6 degrees (no Bacon): Jewish celebrity roundup

Amy Winehouse Street

NEW YORK (6NoBacon)—Amy Winehouse’s name may live on in the streets of her hometown—literally.

Residents near the late singer’s old London neighborhood have been asked to brainstorm names for roads in an area being redeveloped for housing. Winehouse fans are voting for Winehouse Street, reports the Sun.

Her family is understandably psyched.

“To think that our surname would be indelibly linked with London through the naming of a street after Amy is remarkable,” said Mitch Winehouse, Amy’s dad. “We’re a London family through and through, and it would be a tremendous honor if we do become a literal part of the fabric of this great city.

Beastie Boys writing memoir

Michael Diamond (Mike D.) and Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock), the two surviving Beastie Boys, have signed a deal with Spiegel & Grau, an imprint of Random House, to write a book about their careers.

According to The New York Times, the Jewish rappers plan on being as out of the box in their writing as they were with their music.

“The first words out of Mike’s mouth were, ‘I don’t want to do a straight memoir,’ ” said Luke Janklow, the group’s agent.

Instead the book will be “a multidimensional experience,” said Julie Grau of Spiegel & Grau. ”There is a kaleidoscopic frame of reference, and it asks a reader to keep up.”

The book, which will be edited by hip-hop journalist Sacha Jenkins and is slated for the fall of 2015, will include images as well as passages by other writers. Per Grau and Janklow, fans can expect something similar in style to Grand Royal, the irreverent magazine put out by the Beasties in the ‘90s.

Adam Yauch (MCA), the third member of the group, died last year at age 47 of cancer of the salivary gland.

Jason Segel’s Jason Collins connection

Jason Collins, who made history by being the first active NBA player to come out as gay, had a very funny, very Jewish teammate at Harvard-Westlake High in Southern California. That would be Jason Segel.

In the flurry of reporting that followed the breaking of the Collins story, Sports Illustrated dug up a 1996 team photo in which the “How I Met Your Mother” actor is standing right by the Washington Wizards center and his twin brother, Jarron. While Segel wasn’t the Wolverines’ biggest talent, he was known for his humor and theatrics. His big personality was even documented in a 1996 Los Angeles Times story about the squad.

“During Harvard’s two-week East Coast trip in December, Segel wowed a Florida crowd with a two-handed slam made with the front of his jersey pulled over his head,” the L.A. Times wrote. “Before the dunk, Segel stood poised, calling for silence with outstretched arms. After the dunk, he dove headfirst into the stands.”

In more Segel news, The New York Times reported that he will be writing a series of books for middle schoolers for Random House.

“Ultimately, it’s a story about learning that we can accomplish anything, as long as we are brave enough to try,” Segel said of the “Nightmares!” adventure series, which will center on a bunch of kids out to rescue their neighborhood from fear.

Well, not quite the literary version of “Freaks and Geeks” we were hoping for, but still sounds interesting.

Gwyneth Paltrow is most beautiful woman

Hollywood’s most hated celebrity is also the most beautiful woman in the world, which when you think about it sort of makes sense.

People tapped Gwyneth Paltrow—the golden-haired descendant of rabbis—as most beautiful in this month’s issue. She graces the cover and inside the magazine talks about how at home she’s just a regular mom and wife, and not the polarizing figure that others alternately adore and despise. (Don’t believe us? Check out this New York Post headline: “Is this pompous film star really the world’s most beautiful woman?”)

“Around the house, I’m in jeans and a T-shirt. I don’t really wear makeup. That’s what they’re used to,” Paltrow said of her kids Apple, 8, and Moses, 7.

What about her husband, Chris Martin? “He’ll make a joke about it. If I’ve gotten fully dressed up, he’ll be like, ‘Oh, wow! You’re Gwyneth Paltrow!’ Because he’s used to seeing me in like baggy shorts and frizzy hair.

Celebrity chef Jamie Geller’s Israel show

Can’t imagine packing up your five kids and moving to a foreign country where you can barely speak the language?

In her new online series “The Joy of Israel,” kosher cook and best-selling author Jamie Geller shows us what it’s like while also highlighting some of the Holy Land’s sights and flavors. The webisodes are a follow-up to the “Joy of Aliyah,” which depicted the Geller family’s initial transition to Israel.

In the premiere, which debuted last month, the Gellers visit the Golan, where they ride chairlifts and horses. They also cook up a stew that the woman who has been called the “Kosher Rachael Ray” dubs “cowboy cholent.” The travel scenes are great, but equally engaging are the small moments, like when Geller can’t help her 8-year-old daughter with her math homework without the help of her Google translator app.

Geller may be new to Israel, but she’s very familiar with putting together a show. She was formerly a producer and marketing executive for HBO shows such as “The Sopranos,” “Entourage” and “The Wire.”

Sarah Jessica Parker to star in play

The New York Daily News reports that Blythe Danner and Sarah Jessica Parker will play mother and daughter in “Commons of Pensacola,” written by film and TV actress Amanda Peet.

In the comedy Danner—not technically Jewish but wife of the late Bruce Paltrow, who was Jewish, and mother of Gwyneth—flees her fancy life in New York after her Wall Street husband is involved in a scandal. Things become tense when Becca, played by Parker, a member of the tribe and star of “Sex and the City,” visits Mom in her new one-bedroom Florida condo.

New York, Wall Street, Florida, characters named Becca and Judith ... it’s no “Yentl,” but Peet’s first play sounds pretty Jewish to us.

Second child for Ian Ziering

Ian Ziering of “Beverly Hills, 90210″ and his wife, Erin, had their second child two weeks ago. Penna Mae is two years younger to the day than big sister Mia Loren.

Per Parents.com, the sweet yet unusual name is Latin for feather and a nickname for Pennsylvania

. We can’t help but wonder if Ziering, a Jewish actor and now Chippendales dancer, was at all inspired by his heritage. Perhaps Penna = Penina?

First HBO special for Silverman

Let’s face it, fellow Sarah Silverman fans: While her Twitter feed is wildly entertaining, it’s just not enough. Which is why we were thrilled to learn that in the fall, HBO will air the comedy special “Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles.” 

While the comedian has an impressive, eponymous body of work, including “The Sarah Silverman program” and her film “Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic,” it will be her first HBO special. The network is not known for its censorship, so we assume it’ll be more along the lines of the aforementioned projects and less like “Wreck-It Ralph.”

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