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
 

Herman Serotsky
 

S. was born in 1880 in Ozorkow, Poland. His father was a tailor. He worked as a weaver and sung with the city's cantor, and in 1896 with Shliferstein's troupe he also led there in "Shulamit", S. went into the chorus and was soon observed by the actor Ribalsky, who encouraged him into becoming an actor.

In 1897 S. left his mother and sister, whose [shpeyzer] him, traveled to Warsaw and performed there in the chorus in Weisfeld's troupe. But after in the same year he was drawn into acting as "David" in Epelberg's "Dovid in der viste" and remained there as an actor.

In 1903 S. went around within Kharkov in Kompaneyets' troupe, where he performed across the entire state of Russia (Samara, Aaratov, Voronyezh, Tula, et al). In 1903 he went over to Yekaterinoslav in Fishzon's troupe, where he acted for two years.

In 1905 he acted with Kaminska in Odessa and in 1906 he performed with Kaminska in Warsaw, where he acted for three years as first lover-singer and went with the tour of the "Fareynikte trupe (United Troupe)", with whom he also acted as a dramatic lover in Gordin-Libin-Kobrin repertory, and afterwards acted for Zandberg in Lodz's "Grand Theatre".

In 1913 he was, together with Julius Adler, director of Lodz's Skala Theatre, where it was also the first time of the Yiddish

 

stage in Europe performed an entire range of drama and operettas, in which S. acted in the chief role and directed the operettas.

In the time of the World War, S. (together with Julius Adler, Julia Zandberg and M. D. Vaksman) co-directed for the Lodz "Grand Theatre" and for Kaminska's theatre in Warsaw. He also was the administrator for a large tour that traveled across the Polish province, acting in certain places, where people until that point never saw Yiddish acting.

In 1920 he was engaged in America in Thomashefsky's National Theatre.

In 1923 he, together with Julius Adler, was director of the Liberty Theatre in Brownsville, and soon he came back to the National Theatre (with Molly Picon) and guest-starred in the summer of 1930 in Lodz, and in the summer of 1931 he was in Paris, Belgium and Poland.

In 1931 he returned to America and after, from time to time, he participated in productions.

In 1932 he acted in Chicago's Lawndale Theatre.


Sh. E.

  • Giml in beyz -- Ver zeynen di drey neye idishe aktyoren?, "Forward", N. Y., 1 Oct. 1920.

  • Ab. Cahan -- Importirte operetes in dramen far unzere hige teatere, "Forward", N. Y., 1 Oct. 1920.

  • M. Grim -- Der import fun eyrope, "Fraue arbayter shtime", N. Y., 12 March 1921.

  • Noah Prilutski -- "Yidish teater", Bialystok, 1921 [in di retenzies vegn gordns pyeses].

  • Dr. A. Mukdoni -- Zkhrunut fun a idishn teater-kritiker, "Archiv", Vilna, 1930, p. 364.

  • Spektator [N. Frank] -- Der erster oyftrit fun h' serotzki in pariz, "Parizer haynt", 22 March 1931.


 

 

 

 


 

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Adapted from the original Yiddish text found within the  "Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre" by Zalmen Zylbercweig, Volume 2, page 1496.
 

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