Jenny Kaiser
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Born in 1872 in London,
England. About her origins and youth, there is no
information. B. Gorin, the historian of Yiddish theatre,
says that at the age of fourteen she began as a
chorister (together with the later-to-be-famous Anna
Held, Fanny Vadya-Epstein and Dina Shtettin [Feinman] in
London's Yiddish theatre.
Celia Adler recalls in her
memoirs "that the 'four young choristers of their troupe
were all becoming famous personalities of the Yiddish
and secular stage', and that she iz oysgekumen
"she went on one of the European tours. Her gorgeous,
beautiful eyes literally charmed me".
In the span of a short time,
K. went from being a chorister to acting in roles in
London's Yiddish theatre, until she became the main
actress there, and after more years stood at the top of
Yiddish theatre in England, excelling with her beauty
and elegance on the stage.
The actor Boaz Young writes
in his memoirs about the epoch in London's Yiddish
theatre:
"In the Princes Street
Club-Theatre, there were then two star-choristers who
also had acted in episodic roles: Fanny and Jennie.
Fannie ... was a 'Cinderella' -- that Indian prince with
whom she fell in love ...Jenny was a brunette, a slim
person, with two flaming, fiery eyes that cried out,
'Come, take me'. |
Also she bore a
'prince', who then became the 'king' of the
Yiddish stage; she used to come to the theatre
to rehearsals with a youth of three years old --
the future, known Charlie Adler, the son of
Jacob P. Adler and Jenny Kaiser".
In the necrology of
the London Yiddish newspaper "The Times", it was
said:
"Jenny Kaiser had
more talent than a theatre school. For the last
several years she expanded, bur as it was said,
down from the stage', and died (that is to say,
lived) in retirement. Only several of her
devoted friends knew that she was ill, and they
in part were taken as her sole companion".
Jenny Kaiser passed
away on Sunday, 22 February 1940, after a long
illness, a forgotten person, the known Yiddish
actress who yearlong acted in Yiddish theatre in
London with the famous actors Adler, Feinman,
Moskovich et al.. Jenny Kaiser excelled in
acting in dramas, comedies and melodramas; she
was especialy very good in the role of 'Mirele
Efros' by Jacob Gordin".
K. also acted on the
English stage.
K. left a son, the
dance instructor Charlie Adler, whose father was
Jacob P. Adler, and a daughter of the actor
Joseph Sherman.
M. E.
from her mother, and Sh. E. from Sh. Y.
Harendorf.
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B. Gorin --
"History of Yiddish Theatre", Vol. II, p.
152.
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Necrology in
"The Times", London, 27 February 1940.
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Boaz Young --
"Mayn lebn in teater", New York, 1950, pp.
53-54.
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Celia Adler
-- "Tsili adler dertseylt", New York, 1959,
pp. 83, 123.
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