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Who is Marty Reisman, the Jewish ping-pong star who inspired Timothée Chalamet's new movie?

JL;DR SUMMARY Timotheé Chalamet stars as a Jewish ping-pong hustler in the forthcoming film "Marty Supreme," inspired by the larger-than-life character of Marty Reisman, a real-life Jewish ping-pong champion known for his showmanship and flair in the 20th century table tennis scene. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish CultureFilmJewish AthletesLower East SideA24Marty ReismanJosh SafdiePing PongTimotheé ChalametTable Tennis History

Places mentioned

New York City, New York, United States
"The movie also includes a Forward delivery truck cameo parked on a Lower East Side street like its been waiting decades for its close-up."
Hungary
"In the 1930s, Hungarys Viktor Barna won 22 world titles."
Romania
"Romanias Angelica Rozeanu racked up 17 world titles and Austrias Richard Bergmann, who fled the Nazis for Britain, won seven."
Austria
"Romanias Angelica Rozeanu racked up 17 world titles and Austrias Richard Bergmann, who fled the Nazis for Britain, won seven."
Poland
"Alojzy Ehrlich, a famous Polish table tennis champion, once had such a long match 2 hours and 12 minutes that the ball crossed the net more than 12,000 times."
Long Island, New York, United States
"In 2016, a teenaged Estee Ackerman, a Modern Orthodox ping-pong sensation from Long Island, abstained from playing on Shabbat and still rose in the national rankings."
Manhattan, New York, United States
"spotted a truck emblazoned with Forverts in Yiddish, followed by The Jewish Daily Forward New Yorks Largest Daily on the Manhattan set of the film in October 2024."
United States
"Leah Neuberger, the American powerhouse with 29 national titles, toured China during President Nixons Ping-Pong diplomacy."
Czechia
"Traute Kleinov, a Czech champion, won multiple world titles before surviving both Auschwitz and Theresienstadt."

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Retrieved 2025-08-14 05:31:16 UTC
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