Actor. Often billed as the "Greatest of All Yiddish Actors" or the "Lawrence Olivier of the Yiddish Stage", he was born in Sudilkov, Ukraine, and immigrated, with his parents, to the United States in 1901. He acted in several Yiddish Theater groups in New York City, New York, then opened The Jewish Art Theater on Second Avenue in New York City 1918 (the theater would go on to give performances for the next 40 years with a rotating repertoire of 150 plays). His most lauded featured roles were as ‘Reb Malech' in Isaac Bashevis Singer's "Yoshe Kalb",' Luka' in Maxim Gorki's "The Lower Depths", ‘Oswald' in Henrick Ibsen's "Ghosts", ‘Shylock' in William Shakespeare in "The Merchant of Venice", and the title role in "King Lear". In motion pictures he performed in "Broken Hearts" (1926), "Uncle Moses" (1932), "Tevye The Milkman "(1939), "Mission to Moscow" (1943) and as ‘Ezra' in the Biblical drama "Salome" (1953). The Library of Congress added "Tevye The Milkman" (later the basis for "Fiddler on the Roof") to the United States National Film Registry as one of the greatest films of all time.
Actor. Often billed as the "Greatest of All Yiddish Actors" or the "Lawrence Olivier of the Yiddish Stage", he was born in Sudilkov, Ukraine, and immigrated, with his parents, to the United States in 1901. He acted in several Yiddish Theater groups in New York City, New York, then opened The Jewish Art Theater on Second Avenue in New York City 1918 (the theater would go on to give performances for the next 40 years with a rotating repertoire of 150 plays). His most lauded featured roles were as ‘Reb Malech' in Isaac Bashevis Singer's "Yoshe Kalb",' Luka' in Maxim Gorki's "The Lower Depths", ‘Oswald' in Henrick Ibsen's "Ghosts", ‘Shylock' in William Shakespeare in "The Merchant of Venice", and the title role in "King Lear". In motion pictures he performed in "Broken Hearts" (1926), "Uncle Moses" (1932), "Tevye The Milkman "(1939), "Mission to Moscow" (1943) and as ‘Ezra' in the Biblical drama "Salome" (1953). The Library of Congress added "Tevye The Milkman" (later the basis for "Fiddler on the Roof") to the United States National Film Registry as one of the greatest films of all time.
Bio by: John T. Chiarella
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MAURICE
SCHWARTZ
FOUNDER, DIRECTOR, ACTOR
OF THE
YIDDISH ART THEATRE
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