Jim Beckerman

New Jersey

Features and Entertainment Writer at The Record (Bergen County)

Featured in: Favicon

northjersey.com Favicon

msn.com

usatoday.com Favicon

yahoo.com (+6) Favicon

usnews.com Favicon

freep.com

miamiherald.com Favicon

azcentral.com Favicon

washingtontimes.com Favicon

jsonline.com + 105 more

Articles

Fifty summers ago, 'Jaws' kept us all out of the water

6 days ago | northjersey.com | Jim Beckerman

After 'Jaws,' hundreds of thousands who happily swam in the ocean 50 years ago — June 20, 1975 — were now suddenly aware that they had company. "Jaws," the first of the ultra-blockbusters, raking in $260 million domestically and opening (a first, for Hollywood) in 400 theaters simultaneously, had an influence that went beyond the box office. In June, 1975, Americans made a shocking discovery. There are sharks in the ocean. The news wasn't the sharks. It was the discovery.
Bet you don't know these 5 Jersey connections to 'Jaws,' celebrating its 50th this month

6 days ago | northjersey.com | Jim Beckerman

New Jersey can justly claim "Jaws" as its own — for the following five excellent reasons. The author, director and actor all lived in New JerseyThe real shark attacks that inspired 'Jaws' happened in New JerseyAmity Island, in the late Peter Benchley's 1974 bestseller "Jaws," appears to be a thinly-disguised Long Island. In the 1975 movie, celebrating its 50th anniversary June 20, Amity would seem to be somewhere in New England.
50 fascinating facts we bet you didn't know about 'Jaws'

6 days ago | yahoo.com | Jim Beckerman

Oh the shark has pretty teeth, dear. And he showed them, pearly white, exactly 50 years ago this June — when the movie "Jaws" made its sensational splash. Remember the screams in the theater as Chrissy (Susan Backlinie) was dragged under the water in that harrowing first sequence? Remember the banter of those three men in a boat (Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss) as they track down the monster responsible for destroying the tourist season on the fictional Amity Island?
Loretta Swit of 'M*A*S*H,' and Passaic NJ native, dies

1 week ago | northjersey.com | Jim Beckerman

"Hot Lips" Houlihan, a one-note role in the original 1970 "M*A*S*H" movie, had evolved into a nuanced, complex, heroic character by the time the beloved TV series reached it 11th season. And that has everything to do with the nuanced, complex, heroic performance of Loretta Swit, the Passaic native who died Friday. Swit, who died of natural causes, was 87.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, is the marriage equality ruling next?

1 week ago | usatoday.com | Jim Beckerman

Michael and Jacob clicked. They met online in 2020 (one lived in Pennsylvania, the other in Arizona), met in person in 2022 and by December they were a couple. They had talked of getting married in 2027, or 2028. There was no hurry. Then came Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. A few weeks later, Michael got a text from his partner: "We need to talk."The upshot: Michael Tribbey and Jacob Rainey flew to Los Angeles for a rush wedding on Jan. 3.
Odd for odd's sake: Skylands Museum of Art showcases the unusual. It's fabulous

1 week ago | eu.mycentraljersey.com | Jim Beckerman

At the Skylands Museum of Art, these are paintings, some are sculptures, some installations. But all of them are just a bit out of the ordinary. Even the curtains on the wall, and the fixtures in the bathrooms, are outlandish, whimsical. Ailene Fields is the co-founder and co-curator of, and major contributor to, this very unusual museum in Lafayette, Sussex County. To get to Narnia, you need a wardrobe. To get to Wonderland, you need a rabbit hole. To get to Oz, you need access to a cyclone.
Pride, and prejudice: What happens to marriage equality now in NJ and nation?

1 week ago | northjersey.com | Jim Beckerman

Concerns are on the minds of a lot of people as June Pride Month 2025 gets underway. Could the federal recognition of gay marriage go away, just as the federal right to abortion did? Will protections against LGBTQ+ discriminations be lifted? Michael and Jacob clicked. They met online in 2020 — one lived in Pennsylvania, the other in Arizona — met in person in 2022, and by December they were a couple. They had talked of getting married in 2027, or 2028. There was no hurry.
At the Crawfish Fest, all are welcome to rock (and we mean all)

1 week ago | northjersey.com | Jim Beckerman

Top acts will be bringing the swampy sounds of the Bayou State to the marsh dwellers of North Jersey. Crawfish — boiled, almost 10,000 pounds, imported direct from Louisiana — is the dish du jour, as the name of the festival implies. One country, indivisible. That's what it says in The Pledge of Allegiance. But perhaps you've noticed that we're not so indivisible right now. Perhaps you've noticed that red states and blue states, North and South, are increasingly pitted against each other.
Soldiers of the screen: These make great movies for Memorial Day

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Jim Beckerman

No sane person wants war. That's something that shouldn't need saying — especially on Memorial Day, May 26, when we pause to remember the toll it takes. Soldiers killed, families devastated, the country deprived of some of its best and brightest. But wars are sometimes — sometimes — necessary. Or at least, they may seem necessary at the time. The best war movies are not the ones that glorify war. Nor are they necessarily those with an anti-war message.
For Mother's Day: Our favorite fictional moms

1 month ago | northjersey.com | Jim Beckerman

From "Little Women" to "The Giving Tree," here's our list of fictional moms and what makes them stand outFrom time to time a supremely talented writer will offer up a role model of motherhood. These are mothers who impress without being cloying, who inspire without sounding like a Hallmark card. M is for the millions of words that have been written about Mother. Popular songs, greeting cards, aphorisms are full of her. "A Boy's Best Friend is His Mother," we say.