The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg

In the 1930s Jewish Mothers would ask their sons: "What kind of day did Hank have?"  Hank Greenberg, the Detroit Tigers slugger who came close to breaking Babe Ruth's home run record, was baseball's first Jewish star. Tall (6'4"), handsome, and uncommonly good-natured, Greenberg was a secular Jew from the Bronx who became "the baseball Moses," an icon for everyone from Walter Matthau ("I joined the Beverly Hills tennis club to eat lunch with him.  I don't even play tennis") to Alan Dershowitz ("I thought he'd become the first Jewish president").  Aviva Kempner's loving tribute is chock full of wonderful archival footage from the '30s and '40s and interviews with a self-effacing Greenberg and many of his Tiger teammates.  Plus Mandy Patinkin's rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" -- in Yiddish!

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Hank Greenberg News

August 2, 2008 - In the 1930’s Jewish mothers would ask “What kind of day did Hank have?” Hank Greenberg, baseball’s first Jewish star, was the Detroit Tigers slugger who came close to breaking Babe Ruth’s homerun record. In honor of the 75th anniversary of Hank's rookie season, the Historical Society of Washington DC is showing Aviva Kempner's The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg as part of their HSW Film Series.  (Ages 10 to adult) FREE 2 pm August 2, 2008. The Society is located at 801 K Street, NW at Mount Vernon Square, Washington, DC 20001 RSVP@historydc.org or call 202-383-1828

June 29, 2008 - Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of Hank Greenberg's rookie season, Jewish Major Leaguers, in collaboration with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and the American Jewish Historical Society, will be hosting a Day of Tribute in Cooperstown on Sunday, June 29. Confirmed participants include Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and Greenberg biographer Ira Berkow; film-maker Aviva Kempner, historian Bill Simons, and Hank's daughter Alva Greenberg. The Celebration begins on Saturday, June 28 with a 5 p.m. screening of Kempner's film, The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, in the Bullpen Theater. Following the film, Kempner will participate in question and answer with the audience. A Tribute to Hank Greenberg panel discussion, featuring Berkow, Greenberg, Kempner and Simons will begin Sunday morning at 9:10 a.m. in the Grandstand Theater. A book signing in the Library Atrium will follow from 12:15-12:45 and the day concludes with a second showing of The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg in the Bullpen Theater at 1:30 p.m. followed by Q&A with Kempner. Tickets are free of charge, but must be reserved in advance by contacting the Museum's membership department at 607-547-0397. Tickets will be available to Museum Members beginning Monday , June 2 , with tickets first available to the general public beginning June 17.

May 25, 2008 - Join us at 7:30 pm at the D.C. Jewish Community Center for a discussion of the impact of Jewish Major League Baseball stars on baseball history and trivia cards. As 2008 marks the 75th anniversary of Hank Greenberg’s rookie season, there will be a special tribute of ten cards chronicling the life and career of this first Jewish-American baseball superstar this year. The discussion is sponsored by the Chaim Kempner Author Series, and speakers include Dr. Martin Abramowitz, President of Jewish Major Leaguers, Inc., and our own Aviva Kempner, Director of The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg.

March 2008 - Watch The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg on Showtime this month! All times ET/PT. Watch live or set your Tivos! Showtime Extreme, Saturday, March 22, 5:00 AM and 11:45 AM Showtime Showcase, Sunday, March 23, 6:35 AM The Movie Channel, Tuesday, March 25, 4:25 PM

February 22, 2008 - See the 80th Academy Award Nominees free! Join Aviva Kempner and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the William G. McGowan Theater at the National Archives on February 22. The Center for the National Archives Experience will host the fourth annual free screenings of the Academy Award® nominees in four categories—Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Live Action Short Film, and Animated Short Film—from Wednesday, February 20, through Sunday, February 24. They will be introduced by distinguished members of the Washington, DC, film community including filmmaker Aviva Kempner; Ann Hornaday, film critic for the Washington Post; and Flo Stone, artistic director of the DC Environmental Film Festival.

September 23-24, 2007 - Aviva Kempner will present her work at the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg will be screened on Sunday, September 23 at 4:00 pm, followed by a discussion. On the following day, Monday, September 24, Aviva Kempner will discuss her current work-in-progress, Yoo-hoo, Mrs. Goldberg at 7:30 pm.

September 1, 2007 - Sports writer Jonah Keri rates Hank Greenberg as the second greatest Jewish Baseball player in history in his article The 18 best Jewish ballplayers of all time for salon.com. Keri also has praise for The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, writing “If you've never seen the superb 1998 documentary The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, run, don't walk, to your Netflix queue.”

July 19, 2007, 7:00 pm - Jews and American Popular Culture at the DC JCC Aviva Kempner discusses her chapter on Hank Greenberg, “Famous for the Day He Didn’t Play,” in Jews and American Popular Culture, vol. 3, at the Washington, DC Jewish Community Center. Also included in the discussion are Michael Kazin, moderator and professor at Georgetown University, and Douglas Century, author of Barney Ross and frequent New York Times writer. He contributed the chapter “Boxing”. Jon Landau, Bruce Springsteen's manager, says, " I came away from reading this book with a much clearer and more focused idea of the role of Jewish personality, values and thinking in the formation of modern American culture."

April 20, 2007 - The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg has been rated one of the top ten sports films. Visit Rotten Tomatoes to find out more.

April 15, 2007 - Now you can viewed selected images from Aviva Kempner's 2005 appearance at the National Archives in 2005. The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg was screened and Aviva talked about Hank's contribution to American baseball.

March 31, 2007 - The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg aired on Channel 56 WTVS Detroit public television.

February 24, 2007 - The Congregation Beth Chaim screened The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg as part of their 2006-7 film series. The evening event featured a discussion with director Aviva Kempner in the Temple's sanctuary and social hall.

January 23, 2007 - Benjamin Blackburn is an artist who carves bats into intricate works of baseball memorabilia. Among his many exquisity pieces are several dedcated to Hank Greenberg. Life and Times of Hank Greenberg director Aviva Kempner is proud to have one of these pieces, Beacon of Hope, in her personal art collection. Another piece, More Baseball Stamps We'd Like to See, celebrates the Baseball Slugger series of stamps released by the U.S. Post Office last year. For more information, and to see pictures of Mr. Blackburn's work, please visit Wonderboy Studios.

December 11, 2006 - The Men's Club of the Synagogue of the Suburban Torah Center screened The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg. The event was part of their annual paid-up membership dinner.

November 4, 2006 - Aviva Kempner hosted a discussion on Hank Greenberg at the National Synagogue following Shabbat Morning Services.

October 29, 2006 - The West Side Institutional Synagogue screened The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg. Director Aviva Kempner spoke afterwords.

October 22, 2006 - The Jewish Museum of Maryland screened The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg. Director Aviva Kempner spoke afterwords.

July 13, 2006 - The Hank Greenberg stamp was among four slugger stamps commemorated today in a ceremony at Yankee Stadium. Over 54,000 people attended the historic ceremony, including director Aviva Kempner. See this MLB Press Release for more information.

April 6, 2006 - The Museum of Modern Art in New York City hosted award-winning director Aviva Kempner at 6:00 p.m. Ms. Kempner introduced her film, The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg. The screening was a part of the museum's Baseball and American Culture exhibit (April 3-30, 2006)