more than he wanted to marry
this girl, make her his wife and keep her close forever. But
he also knew that to achieve his heart's desire, he
would first have to win her widowed mother's approval,
and then her consent to this marriage. It became for him
the "impossible dream", given the fat that he was by now
an actor, in an era when all actors were looked down on
with scorn and disdain, for no other reason than because
they were actors, and the "acting profession" was
without discussion and without debate unacceptable,
scandalous and a disgrace.
So he decided that it
would best serve his cause if he at least for the moment
-- until a time in the near future when they would
hopefully already be married -- free to make their own
choices as to what path they wished to follow. If he
would at least temporarily abandon his newly launched
acting career -- and that's when he became of all
things, a house painter. It worked like a charm, for
they were soon married, with Anna still not quite
sixteen years old.
And so, for the next few
years, Charlie painted houses and he took on all sorts
of odd jobs, and at one point they even took in boarders
(paying guests), anything that would enable him to make
a living and support his little family, for by now they
had a delightful baby daughter to love and to raise, and
so it wasn't until a time later when he once again began
to perform in the theatre an take on roles in plays,
being presented at the popular "Labor Lyceum
Auditorium", all the while gaining a reputation, not
only as the fine actor that he was, but also as a
reputable singer, since he also possessed a rich, mellow
baritone singing voice. This was until 1900, when he
came to the attention of Elias Glickman, who ran the
successful "Glickman Theatre" in Chicago, and who had
for some time now been hearing such glowing reports
about "this" Charles Shapiro.
And he invited him to come
to Chicago for the upcoming season, to join his company
performing there, and of course Shapiro with unspeakable
joy
accepted. And thus he was at long last returning "home"
-- back into his cherished world of the theatre.
From here, Charlie began
focusing his attention more keenly onto Anna's mounting
interest in theatre, in the hope that it would inspire
her to look closer on a more direct, more personal
level, onto her husband's recently resurrected acting
career that would now be encompassing his world, and
that is when the discovered, to their surprise and
delight, that Anna herself possessed an innate, natural
potential that could with a little encouragement, and a
bit of hard work, easily result in her becoming not
merely an "adequate" actress of sorts, but a very
acceptable one with time. Who knows -- probably quite a
good one. So, after a short stint in the chorus, she
soon began appearing at her husband's side, winning the
approval along with the admiration of audiences wherever
they appeared, and sometime later even gaining entrance
into the Hebrew Actors Union, entirely on her own
without anyone's help, which was in itself quite an
accomplishment.
The Shapiros stayed on with
Glickman for the next three seasons in Chicago, until in
1903 when the devastating fire, known as "the Great
Chicago Fire" broke out in a local theatre The fire
destroyed everything in its path, causing the tragic
death of hundreds of men, women and children, which in
turn resulted in almost overnight changes in the
existing fire prevention laws, especially for those
governing theatres. This, coupled with the fact that
just around this time the Yiddish actors chose to
unionize into what would become the "Hebrew Actors
Union", that had like in the fire regulations a whole
list of new rules to adhere to and obey. It just became
too much for Glickman to handle and he was forced to
close the doors of his theatre, throwing the local
Yiddish actors out of work. But it didn't affect the
Shapiros personally in any way, as they were sought
after in other cities and went on to Baltimore to the "Largman
Theatre" at just a most propitious time, when that
"icon" of Yiddish theatre, the immortal Jacob P. Adler
and his talented wife Sarah Adler, had come to Baltimore
to guest-star with their sensational success of that
season -- the playwright Z. Libin's melodrama, "Di
gebrukhene hertser (Broken Hearts)". Adler became so
taken with Shapiro, so impressed with his talent and
with his personality and with his melodious, most
impressive singing voice, that at the end of this
Baltimore engagement, he insisted that Shapiro accompany
him back to Boston to finish out the Boston season, and
from there on to New York to the famous Grand Street
Theatre, and from there on to the Windsor Theatre. Also
in New York Charlie had the occasion to perform with
another legend, the immortal David Kessler, who like
Adler before him didn't cease with singing his praises
and lauding him. Shapiro had made it! He had definitely
made it. He had reached his pinnacle, he had reached and
fulfilled his life's goal.
And so life went most
pleasantly on, until 1908 when he suddenly fell
seriously ill. It started with a thyroid disorder, which
soon escalated to a complete disaster. He took to his
bed for a complete year, until 1909 when he lost his
battle and passed on. It was on June 30, 1909 at age
forty-four.
In his all-too-short life,
he managed to leave behind a reputation as a skilled
actor to be reckoned with -- the very best! The fact
that he had this unusual voice, in addition to his other
talents that I'm sure played a big part in his gaining
entrance into the Hebrew Actors Union with such ease,
while for most candidates it remained an iron fortress,
with walls almost impossible to penetrate.
In the archives chronicling
a list of the important plays that were through the
years produced in the Yiddish theatre, and the
outstanding actors who appeared in them, he is listed as
the "first" who created the role of "Reb Yokeb Alchunen"
in Jacob Gordin's classic "Ohn a heym (Without a Home)".
In his cable hands the role became one of the highlights
of the performance. Incidentally, Jacob Gordin wrote the
play expressly to showcase the talents of Sarah Adler, a
great actress! It remained her signature role throughout
her life, from the day when it premiered in October 1907
at the Grand Street Theatre, with Charles Shapiro, a
memorable member of the cast.
At his death, he was
interred at the old burial grounds of that era -- the
old "Washington Cemetery" in New York, his final resting
place.
Charlotte further
recalls, to Steven Lasky, the founder and director
of the Museum of Family History:
"I was named 'Charlotte'
in memory of my mother's father, my grandfather, who
was 'Charles'. I have been told that he was such a
delightful person! How I regret never having the
privilege to know him, or even to have enjoyed at
least the memory of a story told me, of how I had at
least once in my life been cradled in his loving
arms. For alas, he passed on, even before I was
born. Even before my mother and father even met,
fell in love and were married.
Strange how history in a
family often ties repeats itself, for my grandfather
passed on at such an early age. He was only
forty-four, and my dear father, Jacob Goldstein, who
was also a Yiddish actor, who married Charlie's only
child, his beloved daughter Sadie Shapiro. My father
was only forty-two years old.
Well, I'm glad to be
able to report that I -- who followed my heritage
and also became a Yiddish actress -- was fortunate
enough to break the cycle! Since I just recently
celebrated my one hundredth birthday in August 7th
of this year, 2012, I have no intention of calling
it "quits", not anytime in the near future. On the
contrary, I am already looking forward to one
hundred and one! And from there on in -- we'll talk
about it, and we'll see. Who knows? And now, yours
most sincerely, Charlotte Goldstin Chafran."
Sh. E. from his
granddaughter Charlotte Goldstein Shafran. |