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Bunny Gibson Goes From ‘Bandstand’ to ‘Bubbies’
NATION A L
ERIC SCHUCHT | JE FEATURE
HUNDREDS APPLIED when
the casting call went out across
Los Angeles.

Jewish Life TV was look-
ing to star three Jewish grand-
mothers, or bubbies, in a new
series where they’d pair con-
testants up with one of three
potential suitors for a date.

A handful of applicants were
brought in for the live audition.

It was there lead producer
Brad Pomerance and his crew
learned that one of the potential
cast members, Kathleen “Bunny”
Gibson, was raised Catholic and
only recently learned she was
half Ashkenazi Jewish.

“And I just thought that was
the most interesting, unique,
compelling story and really
could potentially add a lot to
our show,” Pomerance said.

“Sure, we could bring on three
traditionally Jewish grand-
mothers … but I want to see
how this would play.”
Gibson, 73, grew up in
Philadelphia and has decades
worth of small acting roles to her
credit. She has appeared on shows
like Glee and How I Met Your
Mother. But after all these years,
Gibson is best known for hav-
ing been part of the original cast
of teen dancers on Dick Clark’s
television sensation, American
Bandstand, from 1959 to 1961.

The TV star was raised Catholic
by her mother and adoptive step-
father. She never got the chance to
know her biological father. With
her mother passing when Gibson
was 27, his identity was lost. A year
ago she decided to take a DNA
test from Ancestry.com with hope
of finding a connection to him.

To her shock, Gibson discovered
something else.

The test showed she was 50
percent Ashkenazi Jewish, most
likely from her mother’s side.

She was in disbelief — so much
so that she took a second DNA
test from 23andMe. But the
results were the same. Gibson
4 FEBRUARY 28, 2019
had no clue of her Jewish heri-
tage growing up, although she
did always wonder why no one
else in school liked bagels with
lox as much as she did.

“It was a total shock, just
because it rocked my under-
standing of my identity,” Gibson
said. “Growing up, it was like
we’re Christian and you’re
Jewish, and it was always that
division when I was young. I feel
now that I embody both of them,
that I embody both heritages.”
Gibson has gotten the chance
to learn a lot about the Jewish
religion and culture from her
fellow bubbies, S.J. Mendelson
and Linda Rich, along with the
contestants on Bubbies Know
Best. She now tries to incorpo-
rate Yiddish into her everyday
vocabulary, with “oy vey” being
one of her new favorite things
to say. The two bubbies have
embraced Gibson and even
invited her over for dinner.

“I feel like now Bubbie
Linda and Bubbie S.J, they’re
my new sisters,” Gibson said.

“I feel like I’ve found a fam-
ily in this Jewish community.

I’ve learned their warmth, their
openness and their love for me,
and that is so beautiful.”
Pomerance said he appre-
ciates Gibson’s enthusiasm to
learn and embrace the culture.

It’s heartwarming to him when
she tries to speak the language,
even when she stumbles on
the pronunciation. He’s even
impressed by her humor.

“For somebody who didn’t
grow up Jewish.” Pomerance
said, “her humor actually
feels Jewish. She has a lot of
that Jewish humor, that sticky
Catskill-type humor, but I don’t
know where it comes from.

Maybe it’s genetic, who knows.”
The show marks the sec-
ond time in Gibson’s life that
she’s been embraced by the
Jewish community. While on
Bandstand, Gibson was often
bullied and harassed by her
fellow classmates at Holy Cross
Academy in New Jersey and
at St. Hubert Catholic High
Kathleen “Bunny” Gibson (back right) in a promotional photo
from Bubbies Know Best
Bunny Gibson’s prom photo
School. With rock ‘n’ roll con-
sidered taboo by many at the
time, students at the Catholic
school shunned her.

Gibson recalls nuns ripping
out her beehive hairdo, cutting
her nails with pinking shears and
dragging her down the hallway by
her hair. Despite the harassment,
she was going to be on Bandstand
no matter what. But after receiv-
ing death threats, she decided
it was time for a change. Enter
Northeast High School.

One of Philly’s oldest high
schools, at the time it was
home to a large Jewish stu-
dent population. It was this
community that Gibson said
gave her acceptance. They wel-
comed her with open arms,
and she was quite popular
among them. She even went to
her senior prom with a Jewish
boy named Bob Shuman.

“Quickly, when they found
out who I was, instead of walk-
ing down the hallway and
having people say these nasty
remarks, I had teens look up to
me as a Bandstand star,” Gibson
JEWISH EXPONENT
Photos provided
said. “They appreciated
that I had the chutzpah to
go to Bandstand during a
time when, in the ’50s, it
was looked as dancing to
the devil’s music, rock ‘n’
roll. But they thought it
was wonderful.”
Today, Gibson
proudly wears a Star of
David necklace when-
ever out and about.

What she likes most
about Jewish culture is how
family is at the center of
everything. Gibson’s family
has also embraced its newly
found cultural identity, includ-
ing her two daughters, four
grandchildren and two great-
grandchildren. She appreciates how every-
one has been so welcoming of
her being “new to the tribe”,
as Gibson puts it. One day she
hopes to cross off visiting Israel
and her 11 relatives who live
there from her bucket list.

Pomerance said the network
is airing the first six episodes of
Bubbies Know Best, with a sec-
ond batch to begin production
in the coming months. He said
Gibson’s story shows how wel-
coming the Jewish community
can be to new members.

“It was a tough 20th cen-
tury; we don’t have a lot of Jews
to waste. And so if someone
wants to be part of the tribe,
we should welcome them with
open arms,” Pomerance said.

“I’m just glad that a national
television network could
do that and, in a lot of ways,
demonstrate how easy it is to
welcome and accept others.” l
Eric Schucht is a freelance writer.

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