MICHAEL WEINER, 51, a lawyer like Miller, Bettman, and Fehr, succeeded Fehr as MLBPA head.  Sadly, Weiner has been battling an almost certainly terminal brain tumor since last July. Nonetheless, he continues to teach Sunday school at his New Jersey synagogue and attend fundraisers for brain tumor victims.  He told ESPN that he is very touched by the many Jewish friends who have asked him his Hebrew name ("Sholmo Ben Yitzhak") so they can say a prayer for him.

 

On a more upbeat note---here's the three Jews playing NHL hockey as the delayed season begins:  MICHAEL CAMMALLERI, 30, left wing, Calgary Flames; JEFF HALPERN, 36, center, NY Rangers; and ERIC NYSTROM, 29, left wing, Dallas Stars. NOTE: Jewish Sports Review magazine says that 10 Jewish players are now playing in the highest minor league, the AHL. Several have a good chance of being called up to the NHL this season or next.

 

Acting to Reality and Back to Acting

 

HEATHER DUBROW, 44, who joined the cast of the reality show, "The Real Housewives of Orange County" last February, makes a guest appearance on the Jan. 23 episode (10PM) of the TVLand series, "Hot in Cleveland." She plays a woman who tangles with star character Vicky (Wendie Malick). Back in 2002, under the name Heather Paige Kent, Dubrow co-starred in the short-lived TV sit-com, "That's Life."  Not long after, she virtually quit acting in favor of raising a family with her husband TERRY DUBROW, a prominent Los Angeles plastic surgeon. Married since 1999, the couple has four children.

 

Dr. Dubrow has appeared, himself, in short spots in other reality series, including "Bridalpasty." His brother, KEVIN DUBROW (1955-2007), had a burst of fame in the '80s as the lead singer of the rock band "Quiet Riot." Sadly, Kevin could never stay clean and died of a drug overdose.

 

Heather Dubrow is also set to guest star in an episode of "Malibu Country," the new ABC sit-com starring Reba McEntire. The episode is expected to air this month, but the exact date was not available at press time. She plays a friend of Reba's neighbor, Kim Salinger. Salinger, by the way, is played by SARA RUE, 33, who was much heavier when she starred in the sit-com "Less than Perfect" from 2002-2006. Her first marriage to a Jewish guy ended in 2007. Rue, who was born Sara Schlackman, wed again in 2011 in what the press described as a traditional Jewish wedding (I don't know if her current husband is Jewish). She's now five months pregnant with her first child.

 

Second Generation Success

 

On Jan. 6, the Sunday Styles section of the NY Times profiled NATHANIEL RICH,  32, and SIMON RICH, 28, the sons of famous journalist FRANK RICH and his ex-wife, literary editor GAIL WINTON. Nathaniel has carved out his own path as a top-flight literary editor and novelist. He has a new novel ("Odds Aganist Tomorrow") due out this month. Simon is currently a screenwriter at Pixar Studios and his new book, a collection of humor essays ("The Last Girlfriend on Earth") is also due out this month.

 

Doing equally well is the Mamet family. CLARA MAMET, 17, the daughter of famous playwright DAVID MAMET, 65, and his wife, actress REBECCA PIDGEON, 47, is currently co-starring on the ABC sit-com "The Neighbors." Clara's half-sister, ZOSIA MAMET, 24, co-stars as the Jewish lead character, Shoshanna Shapiro, on the hit HBO series, "Girls," which just began its second season. Zosia recently told the NY Times that when she was 17 she became estranged from her mother, actress Lindsay Crouse, and went to live with her father and stepmother. She told the Times that she identifies as Jewish, adding "The only WASPy part of me is that I like gin-- Oh, and I ride horses.”

 

Nate Bloom writes a weekly column on Jewish celebrities, broadly defined, that appears in the Atlanta Jewish Times, the Cleveland Jewish News, the American Israelite of Cincinnati, the Detroit Jewish News, and the New Jersey Jewish Standard. It also appears bi-weekly in j., the Jewish news weekly of northern California. Most of the items in Bloom’s weekly newspaper column differ from the items in his bi-weekly column on interfaith celebrities for InterfaithFamily.com. If you wish to contact Nate Bloom, e-mail him at middleoftheroad1@aol.com  .  The author welcomes questions and celebrity “tips,” especially about people you personally know.