Birth Name: Robert Frederick Schenkkan, Jr.
Place of Birth: Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.
Date of Birth: March 19, 1953
Ethnicity:
*Ashkenazi Jewish, some Sephardi Jewish (father)
*English, Scottish (mother)
Robert Schenkkan is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor.
Robert is the son of Jean Gregory (McKenzie) and Robert Frederic “Bob” Schenkkan, Sr. Robert’s nephew (brother’s son) is actor Ben McKenzie.
Robert’s father was from a Dutch Jewish family, and had both Ashkenazi and Sephardi ancestry, including more distant German Jewish, English Jewish, French Jewish, Italian Jewish, and Iranian Jewish, ancestors. He was, however, probably raised Catholic (his own parents, Robert’s paternal grandparents, likely converted from Judaism to Catholicism). Robert’s mother had English and some Scottish roots.
Robert’s patrilineal line can be traced back to Abraham Juda Schenkkan-Levie, who was born, c. 1781, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and to Abraham’s parents, Juda Eliaser Levie and Roosje Isaac, who were born in Stuttgart, Germany.
Robert’s paternal grandparents were Jozef/Joseph Schenkkan (the son of Levie Hyman Schenkkan and Roosje Ensel) and Flora/Flortje Josephine/Josefina Van Der Zyl/Zijl (the daughter of John/Izak/Isaac Van Deziel/der Zijl and Anna Eva/Theresia Wolf). Jozef and Flora were originally from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and were both from Dutch Jewish families (with Ashkenazi, as well as some Sephardi, ancestry). They likely converted to Catholicism.
Robert’s maternal grandparents were Francis “Frank” Clement McKenzie (the son of James E. McKenzie and Mary Anne Dahlia Sizemore) and Alice Bell Beall (the daughter of William Joseph Bell Beall and Georgia Augusta Roberts).
Sources: Obituary of Robert’s father, Robert Frederic “Bob” Schenkkan, Sr. – http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/statesman/obituary.aspx?pid=148529709
Genealogy of Robert’s father, Robert Frederic “Bob” Schenkkan, Sr. – https://www.genealogieonline.nl/en/genealogie-van-raam/I91852.php
Genealogy of Robert’s paternal great-great-grandfather, Hijman Abraham Schenkkan (through Hijman’s brother, Isaac Abraham Schenkkan) (focusing on his own mother’s side) – http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com
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