|
Leopold (Peretz) Yungvirt
|
Y. was born on 15 April 1891
in Krakow, Western Galicia. His father was a
businessman. In 1908 he became a chorister in the
Yiddish theatre in Krakow, and at the
same time in small character roles. Since 1911 he
crossed over to larger roles, then for three years he was director
of Yiddish theatre in Krakow,
actor and regisseur in Czernowitz, several years
acting with Podzamcze in Vienna, then in London, Paris,
Czechoslovakia.
S.J. Harendorf, in his book,
"Theatre Caravan," recalls how he had in 1921 trudged
across Czechoslovakia with a small troupe of seven
people, among whom there was also the actor Yungvirt. A
Christian impresario who had undertaken their production
in the city Brin [Brno, Czech Republic-- ed.], he
flooded the entire city of Brin with enormously large
posters, announcing that "the world-famous Yiddish
operetta troupe" will present for the Jews of Brin the
famous Goldfaden operetta, "Shulamis."
The production was sold out,
but the audience who knew the play of Friedrich Leitch
productions gebuntevet in the theatre, in the
morning, made an accusation to the editor of the local
Yiddish-German weekly newspaper the "Yudishe folks-shtime,"
Max Hickl, that it was a disgrace that "Shulamis" was "oysgelasn,"
their "oysgelasn ("gekritzt," but a similar expression
as "oysgelasn," not-respectable.)
Despite the failure, which
followed the troupe on the tour that followed, the play continued
to be staged, and, "Leopold |
|
 |
|
Yungvirt, the
'star' of our troupe... was convinced that knows and
understands better than others. However, when the
terrible poverty had already made a ?l of us, that in
fact there were perils to our souls, he had, on the
other hand realized very much that his ridiculous
production of the "'oysgelasener' Shulamis,'
which had ruined us morally and materially, with a heavy
heart he 'enhanced' our very poor repertoire with some
strong tsugestrigevete plays, which were shared
among the six members of our troupe."
In 1928 y. was the premier
in Emil Frides' Yiddish troupe in Vienna.
Y. wrote the plays, "The
False Oath" and "The Renegade" and translated "Vaybstayvl,"
"Morpheus" and "Schloss Veterstein."
According to S.J. Harendorf,
during the outbreak of the Second World War, Y. was to
be found in Krakow, where he was killed by the Nazis.
According to Meir Melman, Y.
was killed in a ghetto.
Sh. E. from
S.J. Harendorf and Meir Melman.
-
"Lexicon of
the Yiddish Theatre," Volume 2, Warsaw, 1934,
page 937.
-
S.J. Harendorf--
"Theatre Caravan," London, 1955, pages 43, 47,
51.
|
|
