Abraham Josephine Riesman

Beck’s acclaimed album ‘Sea Change’ was said to have been inspired by a breakup. For his partner of nine years, Leigh Limon, it was the story of how the Church of Scientology took over his life.

There are few movies as quotable as ‘Airplane!’ — and of the movie’s many memorable gags, arguably the most enduring is ‘Don’t call me Shirley.’ We talked to the creators about the joke’s origins and how it may have saved the entire production.

Before her Birds of Prey arc, Harley has a storied past. Photo: Photo illustration by Jed Egan. Images courtesy DC Entertainment. This story originally ran in 2015, just before Harley Quinn reached new heights of popularity via appearances in three…

This article was originally published on June 28, 2017, as part of Vulture’s Villains Week. We’re running it again with the news out of San Diego Comic-Con that Robert Downey Jr. will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Doom. In late…

This story originally ran in 2015, just before Harley Quinn reached new heights of popularity via appearances in threemovies and her own animated series. We’re republishing it now following the death at age 67 of Arleen Sorkin, who originally voiced…

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in 2016, shortly after the premiere of what was then the most recent TMNT movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. We are republishing it now that a new film about the Heroes in a…

About a quarter of the way through the new Disney+ documentary about Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee, we hear old interview footage of him defining his artistic purpose. “I’ve started realizing,” he says, “to most people, the most important thing is…

There’s a good chance that you didn’t know that it’s WrestleMania week, but your kids and grandkids probably do. So does Providence resident Abraham Josephine Riesman, whose new book, “Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America,” offers…

The WWF icon had his legacy buried for years —until he decided to play Vince McMahon’s game. Vince McMahon did much to hurt Bret “The Hitman” Hart over the thirteen years in which the legendary wrestler worked for him. As owner of the World Wrestling…

We all know an Eedy Karn or two. The character, played with brutal wit by esteemed Shakespearean actor Kathryn Hunter, burned up the screen whenever she appeared on Andor’s recently concluded first season. In the Tony Gilroy–created series, Eedy, the…

This article originally ran in 2017. We are republishing following the death of Kevin Conroy, the voice of animated Batman, on November 11, 2022. As the 1990s dawned, television audiences weren’t used to a dark version of the Dark Knight. America had…

Last Friday, after four decades at the helm of World Wrestling Entertainment, Vince McMahon announced his retirement. Given the avalanche of sexual misconduct allegations against him, the news looked like a victory for decency. But nothing is ever…

Rita Chatterton does not want to be forgotten. Rita Chatterton (center) said Vince McMahon told her that if she “wanted a half-a-million-dollar-a-year contract,” she would have “to satisfy him.” Photo: Courtesy the International Professional…

This excerpt from True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee originally ran February 12, 2021. We’re republishing now it alongside the release of the book’s paperback edition. To hear him tell it, Peter Paul was a con man by age 13 — though he’d…

Okay, so here’s the thing,” Art Spiegelman says into the phone as he paces his cavernous Soho studio, humming with anxiety. “I don’t know what happened. I’m almost positive I took them with me. I put them into a sleeve so they wouldn’t crush in my…

As the Yamim Noraim wind to their conclusion and we approach Yom HaKippurim 5782, I’m thinking about kayfabe. Don’t dust off your old Hebrew-English dictionary looking for the word in there; you won’t find it. It’s a term of unclear linguistic origin…

This piece originally ran in 2016. We are republishing it on the occasion of The Suicide Squad’s release and Viola Davis’s return to the big-screen role. Comics commentator Ardo Omer’s voice swells when she remembers the first time she came across…

If you have friends or relatives who would like their own free copy of this daily briefing about Rhode Island, tell them they can sign up here. LEADING OFF Happy Thursday and welcome to Rhode Map, your daily guide to everything happening in the Ocean…

This article was featured in One Great Story, New York’s reading recommendation newsletter. Sign up here to get it nightly. On February 25, 1986, my grandfather Robert Arnold Riesman Sr. delivered a speech at his synagogue in Providence, Rhode…

This piece originally ran in May of 2016 when Captain America: Civil War hit theaters. We are republishing it on the occasion of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s premiere on Disney+. Superheroes are generally a static bunch. A character gets…