Nice Jewish guys are pinups in new calendar

A producer of the hit reality TV show "The Simple Life," which stars Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, is now trying to boost the image of nice Jewish guys - one month at a time.

Adam Cohen's Nice Jewish Guys Calendar 2010 features 12 California menschen in their 20s, all of whom are gainfully employed and looking for love.

Using both personal and professional contacts, Cohen solicited photos and bios, eventually receiving applications from some 1,000 men. Cohen winnowed down that number and conducted in-person interviews to help him select the final dozen. He was looking for, well, nice Jewish guys - responsible, kind, and employed.

Jewish guys, Cohen said, "are not always the best-looking guys, but we have jobs."

Each hunk gets his own month with a bio and several photos. The cover features Ethan, a dark-haired business-strategy consultant who, according to the calendar, "can't work a yo-yo, loves cereal and would eat it all day if he could."

The calendar also highlights Aaron, a piano teacher, and David, a New York-born tutor who's photographed in a gray bathrobe and slippers.

Cohen said he'd been walking around with the calendar idea in his head for a while when he decided to make it a reality in 2009 with the first version. "Why not put Jewish guys on a pedestal?" he said.

Ironically, Cohen, now in his 30s and married, remembers thinking when he was younger, "Why can't I ever be a bad boy?" Yet he assured us that although some of the calendar models might look like bad boys, he and his team worked diligently to make sure they didn't feature any players.

And lest he be accused of being sexist, Cohen has a possible follow-up: "I'd think there'd be no shortage of nice Jewish girls to be in a calendar."

The Nice Jewish Guys Calendar 2010 is currently available in two sizes at www.nicejewishguys.net.