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Talk:Helen Reddy

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Ethnicity

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What is the support for her being Jewish (as indicated in categories)?--Artaxerxes (talk) 16:04, 30 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The1998 book The Jewish Book of Lists says on page 156 that "Other famous converts [to Judaism] include singer Helen Reddy and actress Kate Capshaw, Steven Spielberg's wife. A 1990 survey by the Council of Jewish Federations estimated there are 185,000 Jews-by-choice in the United States..." ISBN 9780806520346 I don't know when she converted. Binksternet (talk) 18:01, 30 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
More recent online sources are saying she converted in 1968 just before marrying her Jewish manager Jeff Wald.[1] He was controlling and dominating. I have never seen any description of Reddy celebrating Jewish traditions during or after the marriage. So I don't know how whether she would have described herself as a practicing Jew. Binksternet (talk) 18:37, 30 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
I found an additional reference as well supporting what User:Binksternet found. See https://www.columbusjewishnews.com/jta/helen-reddy-who-sang-the-feminist-anthem-i-am-woman-dies-at-78/article_b05cb012-4b8e-5ee6-920a-bd583c288a73.html (this article also cites a December 2000 article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch saying "she had honored her Judaism by making sure that none of the songs mentioned Jesus." Jurisdicta (talk) 16:25, 4 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
That source, the Columbus Jewish News, weakens their position by saying "according to IMDb", which means they are not 100% behind the fact. Binksternet (talk) 17:30, 4 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Education - misleading

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The article says "During Reddy's childhood, she was educated at Tintern Grammar", with this source. Digging a little deeper in that source, it's apparent that Reddy left that school when she was around twelve years old to attend "a local Hawthorn secondary school" because Tintern relocated to a new campus 30 km (20 miles) away. She eventually left school "at 15 to join a travelling theatrical company". I can't identify what that secondary school was. It may be one that no longer exists. The Infobox also say says Tintern Grammar for Reddy's Education. Saying she was educated at Tintern isn't technically wrong, but is just a little bit misleading. HiLo48 (talk) 08:44, 6 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]