Daniel Eichholz of Southern Charm Savannah
My friend Kara Berry and I decided to watch Southern Charm Savannah together and share our thoughts on the cast of character who somewhat parallel the cast of the original Southern Charm (Charleston). Because Kara is from Georgia and is a pop culture and society observer, she is familiar with the lives of southerners in all circles. In addition, being a black woman from Atlanta, she brought a more varied perspective to our viewing party (of 2, just us). We traded notes and broke the premiere episode down. I will be sharing our joint recap in my next article.
In the interim, here is a rundown on the eclectic cast of characters that had Kara and I riveted to the show:
There is Ashley who reminded me of Marilyn Monroe, with short dyed blonde hair and a voluptuous body to die for, a naive and youthful outlook for a wife and mother and an air of something very troubling about her. It is as if a cloud hangs over sunny Ashley. There is something foreboding that I cannot pinpoint. She is trying to recapture her youth and what she missed out on as a girl (at Savannah Country Day School, the elite private institution that all the cast members but one attended. They also talk incessantly about having attended this private school).
Then there is Nelson who is flamboyant and talkative - particularly about the social constructs of the South and being “blue blood.” He comes from a prestigious ancestral lineage and explains it in a similar manner to Thomas Ravenal of Southern Charm Charleston. Also comparable to Ravenal, Nelson had his own trouble with regard to politics and scandal. He once claimed to be a diplomat in what he viewed as a harmless prank, but was reported as a misdemeanor: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/nelson-lewis-is-off-the-hook/article/142293 .
There are also two couples, Catherine and Lyle, who’ve been an item forever but whose relationship will come under scrutiny in future episodes, and Hannah and Louis, he a financial adviser who has quit his job to start a sock company. Last but certainly not least, there is Daniel, the local ladies’ man (a la Shep Rose of Southern Charm Charleston), laid back, charming, scruffy and cool. He also happens to be down to earth and humble, devoted to helping his family above all else. Daniel is also Jewish and as a fellow Jew, I know that being Jewish in the South could not have been easy for his grandparents. They were most likely denied access to venues (the country clubs and such) within the community and likely faced discrimination.
Bravo describes Daniel as follows: His “family ties to Savannah run deep, traced back to the days of the American Revolution. His ancestors founded the first synagogue in Georgia, and one of the first in the United States. An entrepreneur at heart, Daniel is passionate about his company, Track My Leads, which uses proprietary lead management software to monitor and maximize marketing campaigns, as well as several other business projects he maintains. In his downtime, Daniel enjoys deep sea fishing with his family. He also maintains a chiseled bod, which might lead him to become the resident heart throb of #SouthernCharmSAV.”
My immediate thoughts when I heard Daniel discuss his family and the fact that he had studied abroad for a year: Did he study in Israel (like I did)? Did he go to any Jewish camps? Do I have at least 3 mutual friends with him on Facebook? You see, I can’t help it. There’s this game we play called “Jewish Geography” and it involves seeing which people we know in common from Jewish camps, schools, programs like Birthright Israel and any place a large group of Jews might congregate. Then today, I was offered the opportunity to interview Daniel and I knew it must be bashert (Hebrew for “meant to be). I ended up finding out how connected he is to his roots and how spiritual he is. Following is our interview:
SHW: I was pleasantly surprised to get so interested in this show because I’m so invested in the original Southern Charm. I was also excited to see that there is - finally! - a Jewish cast member on the show. That’s definitely a new thing for the Southern Charm franchise. You’re hanging out with a group of more WASPy (and self-described) ‘blue blood’ young adults who you knew from school. So, tell me about your Jewish family.
DE: My family is very tight. My ancestor Mordecai Shefftal had tried to settle in the cities above and north of Savannah but they didn’t really want Jews there. However, because Mordechai was a doctor saving lives, his expertise was in demand and he settled there. He collected a lot of properties and was the highest ranking Jewish officer in the revolutionary war. It’s cool to be part of a family that has been here for so many years and has helped to build the community and to be profitable in business (There was a hiccup for Daniel’s family when his father, a prominent Savannah lawyer, pled guilty to obstruction of justice. https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/atlanta/press-releases/2009/atl080609a.htm In light of these troubles, Daniel was forced to see the realism of his family’s financial situation. He was determined to help get them back on track and dove into full time work to save their reputation and livelihood.) My cousins also have a business that my grandfather started around 100 years ago and we’re very tight knit with them as well - Their family name is also Eichholz.
SHW: I went to Israel for a year and met the singers Evan and Jaron (”Crazy for this Girl”) who are from Atlanta and studied that same year abroad as I did. I don’t know much about the Jewish community in Savannah though, just Atlanta. What is it like in Savannah?
DE: Atlanta is huge, but we (Savannah) have a small city with a pretty impressive Jewish community. There are three synagogues and I am a member of the orthodox synagogue.Everyone knows each other within the Jewish community, like I know who the Jewish jeweler is and Jews tend to look out for each other and recommend people for different things. A lot of times for me, it’s the people I already know that I’m looking out for.
SHW: I was thinking we probably could play ‘Jewish Geography’ and see if we have any friends in common but then I realized you’re 11 years younger than I am so we probably don’t know the same people. You mentioned in episode 1 that you studied abroad and I wondered if you studied in Israel for the gap year between high school and college.
DE: I ended up meeting Hannah’s sister in Austria where she was studying abroad. Although it was not Israel, I have gone to Israel. I did the Birthright program and called my mother wanting to join the Israeli army. I completely fell in love with the country and tried to stay there.
SHW: Tell me a bit about your Jewish upbringing.
DE: I grew up in a traditional Jewish home where we did something for Shabbos, like Friday night dinner each week. I’m not as good at keeping all the rules as I’d like to be... I go to the shul (synagogue) on shabbos (the Jewish Sabbath which is on Saturdays) and for some bar and bat mitzvahs. I’m not orthodox, but I really like my orthodox synagogue because the people in charge are so loving, kind and amazing to me. It’s so welcoming. People I haven’t seen in ages give big hugs. It’s such a nice, warm environment.
SHW: Watching the first episode, we see a very interesting cast of characters. You all - with the exception of Hannah - went to Savannah Country Day School and that point seems to be stressed. It reminded me of people from my elementary school, SAR Academy, who can’t stop talking about their glory days from K through eighth grade, but wait, was Savannah Country Day an elementary school or a high school? (Incidentally, there is a Riverdale Country Day School near where I grew up. I know that John F. Kennedy attended it in his youth. I imagine SCDS to be a similar type of elite school to RCDS).
DE: It’s a private school that goes from early childhood through high school and what you asked is actually a really interesting question: We all went at some point or another, but not all at the same time, and not all of us attended for all grades. I first attended a Hebrew day school called Rambam which is still around today. I can read Hebrew due to that education. Then I switched to Savannah Country Day for third grade because that is where my siblings were going. Lyle, Catherine and Louie went there, but we all went there for different years.
SHW: Can you let us in on anything we’re going to see that differentiates this Southern Charm from its Charleston cousin?
DE: We really are a very tight knit group of friends and we’ve known each other since lower school and looked out for one another since then. You will notice as the season progresses that people really care for one another and really watch out for each other. You’ll also see some major drama on the outskirts of all that. It’s also interesting how Hannah came in - randomly from Atlanta - and she’s been dating Louie for years now. The three of us really have a great friendship and you’ll get to see that dynamic between us. You’ll really get a feel for our lives and just us being charmers.
SHW: I’m excited to see that Shep, Thomas and crew will be coming for a Southern Charm Crossover in an upcoming episode.
DE: Yes, that was a lot of fun to meet the original Southern Charm cast.
SW: Will we get to see some of your Jewish activities and involvement in the Jewish community on the show?
DE: You’ll get to see that I visit my rabbi and do lunch once per week with him. He gets food out of the local orthodox synagogue kitchen so it’s strictly kosher of course and then he comes to my office. We have lunch and then we learn a dvar Torah (Torah lesson) from the week’s Parsha (Torah portion). i knew him as a friend at Rambam day school so I’ve known him forever and now we have this regular learning session. The one disadvantage about being in such a small Jewish community is that if you’d like to find a Jewish wife, it’s hard. I have a wonderful girlfriend right now and she’s totally amazing - she’s not Jewish. If a guy wants to find a Jewish wife, he may have to venture out of Savannah. Atlanta has a larger Jewish community.
SHW: Ladies reading this are going to be upset you have a girlfriend.
DE: Yeah, I really like her a whole lot and I am very invested in this relationship.
SHW: My friend Kara and I agree that you are a cutie, but — shallowness warning - I was curious what you look like clean-shaven. Did you end up shaving all your scruff at any point this season?
DE: Not a shallow question - any question is welcome! I didn’t shave and right now my hair has grown out. I just think going to the barber shop is a waste of time, so I stopped doing it. I’ll ask my girlfriend later what she thinks and if I should shave it.
Southern Charm Savannah premieres tonight and airs Monday nights at 10 pm on Bravo.