According to Leo Rosten, the Yiddish maven and author of the splendidly named The Joys of Yiddish, a "mensch" is someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character. The key to being “a real mensch” is nothing less than “character, rectitude, dignity, and a sense of what is right, responsible, decorous”. No mean feat then, huh?
According to Leo Rosten, the Yiddish maven and author of the splendidly named The Joys of Yiddish, a "mensch" is someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character. The key to being “a real mensch” is nothing less than “character, rectitude, dignity, and a sense of what is right, responsible, decorous”. No mean feat then, huh?
Therefore a Supermensch is someone with an almost super-human level of goodness. The documentary SUPERMENSCH: THE LEGEND OF SHEP GORDON says that the talent manager who rose to fame after moving to California and helping break Alice Cooper into the popular consciousness is exactly that, and outlines why. The amazing Gordon was not just known for Alice and this antics, but also managed to singlehandedly create the celebrity chef, overthrow the unfair practice of not paying black music acts for live appearances/concerts, help start one of the first independent film companies (the first to be headed by a woman, incidentally), and buddy up with the Dalai Lama. Told you the guy was a supermensch!
SUPERMENSCH: THE LEGEND OF SHEP GORDON has been called “a documentary about a guy who made a lot of people rich and famous - but he did it by being nice”, and it certainly paints him out as exactly that. Given that some of his charges could get a little dark at times I would have expected a little segue into that side of things, but nonetheless it is a super fun watch and Gordon most definitely a one-of-a-kind subject.
In his directorial debut, actor and comedian Mike Myers documents the astounding career of the loveable Gordon with much aplomb. It follows his accidental journey into music management by chance - moving to LA and befriending Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix – and onto his career managing the likes of Pink Floyd, Luther Vandross, Teddy Pendergrass and Cooper. He later went on to manage chefs such as Emeril Lagasse, ushering in the era of the celebrity chef on television that continues to this day. Amazing stuff, and just jam-packed with great tales.
You may ask: so why is Mike Myers involved? Bizarrely, the SNL alumni and Wayne’s World creator apparently fell on hard times after his film The Love Guru (unsurprisingly) tanked at the box office, and in a deep depression, the comedian ended up spending two months at Gordon’s house in Hawaii. Myers has said that the two had previously met on the set of Wayne's World in 1991, explaining “I'd written Alice Cooper into the movie two weeks before we were about to start shooting. I'd never been in a movie and was told: there's a problem with Alice Cooper; you have to meet his manager. I was like, ugh, who is this dude, what does he want, why am I meeting him? It seemed all very Spinal Tap, you know?” Gordon rocked up in a satin jacket and said "I understand that you want, ‘Eighteen’ and ‘School's Out’ in the movie. How 'bout something from the new album?" Myers replied "how 'bout no?" to which Gordon quickly snapped: "well, I read the script. Alice is onstage for only eight seconds. If you put ‘School's Out’ in the end credits, people are going to think that's the song he sang on stage. I also happen to know you start shooting in two weeks and you don't have a choice."
Now those are the words of a true Supermensch.
Highly recommended.