In an earlier Old Newark
memory, I wrote about Father Divine's Peace Movement in the old Third Ward...of
his followers who proclaimed him God in the Flesh, and of his purchase of the
Third Ward's Hotel Riviera as Father Divine's Newark Heaven.
But Father Divine was
not the first of the "gods" who had worked or otherwise been active in my old
Third Ward neighborhood.
Memory About Two other "Gods"
This memory is about
two other "gods" who had earlier been active in my old Third Ward neighborhood
during my younger years growing up there.
The 'catch' is that
these two 'gods' were Hollywood created.
Both were
realistically 'gods' in their respective realms. I will explain:
God No. 1
God No. 1 was George
Burns, born January 20th, 1896.
George Burns Third
Ward connection was his booking the winter of 1923 with a new vaudeville
partner, Gracie Allen, for the first time, at the Hill Theatre1
at 100 Springfield Avenue.
Together he and partner Gracie were paid $5
for three shows a night. They got a good reception and it led to
additional bookings. The team of Burns and Allen performed for 40 years.
Burns Takes on Role of "God"
Burns later played
the role of "God" in three of his 23 Hollywood motion picture films.
He was God in 1977
for the first time at the age of 81 in "Oh God!"...then for a second time in
1980 in the sequel "Oh God! Book II". At age 88, he played God for a third
time in "Oh God! You Devil" in 1984.
How He Viewed His "God" Role
As the Supreme Being
in his three Oh God! films--all successes--Burns wore baggy pants, golf sneakers
and a golf cap.
He said he was a bit
nervous at first about taking on the role of God "because I didn't know what
kind of makeup he uses...and besides, he's bigger than Milton Berle" but, he
added, he decided to take on the role because "Why shouldn't I play God?
Anything I do at my age is a miracle.
His Passing at 100
George Burns died
March 8, 1996, six and 1/2 weeks past his 100th birthday. He is interred
alongside his beloved Gracie in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale, Los Angeles.
God No. 2
God No. 2 was Dore
Schary, born August 31, 1905, in Newark, and for many years resident at 604 High
Street, corner of Court Street, where his family operated a successful kosher
catering establishment, popular with Newark's large Jewish community.
Schary, during his
youthful years, helped out in his family's catering business, and in 1961 wrote
a book about it: "For Special Occasions."
Although he was
already a teenager when I was born, we both attended the same synagogue, Anshe
Russia on West Kinney Street and were bar mitzvahed there. We both also
graduated from Central High School.
Schary's Claim as a "God"
Schary's claim as a
'god' was in the motion picture industry. for many years he was chief of
production at the MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) Studios under Louis B. Mayer.
In 1951, Schary succeeded Mayer as president of MGM, after Mayer's 27-year
reign. During his leadership of MGM, he introduced a new era of Cinemascoping of such blockbuster Hollywood films as Brigadoon and Ben Hur.
Certainly he was a
'god' in the film industry.
Schary's Passing
Schary died July 7,
1980. He is interred in the Hebrew Cemetery in West Long Branch.
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