Media historian Julien Gorbach will sign copies and discuss his recently published book, “The Notorious Ben Hecht: Iconoclastic Writer and Militant Journalist,” at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Temple Emanu-el in Honolulu.
Hecht was a multifaceted writer and moviemaker perhaps best known for co-authoring “The Front Page,” which became a Broadway hit in the 1920s, and was partly based on Hecht’s early experiences as a journalist, when he was a war correspondent and crime reporter.
He received an Academy Award for best story (“Underworld,” 1927). He also has gone uncredited for “script-doctoring” of some of the most famous films of the time, including “Gone With The Wind.”
Hecht later became a Zionist, and before, during and after World War II wrote about what was happening to Jews in Europe, including the Holocaust.
The book focuses largely on Hecht’s activism, which included trying to bring American media attention to the Holocaust, and allying himself with gangster Mickey Cohen to smuggle weapons to Jews in Palestine fighting to start what would become Israel.
Gorbach, a first-time author, is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
— Dave Reardon, Star-Advertiser
OBON EVENTS TO BE LISTED IN DETOURS
Our summer Obon schedule listing events across the state will be published May 26.
Bon, or Obon, is one of three major holiday seasons in Japan. Traditionally, lanterns are hung in front of homes to guide spirits, obon dances (bon odori) are performed, ancestors’ graves are visited and food offerings are made at house altars and temples.
The annual festivals have evolved into more of a secular community event, and in Hawaii there are bon festivals almost every weekend from June through September, with dancing, food and cultural activities.
Groups wishing to publicize their Obon events should send an email with the time, date, address, contact information and other details to features@staradvertiser.com, with “Obon” in the subject line.
The deadline to submit information is May 20.
