Jim Beckerman

New Jersey

Features and Entertainment Writer at The Record (Bergen County)

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Articles

Sixty years ago, 'Mr. Tambourine Man' shook the world of rock-and-roll

1 week ago | northjersey.com | Jim Beckerman

On the jingle jangle morning of June 21, 1965, everyone was following "Mr. Tambourine Man."But by the time the album, also named "Mr. Tambourine Man," made its debut — 60 years ago this month — the song was everywhere. On June 26, it hit number 1. "Mr. Tambourine Man" was a cultural phenomenon. Not just because of its popularity. But because it helped pop music turn a corner.
Fifty summers ago, 'Jaws' kept us all out of the water

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

In June, 1975, Americans made a shocking discovery. There are sharks in the ocean. The news wasn't the sharks. It was the discovery. Hundreds of thousands who happily swam in the ocean, unthinking, before the release of the movie "Jaws" 50 years ago this month — June 20, 1975 — were now suddenly aware that they had company. Dum-DUM-dum-DUM-dum-DUM-dum-DUM-dum-DUM. It was 1975 — The Summer of the Shark. And it was murder. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Fifty summers ago, 'Jaws' kept us all out of the water

1 week ago | dailyrecord.com | Jim Beckerman

In June, 1975, Americans made a shocking discovery. There are sharks in the ocean. The news wasn't the sharks. It was the discovery. Hundreds of thousands who happily swam in the ocean, unthinking, before the release of the movie "Jaws" 50 years ago this month — June 20, 1975 — were now suddenly aware that they had company. Dum-DUM-dum-DUM-dum-DUM-dum-DUM-dum-DUM. It was 1975 — The Summer of the Shark. And it was murder. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
50 fascinating facts you didn't know about 'Jaws,' as it celebrates 50

1 week ago | northjersey.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?
Bet you don't know these 5 Jersey connections to 'Jaws,' celebrating its 50th this month

1 week ago | dailyrecord.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.
Richard Dreyfuss got it wrong about 'Jaws,' he says: 'I was a jerk'

1 week ago | usatoday.com | Jim Beckerman

They've found it a superlative example of actors, writers, cinematographer, editor, composer and − of course − director, all working at the height of their powers. Very few people have found it boring. Except for Richard Dreyfuss. He finds it boring. Not the movie. The subject. "Very," he told the USA TODAY Network last summer, speaking by phone from Europe. "No, I'm serious.
As Juneteenth returns, what happens now to African American history?

1 week ago | northjersey.com | Jim Beckerman

Juneteenth is one of 11 cultural awareness events that the Defense Intelligence Agency "paused" in January, as a result of executive orders from the White House. It is, of course, the celebration — a federal holiday since 2021 — of the de facto end of U.S. slavery: Galveston, June 19, 1866. Other "paused" events include Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, LGBTQ Pride Month, and Holocaust Remembrance Day. Why learn history?
50 fun facts about 'Jaws' as the movie celebrates the big 5-0

1 week ago | usatoday.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 Chrissie (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 and Richard Dreyfuss) as they track down the monster responsible for destroying tourist season on the fictional Amity Island?
How did Jews react to American slavery? It's complicated, says North Jersey author

1 week ago | northjersey.com | Jim Beckerman

Richard Kreitner, a Wayne native, has written a new book, "Fear No Pharaoh: American Jews, the Civil War, and the Fight to End Slavery."He looks at the ways in which all groups, Jewish or otherwise, define their relationship with — and duty to — the larger world. "Looking at how some of these ideas were debated in a different time, I think it can help clarify our options today," he said. History is a mirror.
‘Goonies’ treasure map, 40 years later, leads to New Jersey – Metro Philadelphia

2 weeks ago | metrophiladelphia.com | Jim Beckerman

In every child, said Mark Twain, there is “a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure.”And that — in so many words — is what director Richard Donner, producer-writer Steven Spielberg and writer Chris Columbus were also saying in their 1985 cult movie ‘The Goonies,’ which celebrated its 40th anniversary June 7. And that is what Bergen County’s Kerri Green — one of two stars of the movie with New Jersey connections — would like to say, now.