eisman/goldie/V8

Lives in the Yiddish Theatre
SHORT BIOGRAPHIES OF THOSE INVOLVED IN THE Yiddish THEATRE
aS DESCRIBED IN zALMEN zYLBERCWEIG'S "lEKSIKON FUN YIDISHN TEATER"
1931-1969

Goldie Eisman

E. was born on 15 March 1906 in Toronto, Canada. Her father was a tailor.

She learned with a rabbi, in a public school, and in one class in high school.

The family moved to Montreal, and it was there that they came to meet the Yiddish actors who sometimes took her to act in a child's role. This was until 1923, when Jacob Cone brought her down to New York where she performed in the Lipzin Theatre for the first time as a soubrette in the play "Di fargesene kale", together with Lobel and Jacob Cone.

From there she crossed over to Lenox Theatre, where she acted for two seasons in such plays as "Bad Companions" (a melodrama in 3 acts by W. Siegel and H. Kalmanowitch, roduced by Samuel Rosenstein, music by Joseph Cherniavsky, which opened at the Lenox on 9 October 1925 with E., Jacob Hochstein, Jeanette Paskevitch, Jacob Cone, Nettie Tobias, Samuel Rosenstein et al.

Since 1926 she has been at the National Theatre, in such plays as "In gortn fun libe (Garden of Love)", with Betty and Jacob Jacobs, Max Wilner and Yetta Zwerling.

From 1929-30 E. was at Gabel's Public Theatre, acting in such plays as "Love and Politics" (19 October 1929), with Max Gabel, Marty Baratz, Jennie Goldstein, Boris Rosenthal et al, "Slaves of Luxury" (7 February 1930) and "Sonitchka" (7 March 1930).

On 1 October 1932, E. appeared in "Song of the Ghetto" at the National Theatre in New York City.

The Cast of "The Little Bandit", which opened at the Hopkinson Theatre in Brooklyn, New York on 27 October 1934. Julius Nathanson headlined the cast, which also included Goldie, Marty Baratz, Louis and Minnie Birnbaum, Abraham Lax, Lillian Lux, Anna Mills, David Popper, Tillie Rabinowitz, Samuel Steinberg, Sam Stern and Aimie Warren. The play was also produced in the Public Theatre in Manhattan in April of 1935. Previous to the move to the Public, E. also acted with the same troupe "Yoshke khvat" at the Hopkinson.

E. also played at the Hopkinson for the the 1935-1936 season, in such plays as: "Kleyner rebe-le (The Little Rabbi), a musical romance in two acts and four scenes, by Anshel Schorr" (28 September 1935); "The Girl of my Heart" (21 October); "Prayz fun zind (Price of Sin)" (8 November), which also was staged at the Bronx's McKinley Square Theatre in February 1936; "Fraylekhe shneyderlekh (The Jolly Tailors)" (November) and "Got, mensh un tayvel (God, Man and Devil)" by Jacob Gordin on 14 February, and "Shykele shmadnik" on 7 April 1936.

E. was part of the troupe that performed at New York's Yiddish Folk Theatre for the 1936-1937 season. Here she acted in the following plays: "The Straw Hero (23 November 1936)"; "Shlemiele" (17 September); "Senor Hershel" (24 December), and "Der galitsianer rebe (The Galician Rabbi)" with Menasha Skulnik (12 February 1937), which also was staged at Brooklyn's Parkway Theatre in April of that same year.

She also acted in "The Jolly Village" (5 November 1937) at the Second Avenue Theatre.

On 3 June 1938 she played in Der gasn-zinger (The Street Singer) at the Hopkinson.

During the 1938-1939 season, she was at the Second Avenue Theatre, in such plays as: a musical comedy by Alexander Olshanetsky and William Siegel, "Mayn meydele's khasene (My Baby's Wedding)", "Pini fun pinchev (Pini From Pinchev)" (1 December), with Seymour Rechtzeit, Miriam Kressyn et al.

In the 1941-1942 season, E. was in at least two Joseph Rumshinsky's musical plays: "Libe un lakh (Live and Laugh)" (1 October 1941), with Menasha Skulnik, Bella Mysell, Annie Thomashefsky, Muni Serebrov et al, at the Second Avenue Theatre, then six days later at the Public Theatre in the play, "Mayn vayse blum (My White Flower)" (with Herman Yablokoff, Miriam Kressyn, Max Bozyk, Edmund Zayenda et al). On 10 October 1942 she acted again at the Second Avenue Theatre in William Siegel's "Freylakh zon zayn (Be Happy)", with Menasha Skulnik, Michal Michalesko, Miriam Kressyn. Seymour Rechtzeit et al.

E. also appeared in "Grine yenkis (Green Yankees)", with Aaron Lebedeff and Leo Fuchs, during the 1943-1944 season at both the Brighton and Hopkinson Theatres, both in Brooklyn, New York.

Other plays that she performed in (dates unknown) were: "Di kleyne khazon'te (The Little Cantor)" at the Douglas Park Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, and at the Arch Street Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: "Galitsiner shlimiel (Galician Schlemiel)" and "Lena".

E. passed away on 4 June 1984 and was brought to hear eternal rest in the burial plot of the Yiddish Theatrical Alliance, at Mount Hebron Cemetery in Flushing, Queens, New York.

Specialty: Young soubrette.

M. E.

Jacob Kirschenbaum -- Naye pn'm'er oyf unzer bine", "Morning Journal", N. Y., 11 November 1927.