The Hanukkah Hotness, Night Seven: Tony Goldwyn

Tony Goldwyn is the grandson of Samuel Goldwyn of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) fame, but the family named itself after the studio, not the other way around. I read this story in Bill Bryson's Made in America (a book you will find fascinating if you're any kind of amateur or professional etymologist).

Bryson writes, "Some understandable confusion exists concerning Samuel Goldwyn and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Though his name accounts for the middle initial in MGM, Goldwyn was never part of the company. In 1924, he sold out to the Metro studios and Louis B. Mayer, and was astonished to discover that they took his name with them. But then that was no more than Goldwyn himself had done. The Goldwyn Picture Company was not in fact named for Goldwyn, but rather he for it. His real name was Schmuel [also sometimes spelled Szmuel] Gelbfisz, though for his first thirty years in America he had called himself - perhaps a little unwisely - Samuel Goldfish. Goldwyn was a portmanteau of the names of the studio's two founders: Samuel Goldfish and Edgar Selwyn. It wasn't until 1918, tired of being the butt of endless fishbowl jokes, that he named himself after his corporation. After the MGM takeover, he had to go to court to win permission to continue making movies under the Goldwyn name."

public domain image

Apparently, he won. I can proudly say that the Gelbfisz family came from Warsaw. Poland, the same place as my ancestors, the Templin family. My grandmother's grandmother was named Antonia Templin.

At one time, I knew Tony Gelbfisz/Goldfish/Goldwyn primarily as the villain in the Patrick Swayze-Demi Moore romance Ghost. Now he's playing the U.S. president on Scandal...



...but perhaps (since I don't watch that show) I'd like him even better as Andrew Prior in the film version of Veronica Roth's Divergent.



I'm sorry, Tris Prior, but your dad is a complete DILF.

This is what Tony Goldwyn looks like dressed casually.



This is what he looks like dressed formally.



This is what he looks like with no shirt on.



He's not technically a Jewish Disney prince, but he did provide the voice of Tarzan in the Disney cartoon.



Having a happy Hanukkah so far? Good. There's one more night to go.

#FridayReads Currently Reading: Allegiant by Veronica Roth (Spoiler Free)

I finished The Lost Sun earlier this week, and I'm about 80% done with Fangirl. I'll probably have Fangirl finished tomorrow. In the meantime, Veronica Roth's third book in the Divergent Series came out on Tuesday the 22nd, and I could not resist the temptation to download the Allegiant e-book to my Nook.

Divergent review here
Insurgent review here

The Goodreads synopsis reads as follows:

What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

The explosive conclusion to Veronica Roth's #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

I'm only halfway done reading Allegiant at this point, and I do not wish to read any spoilers nor to give anyone else any major spoilers. I think I can safely say these things about the first half:

- I honestly need someone to pay me to do nothing but read novels all day, everyday, because finishing Allegiant is all I really want to do.

- At the exact same time, I don't want this series to end. I'm nervous and excited for the end at the same time. This is like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows all over again. I anticipate tears. Hopefully not as many tears as when I read the ending of the His Dark Materials trilogy (if you'd seen me, you honestly would have thought someone died in real life).

- I take back every good thing I ever thought about Caleb when I read Divergent.

- Christina. Even though I never really pictured her as a light-skinned woman as I was reading, I cannot wait to see Zoe Kravitz playing her on film. I love Christina and I love Zoe Kravitz. That's all I'm saying for now.

- Tori Wu. Oh my goddess, Tori.

- This is a minor spoiler, but I'll go ahead and say it: Tris doubts whether her mother and father ever truly loved each other, but finds evidence they were really in love. This makes me so happy. And I really think I'm going to love Ashley Judd and Tony Goldwyn playing Natalie and Andrew in the movie.

Natalie turns out to be an even bigger badass than Tris even thought in Insurgent. That has Ashley Judd written all over it.

If you read it, tell me what you think - but only if you can do it without spoilers. I still haven't forgiven Pinterest for spoiling that one particular character death in Mockingjay for me.