I am trying to find the connection between Hollywood producer Joe Roth
and the Supreme Court ruling on prayer in the schools.  (late 50's,
early sixties)  I believe he was a student in Long Island on whose
behalf the original suit was brought.

Hi screenwrite:

Thanks for the fascinating question. 

Joe Roth, the Hollywood producer, was indeed involved in the famous
1962 Supreme Court decision regarding prayer in schools. He and his
brother Daniel were (Jewish) students in Long Island in 1958 when
their parents launched a lawsuit because they felt that having to say
(Christian) prayers in school was unconstitutional.

The following sites provide more details.

Hollywood Jews
URL: http://www.lukeford.net/essays/contents/Hollywood_Jews.htm
Quote: 
In his 1998 book Work in Progress, Disney CEO Michael Eisner writes
about Joe Roth (head of movie production at Disney Corp): "Joe was
raised in Roslyn Heights on Long Island. His father made a modest
living running a plastics manufacturing business, but his passion was
social activism. In 1958, when New York State began requiring children
to recite the Regent's Prayer at school each day, Joe's father viewed
it as a violation of the separation of church and state and recruited
an ACLU lawyer to file a lawsuit. Joe, then ten, and his
thirteen-year-old brother became two of the plaintiffs in the case. In
1962, the Supreme Court finally ruled that enforced prayer in schools
was unconstitutional. Joe and his brother became pariahs at aschool.
The family's house was picketed by the American Nazi Party and a cross
made of kerosene-soaked rags was set on fire in their driveway. By his
own description, the experience fueled his self-image as an outsider."
(pg. 304)

A Civil Action
URL: http://csf.colorado.edu/forums/pfvs/jan99/0122.html
Quote:
Rudin suggested that there was a personal dimension for Roth, the
studio
chairman, in the film, one reason the studio was so supportive. Roth's
parents
were old-line New York leftists who triggered a landmark case, Engle
vs.
Vitale, in which the U.S. Supreme Court in 1962 outlawed prayer in
public
schools. The family was harassed for years on Long Island by hate
mail, cross
burnings and even a bomb in the basement. 

Engle vs. Vitale (1962) Religion & the Schools
URL: http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:nSDYA4Qe5ZUC:www.addall.com/Browse/Detail/0805039163.html+roth+%22supreme+court%22+engle+vitale&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Quote:
In-depth coverage of two Supreme Court decisions of interest to young
people because they both dealt with students. Joseph and Daniel Roth
were Jewish young men opposed to being forced to pray every morning in
a New York public school. After a long battle, the Supreme Court
declared the use of the prayer in class unconstititutional.


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Search Strategy (on Google):  
 
"joe roth" "supreme court"
roth "supreme court" prayer "long island"

Good answer.  Fast, informative, complete.  Thanks