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44 Beachwood Buzz November 2016
Academy- and Tony-Winning Author Joel Grey to
Headline Cleveland Jewish Book Festival
Mandel JCC's 17th Annual
Cleveland Jewish Book Festival,
one of the premier Jewish book
festivals in the country, will feature
an outstanding lineup of 13
authors, including Academy and
Tony-award-winning actor and
author Joel Grey.
The Book Festival, presented
in partnership with Cuyahoga
County Public Library and gen-
erous support from the Eugenia
and Henry Green Family Founda-
tion, will feature keynote speaker,
Cleveland native Joel Grey. Grey
is best known for his portrayal
of the Master of Ceremonies of
both the stage and film versions
of the classic musical Cabaret. For
this role, he won Academy, Tony
and Golden Globe awards. In his
memoir, Grey tells the remarkable
story of his life in and out of the
spotlight. Despite a career filled
with show-stopping numbers
and larger-than-life stars, Master
of Ceremonies is also a portrait of
an artist coming to terms with his
evolving identity and achieving
personal and professional suc-
cess. Grey will speak at The J on
November 14 at 7:30 pm.
For the very youngest readers,
Kids Day, a family favorite, will be
held on Sunday, November 13, at
9:30 am. Children will have break-
fast with Corduroy and enjoy an
action-packed morning with music,
entertainment, balloons, crafts, sto-
ries, the Bubble Lady, a magic show
performed by Flower Clown, and
much more. The family-pass cost is
$20 and extended family-pass cost
is $25.
The festival also includes
Cleveland's own Local Author Day,
sponsored by Raymond James and
Associates, on Tuesday, November
15 at 10 am. Authors include:
M.B. Cagin · The Berlin Murders
In 1930, Erich Von Bruener
returns to Berlin to attend his
father's Christmas party where the
evening's honored guest is Adolf
Hitler. Otto Von Bruener's fervor
for Germany's rising Nazi party
casts a menacing shadow
over his son's every move from
that night on. Against his father's
advice, Erich and his childhood
friend Karl create the Berlin Opera
Company. When Chani Machins-
ki, a beautiful Jewish girl from
Warsaw, comes to audition as their
soprano, Erich is deeply smitten --
and many lives are endangered.
Scott H. Longert
No Money, No Beer, No Pennants
Scott H. Longert's book is a
lively, well-documented history
of the ups and downs of the
Cleveland Indians and the team's
iconic players who persevered
despite the turmoil and strug-
gles of the Great Depression.
Illustrated with period photo-
graphs and filled with anecdotes
of the great players, this book
will delight fans of baseball and
fans of Cleveland.
Scott H. Longert is the author of
Addie Joss: King of the Pitchers, The
Best They Could Be: How the Cleve-
land Indians became the Kings of
Baseball, 1916-1920, and numer-
ous articles on baseball history.
Mimi Ormond · Kindertransport:
A Rescued Child
In 1939, Mimi Schleissner
Ormond, a lively 12-year-old girl,
escaped from Nazi-occupied
Marienbad, Czechoslovakia,
when her parents miraculously
secured her a seat on one of
the Kindertransport trains that
carried thousands of European
Jewish children to safety in
England. Ormond tells about
leaving her parents and 16-year-
old brother behind, her life
in England during WWII, her
preparation in an English school
to become a nursery school
teacher, and the day she met her
American G.I. husband, violist
Edward Ormond.
Beachwood Residents to Appear at JCC Book Festival
By June Scharf
Residents Mimi Ormond and Scott H. Longert will be appearing at the Mandel Jewish Community Center's
Jewish Book Festival on its local author day, Tuesday, November 15 at 10 am, at the JCC, 26001 South Woodland.
Ormond, now 90 and nearly blind, is the author of Kindertransport: A Rescued Child In
1939. Her autobiographical book details her experiences as a lively 12-year-old girl who
escaped from Nazi-occupied Marienbad, Czechoslovakia, when her parents miraculously
secured her a seat on one of the Kindertransport trains that carried thousands of European
Jewish children to safety in England. She describes leaving her parents and 16-year-old
brother behind, her life in England during WWII, and the day she met her American G.I.
husband, Edward Ormond.
Her life in Cleveland involved running Carol Nursery School for 27 years, while her
husband performed with the Cleveland Orchestra as an assistant principal violinist for 48 years. They
were married for 67 years and have three daughters, one of whom created the cover art on her book.
"My experiences during WWII formed much of my personality and inspired me to write this story that
continues to dominate my thoughts and emotions," says Ormond, as quoted on Cleveland.com.
Scott H. Longert's book, No Money, No Beer, No Pennants, The Cleveland Indians and
Baseball in the Great Depression, is a lively, well-documented history of the ups and downs
of the Cleveland Indians and the team's iconic players who persevered despite the turmoil
and struggles of the Great Depression. The book is illustrated with period photographs and
filled with anecdotes of the great players.
The book also pursues narratives including the backstories of the players and the con-
flicts that the team faced, such as dealing with an old stadium, deciding whether to allow
radio broadcasts, and determining the upside of offering night games in addition to those
played during the day. Longert also is the author of Addie Joss: King of the Pitchers, The Best They Could Be:
How the Cleveland Indians Became the Kings of Baseball, 1916-1920 and numerous articles on baseball history.
The event is presented in partnership with the Cuyahoga County Public Library, with support from
the Eugenia & Henry Green Family Foundation, among numerous corporate sponsors. Cost is $12 for
JCC members and $15 for the community. For more information, contact Julie Frayman at 216.593.6216
or jfrayman@mandeljcc.org.