By Jackie Hajdenberg
Guess who’s headed for the chuppah? Red-hot actor/comedian Brett Gelman, one of the stars of the upcoming, Baltimore-filmed limited TV series “Lady in the Lake,” and his now-fiancée, musician Ari Dayan.
Starring Academy Award-winning Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman, “Lady in the Lake” is based on the novel of the same name by former Sun reporter Laura Lippman and set in 1960s Baltimore.
The story, about a Jewish housewife from Pikesville investigating unsolved crimes, is based on the real-life disappearances and murders of Esther Lebowitz, an 11-year-old Bais Yaakov School for Girls student, and Shirley Parker, a 33-year-old Black woman found dead in the Druid Hill Park Reservoir fountain. “Lady in the Lake,’ which was filmed in Pikesville, the Loch Raven area and downtown Baltimore, is set to premiere on Apple TV+ later this year.
Gelman, 46, a native of Highland Park, Illinois, is best known for his hilarious portrayal of conspiracy theorist Murray Bauman on Netflix’s supernatural uber-hit “Stranger Things,” as well as his turn as the insufferable Martin on the BBC comedy “Fleabag.”
Gelman recently proposed to Dayan in the Old City of Jerusalem, with the Western Wall and Al-Aqsa Mosque as their backdrop. The couple have been together since 2019.
“SHE SAID YES!!!” Gelman posted on Instagram last Friday, Apr. 28.
Wrote his bride-to-be: “Can’t wait for Mr. Gelman to become Mr. Dayan.”
A Los Angeles native, Dayan is a singer and performance artist. In the past, she has posted videos from Tel Aviv and shared stories about her Holocaust survivor grandmother whom she said inspired her song “Sara.”
Gelman and Dayan have collaborated on several projects, including the music video for Dayan’s 2022 song “Love” and in a Chanukah sing-along (with Dayan singing in Israeli-accented Hebrew) taped in their L.A. home and posted on Instagram.
In a joint interview with Ladygunn magazine last May, Gelman called the “Love” video a “total equal collaboration.”
“Ari is a comic genius and her previous videos hadn’t showcased that side of her,” he said. “Plus, the song itself has a celebratory tone to it.”
In an interview with W Magazine last year, Gelman said his Jewish background is the primary motivation behind his approach to the world, both in terms of humor and empathy. Coining the term “Jaddy” to refer to a “sexy, Jewish, masculine man,” he said his stylistic role models are actors such as Elliott Gould and Richard Dreyfuss who dispel the stereotype of nebbishy Jewish men.
From 2015 to 2018, Gelman was married to the Jewish performance artist Janicza Bravo, with whom he collaborated on a film called “Lemon” about a washed-up Jewish actor.
Jackie Hajdenberg writes for the JTA global Jewish news source. Jmore staff contributed to this article.
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