Read Mazel Tov: Celebrities' Bar and Bat Mitzvah Memories for Free Online

Universal, one of the world’s leading media companies with revenues of over $16 billion, as president and chief executive officer. In his domain, Zucker is also responsible for a stable of networks including USA, CNBC, MSNBC, Bravo, Sci Fi, and Telemundo. Fans of the hit show Heroes consider him a hero for bringing the epic series into their lives. Also under his umbrella, the Universal movie studio and theme parks in Florida and California.
    Jeffrey Zucker was born on April 9, 1965, in Miami, Florida. Growing up in Miami, he celebrated his bar mitzvah there. At the time, he was a thirteen-year-old with a full head of hair attending North Miami Junior High School. He graduated from Harvard University in 1986 with a BA in American history. During his four years at Harvard, Zucker was the president of the Harvard Crimson, the school’s daily newspaper. He added fuel to the rivalry between the paper and the Harvard Lampoon, the world’s oldest humor magazine, at that time headed by his colleague-to-be, Conan O’ Brien.
    When he was turned down by Harvard Law School in 1986, Jeff Zucker was hired by NBC to do research to help with the reporting on the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. He became a producer for the Today show a year later and, in January 1992, became the show’s executive producer, years before turning thirty. During his tenure, no show could surpass the ratings of the Today show, reaching a pinnacle in the 2000–2001 season.
    Without Jeff Zucker, Donald Trump might still be just in the building business and Rockefeller Plaza wouldn’t be the place where fans flock to see rock concerts. Fans of the The Apprentice, Las Vegas, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Scrubs and Fear Factor can applaud Zucker for bringing these shows to the network and the Today show’s live music to Rockefeller Plaza. As president of NBC Entertainment, a position he took in December 2000, he was in charge of the network’s entertainment lineup. Over the next four years, NBC’s primetime schedule was a top performer in the major adult eighteen-to-forty-nine demographic age group. In 2004, as president of the NBC Universal Television Group, he enriched the primetime schedule with hits including My Name Is Earl, The Office, Medium, the megahit Deal or No Deal, and Bravo’s Project Runway.
    Jeff Zucker is married to former Saturday Night Live producer Caryn Nathanson. They have four children.

    JEFF ZUCKER, ON TOP OF THE ROCK
    I have vivid memories of my bar mitzvah. I remember that I wasn’t at all intimidated by being in front of people, or scared of it. I enjoyed it. I assumed that’s what you did and that it was the normal way you have a bar mitzvah. It was a good experience. You know, my mom planned the whole thing. It probably took a year to do that. I was happy with it, the service and the party. And I remember the party was afterward at the Starlight Roof of the Doral Hotel in Miami Beach. We filled the place. You know that now, of course, most parties are at night, but mine was immediately after the service, and it was really fun. There must have been two hundred people there. I was a big tennis player at the time. So I remember a lot of my tennis friends were there. I had a lot of friends, but no girlfriend.
    I remember my bar mitzvah photo. I had that full head of straight hair. Later, it became curly, but it was straight then. My bar mitzvah photo was ridiculous. I was skinny and lanky, with that hair, and I wore a big tie. It was not a bow tie. It was a regular tie and it was big, with a knot.
    We were members of the biggest Reform temple in the southeastern United States, which was Temple Israel, in Miami. I went to Sunday school and Hebrew school. I always went to services on the high holy days. I was bar mitzvahed and confirmed at the temple. But we weren’t overly religious. We certainly celebrated the Jewish holidays and I had a Jewish education.
    DID YOUR BAR MITZVAH HAVE A BIG IMPACT ON YOUR LIFE?
    My bar