Tiffany Woolf

In partnership with Gillian Laub’s “Family Matters” exhibit, Silver Screens Studios (created by Tiffany Woolf) and Reboot presented “It’s All Relative: A Family Matters Reflection and Response Space” in The Contemporary Jewish Museum during the early months of 2023. We invited attendees to record responses to two prompts inspired by “Family Matters,” to reflect on family – biological or chosen – and how our connections with loved ones influence our lives. 

In this new short film about the collaboration, we go behind the scenes with the project creators and producers to learn more about the layers of impact created by empowering great artists to work together. Learn more and watch.

This week marks the 48th anniversary of the founding convention for the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), formed to help women become union leaders and give their issues greater weight during contract talks. The presiding officer at the event, which attracted more than 3,000 women from 82 unions, was Myra Komoroff Wolfgang (May 1914 – April 1976), one of the nation’s first women union organizers. A labor leader and women’s rights activist in Detroit from the 1930s through the 1970s, Wolfgang advocated for the working poor and for women in the workforce. Learn more and watch here.

Carl Levin, the late Michigan Senator who represented The Great Lakes State for 37 years until his retirement in 2015, was a big believer in oversight and bipartisanship. A model of leadership and authenticity, he recognized that effective governance required necessary compromise and worked to find common ground with political rivals and the opposing party from the City Council, to the State House to Capitol Hill. Learn about his work and legacy in this interview from early 2020 here.

In this episode of the award winning digital series Coming of Age from Silver Screen Studios and Reboot, Joel Katz shares memories about the civil disturbances in Detroit during the late 1960s, the experience of being an observant Jew in the midst of his military service in Vietnam and loving his kids even when they annoy him. Learn more and watch here.

In this episode of the award winning digital series Coming of Age from Silver Screen Studios and Reboot, Fisher family scion and matriarch Jane Sherman previews seminal moments that strengthened and deepened her Jewish identity throughout her life and offers insights into the Detroit Jewish community’s steadfast commitment to the State of Israel.

Coming of Age is a series of short documentaries from Silver Screen Studios about amazing seniors who continue to thrive in old age. At a time of great uncertainty in our changing world their wisdom, humor and insight are a powerful model for navigating the peaks and valleys of aging. From the loss of friends and loved ones to the impact of ageism, these everyday Silver Screen stars share personal journeys more dramatic, entertaining and authentic than any Hollywood movie.

In the second episode of the Silver Screen Studios original series “Sign of the Times” we meet 77-year-old Dr. Sharon Silverman, a Chicago-based educator, who has dedicated her life to advocating for educational equality and access for children worldwide. Dr. Silverman offers insights and wisdom (needed even more now) on how to teach students who struggle. As a life-long learner, Dr. Silverman also inspires us to lead with curiosity, and adventure and to never stop learning no matter how old you are.

On the yahrzeit of our special star of the Deaf community, Rabbi Dr. Douglas Goldhamer (May 1, 1945 – February 3, 2022), president of Hebrew Seminary & Senior Rabbi of Congregation Bene Shalom in Skokie, IL, we are remembering the incredible way he lived his life. We were privileged to speak to to him for our series “Sign of the Times” from Reboot and Tiffany Woolf’s Silver Screen Studios. He dedicated his life and spiritual teachings to advocating for the Deaf community and honoring diversity, equity and inclusion in the Jewish Faith. Watch here.

From legendary seniors like Screenwriter Norman Lear, Actress Marion Ross, and Senator Carl Levin, Silver Screen presents a series of documentary shorts, to inspire audiences – to live a meaningful last act of our lives – with creativity, wisdom, wit, and candor. At any age, we can learn about the past directly from the people who lived it, creating space for an intergenerational dialogue that empowers, informs and entertains.

Silver Screen Studios presents Dispatches from Quarantine, an interview series for the Zoom generation featuring celebrity interviews, short vignettes and special moments sourced straight from our community of inspiring seniors. From media icon Larry King to legendary actress Ellen Burstyn, Tommy Chong, Carl Reiner, Norman Lear, Marion Ross and more, the series tells the inspiring and uplifting stories of seniors as they navigate shelter-at-home orders and life under quarantine.

Whenever your children learn a family tradition, story, or recipe, that’s l’dor v’dor, which is Hebrew for “from generation to generation.” Each member of your family plays a role in shaping who your children will become. They instill character, and often embody values and traditions to be passed on to their own children and families.

Together with so many, we mourn the loss of Norman Milton Lear who passed away at 101 years old. A mensch in the truest sense of the word, he remained both intellectually curious & creatively engaged with work, family & social causes. He got his big break as a comedy writer for Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, among others. By the 1970s, he became one of the most prolific television producers of all time with a string of hits that he wrote, produced and developed including All In The Family, Sanford and Son, Maude, The Jeffersons, One Day at a Time and Good Times. Sheltering at home with his wife Lyn during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lear shared how he was able to find gratitude in the simple pleasures. As he considered his legacy, Norman remained focused on his family, his work and the future. May his memory always be the blessing he was for all of us. Watch his episode of Dispatches From Quarantine from Silver Screen Studios here.

Thomas B. Kin Chong was born in Edmonton, Alberta on May 24, 1938. He left school at 16 to pursue music and began performing with local bands. In the late 1960s, Tommy meet Chicano singer/performer Richard “Cheech” Marin. They joined forces and become the highly successful comedy duo Cheech & Chong, collaborating on a number of comedy albums and feature film comedies in the 1970s and 80s. As Tommy quarantines at home with his wife Shelby, he remains active with new business ventures and continues to live life to the fullest.

Reboot’s Dispatches From Quarantine captured the last interview with Carl Reiner, allowing the world to get a final look into the life of an extraordinary and kind man before his passing in 2020 at age 98. The creator of The Dick Van Dyke Show reflected on mortality, faith and god and told some amazing jokes. 

Edna Rae Gillooly was born in Detroit, Michigan on December 7, 1932.  She left high school early to pursue a career as a model and actress under various names including Erica Dean, Keri Flynn and Ellen McRae.

In 1957, she had her Broadway debut in the comedy Fair Game. By the late 1960s she joined The Actor’s Studio under the direction of Lee Strasberg and came to be known as Ellen Burstyn.

Unable to perform during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ellen is taking the time to reconnect with nature and reflecting on her storied career, her relationship with her late mother and the legacy she hopes to leave behind.