bimko/fishl

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

Fishl Bimko

B. was born on 28 December 1890 in Kielce, Poland, into an old Chasidic rabbinic family of merchants. He learned in a cheder and Beit HaMedrash. For taking part in the Freedom Movement in 1905, he was arrested for six months. In 1909 he lived as a political émigré in Krakow, then he returned to Kielce, where he was occupied with business and for a year was a prompter with a Hebrew troupe in Lublin.

In 1909 he debuted in the "Lodzer togenblat" with a story, and in 1912 he published a story "Di errh" (self-published, Lodz, p. 31).

He debuted as a dramatist with the drama "Oyfn bregveyksel", staged on 28 February 1913 in Lodz's Skala Theatre by Julius Adler ("Oyfn breg veysel", a drama in 3 acts, published by Di tseyt in Warsaw, 1921, 124 p., 16°). In 1922 the same play was presented in adaptation by Joseph Shoengold and then by (Maurice) Schwartz under the name "Dembes (Oaks)".

In 1919 there was staged by the Vilna Troupe his drama "Ganevim (Thieves)" ("Ganevim", a drama in 3 acts, added a word [fertseykhnish] of the thief's language). Publisher "Di tseyt", Warsaw, 1919, 62 p., 16°), which was then performed by Schwartz (10 April 1922) in New York's Yiddish Art Theatre and in Yiddish theatres in various countries.

The play also was performed in Hebrew in Eretz Yisrael.

In 1919 there was published through a Warsaw publisher, A. Gitlin, the following of B.'s dramatic works: "Moshe drehkop", a scenic monologue, 14 p., 16°, "S'letste vort", a scenic monologue, 15 p. 16°; 'Koyder velt", a comedy in 1 act, 33 p., 16°, and in 1920 "Di intrige", a tragi-comedy in 3 acts, 55 p., 16°.

In 1921 B. settled in America, where he became a kamasan manufacturer, dedicating his free time to literature, especially drama.

Here he published "Tsvishn zey un unz", a drama in 4 acts ("Freie arbeiter shtime", 1923), "Unzere irn", a drama in 3 acts ("Inzl", 4, 3, 1926), in 1922 there was staged by the "Freie yidisher folks-biene" (Director: Y. Fishman) B.'s play "Farzunkene veltn", a tragedy in 3 acts.

On 27 November 1922 at the Irving Place Theatre there was staged B.'s comedy "Feter, men ken eyd!", and then B.'s comedy "Amerike ganef", which was staged by Satz in the same theatre .

B. had in manuscript the following plays that were not staged: "Barkh-beyner", a tragedy in 3 acts, "Moyern", a drama in 3 acts, "Opgang", a mystery, and the one-acters "Eyner, vos iz nit aleyn" and "A mluh mlkhh-shpil", written for the "Habima".

M. E.

Zalmen Reyzen -- "Lexicon of Yiddish Literature", Vol. I, pp. 27--2.
Michael Weichert -- "Teater un drama", I, pp. 122-8.
Dr. L. Zhitnitski -- F. Bimko "Dembes", "Di prese", Buenos Aires, 28 April 1929.

Adapted from the original Yiddish text found within the "Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre" by Zalmen Zylbercweig, Volume 1, page 162.