Sources on Firelight include the author’s interviews with Brill and twelve other people who worked on it: Susan Roper Arndt, Judge Charles G. Case II, Bill Hoffman, Clark (Lucky) Lohr, Warner Marshall, Haven Peters, Chris Pischke, Paul G. Rowe, Carol Stromme Shelton, Arnold Spielberg, Betty Weber, and Beth Weber Zelenski (who also described the filming in a March 4, 1994, letter to the author, and to Bill Jones in “Star of Spielberg’s 1st Feature Remembers ‘Hands-Off Director,” Arizona Republic, May 12, 1996). The author also interviewed Charles A. (Chuck) Silvers, then with the editorial department of Universal Pictures and later executive vice-president of Dunhill Media Services of Valencia, Ca.; Silvers consulted with Spielberg during the making of Firelight and saw it after its premiere. The premiere was recalled by various people who worked on Firelight, as well as by others in attendance, including George Cowie, Richard Y. Hoffman Jr., Lynn Hoffman, Vance Marshall, and Doug Tice; copies of the premiere program and Spielberg’s undated shooting script were supplied by Zelenski. Allen Zelenski also described the film to the author.
Brief clips from Firelight were included in Citizen Steve, a parody biographical film made by Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment as a birthday present for him in 1987; The Barbara Walters Special (ABC-TV, March 21, 1994); and The American Film Institute Salute to Steven Spielberg (NBC-TV/A&E;, 1995). Firelight was reviewed by Larry Jarrett in The Arizona Journal, “Young Movie Maker Premieres Own Film,” March 26, 1964. The making of the film was covered by The Arizona Republic in Clark; Paul Dean, “Encounter with Success Began at Arcadia High,” March 8, 1978; Michael Clancy and Dolores Tropiano, “Early Spielberg Effects Weren’t All That Special,” July 14, 1993; and Jones, “Spielberg’s Spark,” May 12, 1996. Spielberg’s denigration of the film (1974) is from Zimmerman. Spielberg’s mother, Leah Adler, recalled his filmmaking in Paula Parisi, “Wunderkind in the Making,” HR Spielberg tribute issue, March 10, 1994. Leah’s description of her son as “a terrible student” is from Margy Rochlin, “So Says Leah Adler,” LAT, December 22, 1985.
Steven’s 1963–64 comments on his filmmaking ambitions are from Clark; Jarrett; and “Firelights Capture Earthlings in Film Premiering Tuesday.”
1. “HOW WONDROUS ARE THY WORKS” (PP. 16–34)
Leah Posner Spielberg (Mrs. Bernard Adler) recalled her parents and her Uncle Boris in Fred A. Bernstein, The Jewish Mothers’ Hall of Fame, Doubleday, 1986. Sources on Spielberg and Posner family history also include the author’s interviews with Arnold Spielberg, Samuel Guttman, Daniel Guttman, and Deborah Guttman Ridenour, and genealogical material compiled by the late Natalie Spielberg Guttman. Natalie was interviewed by Carol Sanger in “E.T.’s Cincinnati Roots,” The Cincinnati Enquirer, August 22, 1982. Additional genealogical material was provided by Cincinnati researcher Adele Blanton. Also useful were birth, death, and marriage records of family members in Cincinnati; the Cincinnati city directories, 1905ff; and obituaries and marriage listings from various Cincinnati newspapers. Information about Spielberg’s family history also came from the author’s interviews with family friends who knew Steven’s grandparents, including Millie Tieger and Edith Cummins; and from Barry M. Horstman, “Spielberg’s Roots: Avondale Years Shaped Schindler,” Cincinnati Post, January 13, 1994. Arnold Spielberg talked about his family history and his own moviemaking in Julie Salamon’s memoir of her family, The Net of Dreams: A Family’s Search for a Rightful Place, Random House, 1996.
Documents on Samuel Spielberg’s estate are from the Probate Court, Hamilton County, Ohio, including his Last Will and Testament, January 2, 1946; Inventory of Estate, May 7, 1946; and Account of Estate, November 29, 1946. Steven Spielberg’s fortune was estimated in “The Forbes Four Hundred,” Forbes, October 14, 1996. The marriage license of Arnold Spielberg and Lea [sic] Posner was filed in the Probate Court on February 23, 1945.
Among the books on Jewish, Russian, and Jewish-American history consulted were Mark Zborowski and Elizabeth Herzog, Life Is with People: The Culture of the Shtetl, International Universities Press, 1952; Werner Keller, translated by Richard and Clara Winston, Diaspora: The Post-Biblical History of the Jews, Harcourt, Brace & World, 1969; Irving Howe, World of Our Fathers, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976; Chaim Potok, Wanderings: Chaim Potok’s History of the Jews, Knopf, 1978; Neal Gabler, An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood, Crown, 1988; Benjamin Pinkus, The Jews of the Soviet Union: The History of a National Minority, Cambridge University Press, 1988; Ronald Sanders, Shores of Refuge: A Hundred Years of Jewish Emigration, Henry Holt, 1988; Jonathan D. Sarna and Nancy H. Klein, The Jews of Cincinnati, Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, 1989; Martin Gilbert, The Atlas of Jewish History, Morrow, 1992 (revised edition), and Atlas of Russian History, Oxford University Press, 1993 (second edition); Howard M. Sachar, A History of the Jews in America, Knopf, 1992; and Edward S. Shapiro, A Time for Healing: American Jewry Since World War II (The Jewish People in America, Vol. 5), Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. Abraham Cahan’s observation about immigrant Jews’ vision of America is quoted in Sachar.
Information about Kamenets-Podolsk is from various histories and reference works on Russia and from a post–World War II Jewish memorial book translated from the Hebrew for the author by Dr. Ida Cohen Selavan: Abraham Rozen, H. Sarig, and Y. Bernshtain, Kamenets-Podolsk and Environs, Tel Aviv, 1965. Information about Spielberg relatives killed in the Holocaust is from Arnold Spielberg; Weinraub; and Salamon, “The Long Voyage Home” and The Net of Dreams.
Sources on Cincinnati history included the author’s interviews with the late Dr. Jacob Rader Marcus and others who lived there at the same time as Spielberg and his parents. Among books of local history consulted were John Clubbe, Cincinnati Observed: Architecture and History, Ohio State University Press, 1992; Federal Writers Project, Works Progress Administration, The WPA Guide to Cincinnati, 1943, reprinted in 1987 by the Cincinnati Historical Society; B. J. Foreman, CCM 125: College–Conservatory of Music 1867–1992, University of Cincinnati, 1992; Reginald C. McGrane, The University of Cincinnati: A Success Story in Urban Higher Education, Harper & Row, 1963; Sarna and Klein, The Jews of Cincinnati; and Iola Hessler Silberstein, Cincinnati Then and Now, League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area, 1982. Also helpful were various interviews in the National Council of Jewish Women–American Jewish Archives Oral History Project, 1980–81 (Cincinnati Historical Society).
Additional sources on the Avondale neighborhood included articles in Cincinnati papers: “Avondale: A Suburb That Appreciates Its Natural Endowments,” Commercial Gazette, May 24, 1892; Robert Heidler, “Avondale … One of City’s Most Populous Areas,” Times Star, November 18, 1950; L. Robert Liebert, “Avondale,” Enquirer, October 28, 1951; George Amick, “A Changing Avondale,” Enquirer series, February 22–26, 1959; and Steven Rosen, “Avondale’s Memories Preserved,” Enquirer, July 29, 1984.
Spielberg described his earliest memory in Corliss’s Time cover story “‘I Dream for a Living.’” Cincinnati’s Adath Israel Synagogue was described in The WPA Guide; Sarna and Klein, The Jews of Cincinnati; and “Synagogue Presents Neo-Classic Style; History of Avondale Society Is Recalled,” Cincinnati Enquirer, August 12, 1929.
David Lyman reported on Spielberg’s film project I’ll Be Home in the Cincinnati Post: “Spielberg Planning Movie in Cincinnati,” December 11, 1989; “Spielberg Movie in Cincinnati Doubtful This Year,” August 13, 1990; and “Spielberg Pledges: He’ll Film Here,” December 5, 1991. Spielberg commented on the project in Ebert and Siskel, The Future of the Movies. See also Mason Wiley’s November 1990 Cosmopolitan article “The Women Who Write the Scripts,” which includes a section on Anne Spielberg.
Pauline Kael’s comments on Close Encounters and Spielberg’s influence on other filmmakers are from her review “The Greening of the Solar System,”The New Yorker, November 28, 1977, and from David Blum, “Steven Spielberg and the Dread Hollywood Backlash,” New York, March 24, 1986. Schindler’s List was heralded as Spielberg’s maturat
ion by Schiff and by Mordecai Newman, “Spielberg’s Bar Mitzvah,” Jewish Frontier, January–February 1994; Spielberg’s response was made to Elkin. He discussed his Jewish heritage in various published interviews around the time of Schindler’s List and in the “Spielberg’s Oskar” segment of Eye to Eye with Connie Chung (CBS-TV), December 9, 1993. The religious practices of the Spielbergs and the Posners were described to the author by Arnold Spielberg. Vincent Canby’s description of Spielberg as “the poet of suburbia” is quoted in Ebert and Siskel.
Steven’s mother discussed her music and its influence on her son to Bernstein and Reilly. Steven’s comment about “genetic overload” and the story about his father’s oscilloscope are from Horstman. John Williams remarked on Spielberg’s musical instincts in Shay and Duncan, The Making of “Jurassic Park.”
2. “MAZIK” (PP. 35–49)
Natalie Guttman’s description of her nephew as a “mazik” and her other comments on his childhood are from Sanger.
Spielberg’s correct birthdate, December 18, 1946, is established by his Certificate of Live Birth, Ohio Department of Health, No. 15473: Steven Allan Spielberg (Cincinnati Board of Health). His birth was reported in The American Israelite, December 26, 1946, and his bar mitzvah was announced in The Phoenix Jewish News, December 25, 1959. His age also was reported correctly in such early articles as Clark; Jarrett; “Universal Pacts Pamela McMyler, Steve Spielberg,” HR, and “Univ. Pacts Pair,” DV, December 12, 1968; Ray Loynd, “Shorts Makers Get Short Cut to Success Via Short,” HR, December 13, 1968; Hull; and Kramer. Incorrect ages were given in such articles as “Spielberg Pacted to Produce for U,” DV, December 28, 1970; Cameron; Adler; and Fred Schruers, “Peter Pandemonium,” Premiere, December 1991.
Incorrect dates for Spielberg’s arrival at Universal were reported in the Adler article and in Tuchman; Hirschberg; Corliss, “‘I Dream for a Living’”; and Gross. Spielberg’s actual arrival at Universal in late 1963 or early 1964 was established by the author’s interview with Charles A. Silvers and by Jarrett’s 1964 article. Spielberg’s 1968 comment to Sid Sheinberg was reported in Shah.
Patricia Goldstone uncovered Spielberg’s deception about his birthdate in “Movie Directors Can Stay Forever Young,” LAT, March 8, 1981. Spielberg’s representatives confirmed his correct age in James Bates, “Spielberg’s Legal Dispute Adds a Year to His Life,” LAT, October 27, 1995.
The author of this book first interviewed Denis C. Hoffman about Spielberg on September 12, 1994. Denis C. Hoffman vs. Steven Spielberg was filed October 25, 1995, in Los Angeles County Superior Court; Heights Investment Co. Inc. and Steven Spielberg vs. Denis Hoffman was filed in the same court on October 24, 1995. A copy of Spielberg’s September 28, 1968, agreement with Hoffman is contained in Hoffman’s suit, as are copies of Hoffman’s Short Form Assignment of Amblin’ rights to Spielberg, December 30, 1976, and Assignment of Rights, January 3, 1977; Hoffman’s March 16, 1970, distribution agreement with United Productions of America; his June 15, 1970, distribution agreement with Excelsior Distributing Co.; and his U.K. distribution agreement with Four Star, November 14, 1972. Other articles on Hoffman’s claim against Spielberg include (1995): Ted Johnson, “Spielberg Sues Amblin [sic] Investor,” DV, and Donna Parker, “Spielberg Sues Donut Guy over Amblin [sic] Dough,” HR, October 25; “Spielberg Charges Aired,” DV, October 27; Jonathan Davies, “Doughnut Guy Returns Fire,” HR, October 27–29; “Director vs. Donut Man,” Time, November 6; and (1996): “1941 Will Now Be Known as 1942,” Premiere, February. Hoffman’s attorneys Robert C. Rosen and Pierce O’Donnell issued an October 26,1995, press release, “Steven Spielberg Sued for Fraud by Producer Who Launched His Career.”
Leah Adler’s quip about having “my uterus bronzed” is from David Ferrell, “Mother’s Day,” LAT, March 23, 1994. She also discussed Steven’s childhood in Bernstein; John Skow, “Staying Five Moves Ahead,” Time, May 31, 1982; Jeff Silverman, “They Are What They E.T.—Or, a Close Encounter of the Spielberg Kind,” LAHE, June 24, 1982; Corliss, “‘I Dream for a Living’”; and Rochlin. She jokingly described herself as “certifiable” in Karen S. Schneider and Kristina Johnson, “That’s My Boy,” People, April 25, 1994. Steven’s description of himself as “a victim of the Peter Pan Syndrome” is from Jerry Buck, “Spielberg: Raider of the Lost Art of Anthologies,” LADN, June 28, 1995. Dr. Dan Kiley’s 1983 book The Peter Pan Syndrome: Men Who Have Never Grown Up was published by Dodd, Mead, 1983. Dustin Hoffman’s remark about Spielberg’s insecurity is from Schruers. Henry Sheehan analyzed Spielberg’s films in his two-part Film Comment essay “The Panning of Steven Spielberg,” May–June 1992, and “Spielberg II,” July– August 1992.
Spielberg recalled hearing about Nazis and the Holocaust as a child in various interviews around the time of Schindler’s List and in “Production Information,” Schindler’s List press kit, Universal Pictures, 1993. Steven’s mother told Weinraub and Horstman about hearing stories from Holocaust survivors. Her comments about raising her children largely among gentiles are from Bernstein and Horstman. She described Judaism as having been “a very nothing part of our lives” in Schneider and Johnson. David Halberstam’s comments on postwar America are from The Fifties, Villard Books, 1993.
Information on the Spielbergs’ move from Cincinnati to Camden and Haddon Township, New Jersey, is from the author’s interviews with Arnold Spielberg; their New Jersey neighbors Miriam Fuhrman, Jane Fuhrman Satanoff, and Glenn Fuhrman; and Helen and Peter Rutan, who sold the Spielbergs their home in Haddon Township in August 1952. Information on the births of Spielberg’s sisters is from Arnold Spielberg. Sources on Haddonfield and Haddon Township include the author’s interviews with other Spielberg neighbors; Haddonfield City Directories, 1952, 1954–55, and 1956; and Robert Strauss, “Take a Walk on the Mild Side by Hoofing It in Haddonfield,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 15, 1994. Spielberg’s time in Haddon Township was discussed in Strauss and in Tillie Clement, “Master of Big-Screen Fantasy Adventures Has a Local Link,” The Haddon Gazette, August 8, 1985.
3. “MESHUGGENEH” (PP. 50–65)
The late Arnold Fuhrman’s description of the young Steven Spielberg as “meshuggeneh” and his other comments about Steven were reported by Fuhrman’s sister Miriam, his daughter Jane Satanoff, and his son Glenn. Anne Spielberg’s observation about Jaws is from Reilly.
Information on the Spielbergs’ home on Crystal Terrace in Haddon Township is from the author’s interviews with Helen and Peter Rutan, and with August and Loretta Knoblach, who bought the house from the Spielbergs in February 1957. Information on Temple Beth Shalom was provided by Rabbi Albert Lewis, who researched the temple’s history in its bulletins, Temple Talk, 1953–57. Steven’s memory of Hebrew school and his other comments on Jewish education are from Guthmann and from Karen W. Arenson, “From Schindler’s List, a Jewish Mission,” NYT, September 24, 1995.
Steven’s recollections of Christmastime on Crystal Terrace to Salamon in “The Long Voyage Home” are similar to stories he told his California high school classmate Gene Ward Smith, who recalled them in interviews with the author and in February 25 and March 28, 1994, letters to the author.
Arnold Spielberg told the author about his work for RCA, as did Rabbi Lewis and Arnold’s RCA colleagues J. Wesley Leas, Bill Davison, and Miriam Fuhrman. Although in “The Autobiography of Peter Pan,” Steven says he was around eleven years old when he swallowed his father’s transistor, which would place the incident in Arizona, Leas says that Arnold received his first transistor while working at RCA in about 1955, which would indicate that Steven was eight or nine when the incident supposedly occurred. Arnold described his influence on Steven’s storytelling abilities to the author and in Corliss, “‘I Dream for a Living.’”
Information on the Hadrosaurus foulkii is from John R. Horner and James Gorman, Digging Dinosaurs, Workman, 1988; “Fossil Site Designated Landmark,” NYT, November 27, 1994; and the author’s interview with Jon Davison. Sources on Spielberg’s ea
rly interest in dinosaurs include the author’s interview with Scott MacDonald and Spielberg’s comments on the 1993 Bravo cable-TV program Opening Shot: “Dinosaurs.” Spielberg remembered his first visit to Disneyland in “60 Candles,” People, November 7, 1988.
4. “A WIMP IN A WORLD OF JOCKS” (PP. 66–93)
The chapter title is Spielberg’s self-description in Sragow, “A Conversation with Steven Spielberg.” The Spielbergs’ North Forty-ninth street address in Phoenix is listed in the Phoenix and Scottsdale city directories, 1958–63.
Leah Adler recalled moving to Arizona in Baxter; she talked about Steven’s room, neighborhood children’s anti-Semitism, and her marriage to Bernard Adler in Bernstein, The Jewish Mothers’ Hall of Fame. She also spoke of her second husband in Schneider and Johnson, “That’s My Boy”; his obituaries appeared in LAT, October 3, 1995, and NYT, October 8 and 15,1995. Leah discussed Steven’s relationship with his sisters (Anne, Sue, and Nancy) in Reilly and in Rochlin. Sue and Nancy talked about their family in Corliss, “‘I Dream for a Living’”; Anne talked about Steven to Schiff and to Reilly. Steven confessed his Lost World prank and his “six-month fling as a juvenile delinquent” to Margolis and Modderno.
Sources on Spielberg’s Boy Scouting include the author’s interviews with Arnold Spielberg, Scout leader Richard Y. Hoffman Jr., and various members of Ingleside’s Troop 294. Hoffman also was interviewed in Bill Jones, “‘Mr. Wizard’ Inspired Filmmaker’s Creative Fire,” The Arizona Republic, May 12, 1996, which includes Steven’s 1985 description of him as “Mr. Wizard.” Spielberg’s most detailed comments about his Scouting experiences are in Olmsted’s article “‘Ex–Boy Scout Makes Movies.’”
Spielberg’s most extensive interview about his early filmmaking is Poster, “The Mind Behind Close Encounters of the Third Kind”; contemporaneous printed sources include Savoy’s 1962 article “Pennies for Perry” and Clark’s 1963 profile “Teenage Cecil B.” Arnold Spielberg’s memories of Steven’s filmmaking are from an interview with the author. Leah Adler talked about her son’s filmmaking in “Leah Adler,” Steven Spielberg tribute issue, HR, March 10, 1994. Barry Sollenberger reminisced about their filmmaking activities to the author and in Citizen Steve.
Steven Spielberg Page 85