Earlier this week, Jewish actor Josh Peck (“Drake & Josh”) joined “Live With Kelly and Ryan” to talk about his new Disney+ show, “Turner & Hooch” — and to help teach Ryan Seacrest a Yiddish word.
In a clip from the talk show, Peck discusses his new series, which is a reboot of 1989 buddy cop movie of the same name starring Tom Hanks (and Beasley the Dog). In the updated version, Peck stars as Scott Turner, a rookie U.S. Marshall who unexpectedly inherits a dog whojust mightbe the crime-fighting partner he needs! (Ed. note: It’s actually a quite delightful show that I highly recommend for families with tweens!)
In an interview with Peck that aired on Monday, former “American Idol” hostRyan Seacrestis joined byKatie Lowes— a Jewish actress and theater director — and the two interview Peck virtually on their TV screen. Lowes asks Peck a question many of us have been thinking about lately: “What do you miss most about pre-Covid life?”
“Ooh, that’s tough,” Peck responds. “It’s a great question. I’m a bit of ashvitzguy — I like a good sweat — and you just can’t do that, post-Covid. Not right now.” Ugh, so real!
Lowes — who has voiced multiple animated Disney characters such as Candlehead in “Wreck-It Ralph” and Dr. Madge Honey Badger in “Zootopia” — was raised by a Jewish mom, so she immediately chimes in to explain to the audience, and to Seacrest, what the Yiddish word means.
“A shvitz, for those who don’t know, is a sweat,” she explains to a seemingly confused Seacrest, who repeats the phrase. She then turns to Peck for clarification: “So you miss going into a sauna or a steam room or something like that?”
Peck responds in the affirmative — he misses going to a sauna and doing a little bit of a “detox.” (Let us also add that we deeply appreciate the way that bothJewish actorssay “SAWH-na” in their light but undeniably recognizable New York Jewish accents.)
At first, Seacrest is a bit puzzled by all of this, wondering if a shvitz is a “self-induced sweat.” (Um, is there any other kind?) Lowes then explains to Seacrest the difference between “shvitzing” — or simply sweating from physical activity — from “having a shvitz” — AKA going to a sauna or steam room.
Seacrest, still a bit baffled, asks: “What if I go to a hammam? Is that similar?”
“It’s similar,” says Peck. “It’s in the shvitz family.”
“I like a shvitz!” Seacrest decides. “Alright. It sounds good!”
You can watch the delightful 55-second exchange here:
This is not the first time Peck has publicly shared hisJewish identityand pride. Peck, 34, grew up in Manhattan, raised by his Jewish mom and grandma. As a young man, he had a bar mitzvah — in an Italian restaurant! — right around the time he got his start on Nickelodeon’s “The Amanda Show.”
These days, Peck is a Jewish dad! He and his wife, Paige O’Brien, who is Catholic, are raising Max, 2. Peck frequently posts on social media glimpses ofhis interfaith Jewish family’straditions — along with adorable photos of his son. Check out this precious photo of the family celebrating Shabbat in May:
We also love this hilarious video of Max trying to blow out the menorah candles on Hanukkah. Peck’s caption, including the hashtags #Cashew #Catholicjew, embraces the family’s interfaith tradition with humor and self-awareness. Love that!
And last but not least, please enjoy this silly photo series of Peck loving the dad life, with a caption: “Kids really make everything better.” Aww!!
Honestly, between the shvitzing and the kvelling, we think Peck’s really onto something. Here’s hoping we’ll learn some moreYiddish wordsfrom this Jewish celeb soon!
