Is Mitch Albom Jewish?

Yes, Mitch Albom is Jewish. The author known for his 1997 book about his dying college professor, Morrie Schwartz, is a practicing Jew. Albom was born May 23, 1958 in Passaic, New Jersey. Albom lived in Buffalo, New York for a little while, until his family settled in Oaklyn, New Jersey which is close to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up in a small, middle-class neighborhood from which most people never left. He attended Akiba Hebrew Academy in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania around the same time as his friend and fellow author, Rabbi David Wolpe of Los Angeles.

Mitch Albom was once quoted as saying that his parents were very supportive, and always used to say, “Don’t expect your life to finish here. There’s a big world out there. Go out and see it.” His older sister, younger brother, and he himself, all took that message to heart and traveled extensively. His siblings are currently settled in Europe. Albom once mentioned that now his parents say, “Great. All our kids went and saw the world and now no one comes home to have dinner on Sundays.”

In addition to being a long time sports columnist for the Detroit Free Press, Mitch Albom also has a general opinion column in the Sunday edition of the Detroit Free Press, a popular weekday radio show in Detroit, and is a musician in a band. He has written several best selling novels following the success of "Tuesdays with Morrie," including a book called "Have a Little Faith" about his experience writing the eulogy for his childhood rabbi, Albert Lewis, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

In 1995, Albom married Janine Sabino, who is not Jewish. Albom and Sabino have attended Temple Israel, a reform synagogue in West Bloomfield, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. He is the owner of the non-profit Detroit Water Ice in downtown Detroit.

Is Jackie Collins Jewish?

Was Jackie Collins Jewish? The famed author's father was Jewish and her mother was not.

Born Jacqueline Jill Collins on October 4, 1937, Jackie Collins was an English-American novelist. She wrote 32 novels, all of which have appeared on The New York Times bestsellers list. In total, her books have sold over 500 million copies and have been translated into 40 languages.

Jackie Collins was born in Hampstead, London in 1937, the younger daughter of Elsa Bessant and Joseph William Collins (died 1988), a theatrical agent whose clients included Shirley Bassey, the Beatles and Tom Jones. Collins' South African-born father was Jewish and her British mother was Anglican. A middle child, Collins had an elder sister, actress Joan Collins (born 1933) and a younger brother, Bill (born 1946).

Jackie Collins died on September 19, 2015 of breast cancer.

Is Elmore Leonard Jewish?

Elmore Leonard was not Jewish. The crime novelist known for "Get Shorty" and "3:10 to Yuma" died at 87 in August 2013.

Among his best-known works are Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Hombre, Mr. Majestyk, and Rum Punch (adapted for the movie Jackie Brown). Leonard's writings include short stories that became the films 3:10 to Yuma and The Tall T, as well as the current FX television series Justified.

Leonard was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Flora Amelia (Rive) and Elmore John Leonard, Sr. Because his father worked as a site locator for General Motors, the family moved frequently for several years. In 1934, the family settled in Detroit. He graduated from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School in 1943 and immediately joined the Navy, where he served with the Seabees for three years in the South Pacific.

Leonard—or "Dutch," as he often preferred to be called—got his first break in the fiction market during the 1950s, regularly publishing pulp Western novels. He went on to write in the mystery, crime, and more topical genres, as well as screenwriting.

Elmore Leonard was married to Beverly Claire Cline in 1949, and they had five children together – three daughters and two sons before they got divorced in 1977. His second marriage in 1979, to Joan Leanne Lancaster (aka Joan Shepard), ended with her death in 1993. Later that same year, he married Christine Kent, and they divorced in 2012.

Leonard spent the last years of his life with his family in Oakland County, Michigan. He suffered a stroke on July 29, 2013. Initial reports stated that Leonard was recovering from the stroke. On August 20, 2013, Leonard died at his home in Bloomfield Hills (a Detroit suburb) of complications from the stroke.

Is Nora Ephron Jewish?

Nora Ephron was Jewish. However, she was not religious. In an NPR interview she said, "You can never have too much butter – that is my belief. If I have a religion, that's it."

Nora Ephron was born on May 19, 1941 and she died on June 26, 2012.

Source: AP

She was born in New York City to Phoebe (née Wolkind) and Henry Ephron, who were both screenwriters. Both of Ephron's parents were Jewish. When she was four years old, the family moved to Beverly Hills, California.

Is Ray Bradbury Jewish?

Ray Bradbury was not Jewish. The famous author was born in 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois and died on June 5, 2012.

Bradbury was born to to Esther Moberg Bradbury and Leonard Spaulding Bradbury. His mother was a Swedish immigrant. His father worked as a power and telephone lineman. Bradbury was married for 56 years to his muse and late wife, Maggie.

Ray Bradbury was descended from Mary Bradbury, who was tried at Salem witch trials in 1692.

In interviews, Ray Bradbury claimed to be a "delicatessen religionist" and not a member of one particular faith. He explained that he drew from many faiths and credited God for being such an amazing and prolific writer. In a 2010 interview with CNN, he said he decided to write his first short story at 12his friendships with everyone from Walt Disney to Alfred Hitchcock—is based on love.

Is Maurice Sendak Jewish?

Maurice Sendak is Jewish. The famous children's author Maurice Sendak, who died on Tuesday, May 8, 2012, was born to Polish Jewish immigrants. Born in Brooklyn, New York  to Sarah Schindler and Philip Sendak. His father was a dressmaker.

Most of Sendak's extended family perished in The Holocaust. Sendak decided to become an illustrator after seeing Disney's Fantasia at twelve. Sendak's father would tell him tales from the Torah and the young Sendak would embellish these narratives into his own stories. His most famous book was the children's bestseller "Where the Wild Things Are".

Sendak was a gay man and lived with his partner, Eugene Glynn, a psychoanalyst. The couple was together for 50 years before Eugene Glynn’s death in May 2007. Maurice Sendak donated $1 million to the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services to memorialize his life partner Glynn, who had treated young people there.

Sendak died on May 8, 2012 in Danbury, Connecticut, from complications of a stroke.

Is Jan Berenstain Jewish?

No, Jan Berenstain was not Jewish. However, her husband Stan Berenstain was Jewish. Jan Berenstain was Episcopalian. The Berenstain Bears are the brainchild of husband and wife Stan and Jan Berenstain.

Stan died in November 2005 and Jan died in February 2012.

 As reported in the Jewish Daily Forward, "The New Yorker’s Book Bench blog pops that balloon. While the blog reports that (Jewish) Stan and (Episcopalian) Jan 'resisted religious elements in their books for children,' son Mike is taking the series in a decidedly goyish direction. Indeed, Berenstain the younger has launched a new series of Berenstain tales as part of the 'Living Lights' series published by Zonderkidz, a division of Zondervan, a Christian publisher based in Michigan."