parents are Messianic Jews, that is, Jews whobelieve in Jesus. His father, David, raised an Orthodox Jew,came to faith in Jesus in his early thirties.

Jews are rare in Gorham, Maine, the small town outside ofPortland where Mark grew up. So it was an even strangerexperience for Mark’s gentile friends to attend Shabbat

dinners at the Friedlanders’ home. They’d learn aboutJewishness—and Jesus, too.

“Most of what I learned as a child about being Jewish camethrough celebrating the holidays and Shabbat,” Mark recalls. “Iremember having non-Jewish kids sleep over when I was a kid.Because of school, the only night that was usually available wasFriday, which meant they joined us for Shabbat dinner andkiddush. I remember being so aware of simultaneous feelings ofself-consciousness in front of my friends mingled withoverwhelming pride in my heritage and beliefs.”

Each holiday had its highlights and unique memories.“Growing up for many years in New England,” he says,

“meant bundling up in full winter gear before taking yourmorning bowl of cereal to the sukkah and eating it quicklybefore you or the milk froze.”

And every holiday was wrapped in a lesson.“My father always stressed what he was taught growing

up not knowing Jesus in contrast to his understanding of theScriptures and traditions in light of Y’shua [Jesus],” says Mark.

Visits from his bubbe, his father’s mother, added to Mark’schildhood insights into his Jewish roots.

“One unforgettable evening after dinner,” Mark remembers,“she recounted the story of a family, ancestors of ours in EasternEurope. She told us of the intense persecution they faced asJews, and how, as their persecutors closed in, the childrenescaped by holding onto the back of a family friend as he swamthem one by one across the river to safety. After the last childwas across, he returned for the parents, only to find he was toolate. The children escaped and survived but never saw theirparents again. I had heard all the Bible stories about thepersecution of the Jewish people, but it really hit home when Iheard that story about my family, only a few generations before.”

When Mark was ten, his family made aliyah and lived inIsrael for three years.

“I am so grateful for that experience and opportunity to livein the Promised Land, learn Hebrew, be immersed in Israeliculture and perhaps most of all, have my bar mitzvah on theshore of the Sea of Galilee,” he says.

Mark fell in love with acting while attending high school inSouth Portland. He went on to study theater at the University ofSouthern Maine. He received ascholarship, several acting awardsand performed plays both on campusand at local professional theaters.

After graduating in 2004 withhighest honors, Mark toured withthe National Theater for Arts andEducation. He moved to New YorkCity in 2008 and continued to actthere and at several regionaltheaters. His role as Claudioearned him entrance into theActors’ Equity Association, theprofessional stage actors’ union.Then an unusual opportunity presented itself.

“I did three shows in a row where somebody in the castworked with this company called Only Make Believe,” saysMark. “I was fascinated and inspired by the work they did. Aftera month-long audition/interview process, they offered me thejob, and I have been working with them ever since.”

OMB believes that freeing a child’s imagination is part of thehealing process. All money comes through donations, so theperformances are free to the hospitals. Each show has threeactors and is about an hour long. Each team of actors performsa different show once a week for six weeks. This gives theactors and children the opportunity to bond.

“You never quite know what the kids are going to throw at you!”says Mark. “We’re there to do a show with the kids, not for them.Throughout much of the week, a lot of attention is paid to thechildren’s weaknesses, but for the hour we’re with them, they take

their eyes off their struggles and focus on their strengths.“During one of my first shows, we were inviting kids to come

up one at a time and sing along to a song. After one or two kidscame up, a deaf child eagerly volunteered. I thought, How is hegoing to sing along to music he can’t hear? But he came up frontand started dancing, and he was beaming with pride that he got

to contribute his talents! Never againwill I think about what a child can’t do.”

Mark’s acting life is not withoutchallenges.

“The world of theater is so liberal,”he says. “I have been part of manyproductions where, in the first coupleof days of rehearsals, somebodymakes an anti-God remark, and it isusually met with resoundingagreement and support from the cast. Ihave never been good at biting mytongue in those situations. Once Ishare my beliefs, people have

generally been very acceptin g and even curious.”Some of those people are Jewish, which doesn’t prevent

Mark from speaking up.“I can’t talk to anyone very long without my Messianic faith

coming up,” he says. “The reactions vary immensely. Somepeople get quiet and uncomfortable. I’ve had several people say,‘Oh, you mean like a Jew for Jesus?’ And I say, ‘Yes, exactly!That’s actually a specific organization of Messianic Jews!’”

OMB provides Mark with steady, ongoing acting work, yetallows him the flexibility to do other acting. He has done a lot ofShakespeare recently and would like to do more. He’d also liketo branch out into film and television.

“Wherever the path leads, I keep in mind Psalm 37:31, ‘Thelaw of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip,’” Mark says.“God has challenged me to just keep my eyes fixed on him,because he is the one who opens doors and closes them.” n

Mark Friedlander: Freeing the Imagination by Matt Sieger

Mark in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream(photo by Judith Barbosa)

entertainment industry. This is also when I became co-creatorof Mork and Mindy.

My last television writing credit was an episode of The LoveBoat in 1986, after which I did some writing for Adventures inOdyssey, a children’s program for Christian radio. Over the last

ten years, I’ve turned to writing, performing and recordingoriginal gospel music, having received the Songwriter of the YearAward for 2010 at the Music City Gospel Showcase in PigeonForge, Tennessee. I’m currently working on a musical comedyentitled, My Brother, The Rabbi, based on the fictitious diary of

one of Jesus’ half-brothers. I also continue to work on variousprojects with longtime industry friends on the West Coast.

As I write this, I’m sitting here at my home in Bella Vista,Arkansas, near where we recorded the music video “HammersPounding Nails,” which you can see at youtube.com by clicking on

“newjewjoe.” But whatever I’m doing at any particular time, Ibelieve my faith in Jesus is not only instrumental, it is absolutelycritical. As Jesus said in John 15:5, “ . . . apart from me you can donothing.” So if you hear I’m involved in some new project, you’llknow it’s no solo act. n

(continued from page 3)

Mark Friedlander(photo by Rachel Friedlander)

6

Somewhere right now someone is watching David Suchet

portray Agatha Christie’s famous Belgian detective,

Hercule Poirot. An estimated 600-700 million people

watch the television series worldwide. The reruns get better

ratings than many new programs. Suchet has filmed more than

60 episodes, with only six to go to complete Christie’s entire

body of work about the eccentric little sleuth.

Suchet was an actor long before he began doing Poirot in

1988. One of Britain’s most popular performers, the 65-year-old

Suchet began his acting career in theater. At age 23, he

became the youngest professional actor in Britain to play

Shakespeare’s Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. He spent

thirteen years with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has

played such diverse parts as Salieri in Amadeus, George in

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and the predatory professor

John in Oleanna. His film credits include A Perfect Murder,

Executive Decision and Bank Job.

Although everyone recognizes Poirot, not everyone

recognizes Suchet when they see him perform. And he loves

that: “It means that they’ve been caught up in the role rather

than the actor. . . . I don’t just play a part, I inhabit it.”1

Suchet’s last name is derived from the profession of his

great-great-grandfather on his father’s side, a Lithuanian

shochet, one who performs (according to kosher law) the ritual

slaughter of animals. But when his grandfather married a

gentile, his family lost acceptance in the Jewish community.

Suchet’s mother was of Lithuanian/Russian Jewish descent on

her father’s side, but she was a practicing Anglican (Church of

England). His Jewish father was agnostic, and Suchet says

that in terms of religion, “I was brought up as nothing—

nothing at all.”

Yet, he goes on to say, “I am very pleased that my whole

background is rooted in Judaism. . . . I remember my first visit

to Israel, when I went with the Royal Shakespeare Theater

Company and did some performances in Jerusalem. I really

was so thrilled to be there because of my Jewish roots.”

His mother, Joan, a former professional dancer and

actress, was his inspiration to become an actor. His maternal

grandmother was also an actress. But his father, a

distinguished gynecologist, was less than enthusiastic about

his son’s interest:

“My mother and grandmother were behind it, but my

father was not and never really was until I joined the Royal

Shakespeare Company. He felt I was giving him a bit of

status. But at a certain point I realized I was proving to my

father I could act rather than doing my work for the reasons I

should be doing it.”2

His parents sent him to boarding school in Kent when he

was eight. They were only allowed to visit him three times a

term and boys could only go home on the holidays. “I missed

home very much and I loathed every minute of [boarding

school],” he recalls. “My next school, Wellington, where I

went at thirteen, was a real breath of fresh air and I felt much

more at home there.”3

To his father’s disappointment, he did not excel

academically. But he did shine at rugby and tennis. His tennis

coach, Joe Storr, who also taught English, introduced him to

acting. Suchet joined the National Youth Theatre and went on

to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, followed

by his years with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

But even as he was attaining success as an actor, he was

“always looking for something beyond.”4 In his late twenties

and early thirties he explored Zen Buddhism. Then, at age 40,

while in Seattle making a film, he had a life-changing

experience.

“I was lying in the bath in my hotel, thinking about my

grandfather,” he says. “And I remember thinking, isn’t it

interesting that I feel my grandfather is with me and yet I don’t

believe in an afterlife? So I went straight out and bought a

Bible and read Paul’s letter to the Romans . . . and it slotted

right into what I had been searching for, something beyond,

something quite mystical, but also a way of being that I could

relate to.”5

In the same way that he meticulously studies for an

upcoming role, he began to investigate the Hebrew Scriptures

and the New Testament. “I couldn’t just accept it on face

David Suchet: Looking for Something Beyond by Matt Sieger

7

value. I have never had blind faith in anything.”6 The

questioning continued, as Suchet explains, for 21 years!

“God would not let me go and I often feel like my faith was

rather like Jacob wrestling. I’ve ended up with a few bruises

and a few dislocated hips, but I’m still there and he has

blessed me and loved me and I feel very cherished by him.”

Though he struggled with his faith, he says his Jewishness

was not a stumbling block: “As soon as I realized

Jesus was a Jew, I felt more at home than

ever before.”

Although it was not until four

years ago that Suchet felt

comfortable enough with his

faith to declare it publicly, it

has guided many of his

decisions, particularly in

regard to his acting.

“Being a Christian has

made me think about parts I

play,” he says, “even

though to this very moment,

I’m asked to play

terrorists. . . . And I’ve

played murderers, and certain

Christian groups have written

to me saying, ‘How as a

Christian can you play these

roles?’ And I had to search very

deeply within myself. And it’s very clear

biblically that where you are found, most

often that is where God wants you to be. Unless

there is a clear direction to change, which I never had.”

Wrestling with his faith has also solidified it, Suchet notes:

“I have been through 21 years of real struggle to come to this

place, and now I have a faith that is the most important thing

in my life. It governs how I behave, how I think, and makes me

who I am. . . . We go to the gym to exercise our bodies, we

read and do crosswords to exercise our mind, but we do very

little in this cynical, secular age to exercise our souls.”7

Suchet and his wife of 35 years, Sheila Ferris, started their

spiritual quest together. “As a couple,” he says, “we’d long

been looking for the right philosophy to sustain us. When I

turned to the New Testament, I suddenly found the very belief

about life, people and way of living that I’d long been

searching for. . . . The thing about faith is that it forces you to

look in the mirror and appraise what you see. You’re not

shown the good bits. It really is mirror, mirror on the wall, and

you see the ugliest of them all.”8

He and Sheila, a former actress, are a true team.

She supervises his career, pores over his scripts,

attends every first performance and gives

him a critique of each one. They have

raised two children, Robert, 30, an

officer in the Royal Marines, and

Katherine, 28, a physiotherapist.

“Whatever my children

have wanted to do in life,”

says Suchet, “I have

encouraged them—which is

probably a reaction to the

fight I had against my own

father to become an actor.”9

When he’s not acting,

Suchet enjoys photography

and music. He learned the

clarinet later in life, and he joins

his wife for a duet with the piano

from time to time. He and Sheila

also love to go boating on the canals

and rivers of England. In between roles,

he likes to read theology and philosophy.

“My favorite book is the Bible,” he says. “It’s

got everything: verse, poetry, songs, wonderful stories. I

love going back into the Old Testament—the early books are

so dramatic, really wonderful.”10

Although his favorite after-show haunt is his home, other

actors find him very approachable on the set and look to him

for advice. Though Poirot has made him an international

celebrity, Suchet never wanted to be a star. He doesn’t want to

be seen; he just wants people to see the character he is

playing. And he has succeeded in that.

“People always ask who is the real David Suchet because(continued on back cover)

8

I’ve always done character parts,” he says. “I started off as

a 23-year-old actor playing an octogenarian. I knew I was

never going to be six feet three inches and the next Cary

Grant. I’m short, stocky, with a deep voice and the biggest

makeup bag in the business.”11

Even as the incredibly popular Poirot, he takes nothing for

granted and is obsessive in his preparation for each episode.

He carries around with him a list of 93 things to remember

about Poirot. “What I’d like to hear someone say,” he

reflects, “if I were to pick up any Poirot book, the man that I

was reading about is the man I saw on the screen.”12

Asked if it upsets him that many people only know him

from the character of Poirot, he responds: “How lucky I am

that I will be remembered at all. There are thousands of

actors out there who have done some wonderful work and

have never gained the recognition that they deserve. . . . I

am just very thankful that they know of me at all.”13

He is very eager to film the six remaining Poirot

episodes for television as his legacy. “I am desperate to

leave that body of work behind me when I go to my theater

in the sky,” he says. “The sadness, of course, will be having

to bury Poirot. He is part of my life now.”14

But the biggest part of Suchet’s life now is Jesus,

who he describes as, “My best friend. And as an actor,

that’s a wonderful thing to have. A wonderful person to

have by your side, day and night. My very, very best

friend. And sometimes in the back of my mind, even

when I’m performing, I know he’s with me, I know he’s

holding my hand.”15 n

(continued from page 7)

1. Lucy Cavendish, “The Labour of Being Hercule,” The Sunday Telegraph,11 March 2001.

2. Celia Dodd, “David Suchet: Still on the Case,” The London Times, 9January 2009.

3. Ibid.4. Dodd, op. cit.5. Ibid.6. Lester Middlehurst, “Poirot and the Case of the Star Who Found God,”

Daily Mail, 21 June 2007.7. Ibid.8. Ian Woodward, “David Suchet: How the Definitive Poirot has Found

New Faith and Health,” Hello!, 22 July 1989.9. Ibid.

10. Anonymous, “20 Questions With . . . David Suchet,” Whatsonstage.com,December 26, 2005, www.bricksite.com/davidsuchet?id=200273.

11. Fiona Maddocks, “Suchet’s Act of Faith,” London Evening Standard, 19June 2007.

12. Anonymous, “David Suchet: The Masterpiece Mystery! Interview,”http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/poirot/suchet.html.

13. Ken Windsor, “Interview: Actor David Suchet,”www.helium.com/items/146572-interview-actor-david-suchet.

14. Dodd, op. cit.15. All quotes without attribution in this article are, with permission, from

“Haven Today: Interview with David Suchet,” aired July 19, 2010,www.haventoday.org/havenplayer.php?file=davidsuchet.xml&id=2045.

End Notes