Yakov Reles
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R. was born on the
22nd of July, 1878 in Lemberg, Galicia. In his
biography he says, "A child of proletarian
parents. In Lemberg I finished the government
school. As a Jewish working man I was a devoted
fan of Yiddish theatre. When in 1905, the
God-gifted artist Sigmund Feinman made a guest
appearance in Lemberg. His acting inspired me at
once. I eventually took over his role in "Vice
King". I studied it and after some time I
appeared in Lemberg. That was the start of my
artistic career. In the Bader's calendar the
following notation appears:
"R. is an amateur
drama lover and a character actor."
A. Maisel’s in a
larger work about theatre in Galicia, pronounced
in a belles-lettres format about R.’s burgeoning
career in the theatre in the following manner:
"Just as his (Reles')
drunkard cohorts frightened the director Gimpel,
and just as all the other actors were also, so
to speak, wrung out, it was announced that their
buddy, Yankl Layzer Reles would very soon appear
on the stage. The theatre troupe regretted this
immediately. They were afraid of an immoral
outcome. The Lemberg theatre stood—according to
the current concept in those days—on a very high
plateau. The managers of the theatre then
started to shorten his appearances on the stage
every day. One Saturday night all of those pals
came to the theatre, and when the last one
handed over his ticket, he called out to the
director Gimpel: "Mr. Director, it’s going to be
very lively tonight in this theatre. My friends
have very nicely 'included' and demand that
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you sign your
signature on this paper. The paper read that
Yankl Layzer Reles should immediately become a
star actor. Further the leader said: "My mother
should live so long, or you will after tonight,
be in a hospital bed…"
The gang got their
way and Yankl Layzer appeared in Latayner’s play
called "Azariah the Hero." That evening went by
as a great success, and during the rehearsals
the actors made fun of his acting. But then
realizing what they had done, they were
frightened. So they all decided to perform
really well that evening. On that evening Yankl
Layzer’s future as an actor was signed sealed
and delivered. He remained an actor, but the
after his performance, those same drunkards
hitched a horse to a carriage and brought Yankl
Layzer to Tzengut’s restaurant where they all
got drunk and partied… Reles was the most
sincere actor in the theatre. His great respect
for the stage, his dedication to each and every
role, his strong ambition covered up any
shortcomings he might have had. Actually, he was
a bit too coarse. He lacked softness and all in
all he lacked a fine education. He was grateful
to the prompter when he helped him to remember
words in a play. He earned the right to appear
on the stage. He always knew his role by heart,
and as soon as the curtain fell he took the play
from the prompter and reread it.
Yankl Layzer Reles
succeeded in the theatre and throughout the
province of Galicia. His fame spread to
Czernowitz to the eyes of the director; Axelrod.
…After World War I he left for Argentina, after
which he spent some time in Vienna and finally
returned to Lemberg where, in World War II, he
was slaughtered as a martyr."
Sh.E.
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A. Maisels --
Vegn teater in galitsye, "yerlkekher
gedenk-bukh," Buenos Aires, 1961, pp.
142-145.
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