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and soft emotions. As if,
woven from the finest silk threads. He appeared as a
characterization of the fallen soul, which was borne
perhaps to achieve a high goat, but which died in the
forgotten places on the lonely Jewish street, yearning
and yearning. He appears as a fool, while his innermost
heart is torn and drips blood and tears.. An unfortunate
people for whom Fishelewitz has to play only in circus
roles!..."
In 1912 F. went over to play
in the Yiddish theatre in Lodz (director Zandberg), and
during the First World War he returned to Warsaw, where
for a period of time, due to the prohibition against
Yiddish theatre, he played Yiddish plays in Polish.
Afterwards, he opened the "El Dorado" theatre in Warsaw
(later called the "Venus"). After playing there for two
years he returned to Ukraine, where he managed his own
company. he returned once more to Warsaw, appearing as a
guest performer for a short time. In 1912 he traveled to
America. There he played for one season in Chicago,
after which he played in the Adler-Serotsky troupe in
Brooklyn's "Liberty" Theatre for several years. His work
demanded that he traveled throughout the state. In
1927-28 he played in the Bronx McKinley Square Theatre.
From 1929 to 1930 he was in Toronto, and then he
returned once more to New York. Later he went back to
Chicago, where he played for a short while and finally
settled in Los Angeles. There he played periodically and
passed away on 3 June 1955.
F.'s wife Jenny also
performed in Yiddish theatre.
Zalmen Zylbercweig
characterizes him in the following manner:
Fishelewitz was once a
well-known person in Europe. Every group he played with
was delighted to have him with them. He was a wonderful
singer with a beautiful tenor voice. He was capable of
singing a serious song or a couplet. His dancing was
very amusing and yet gracious. He was also exactly
suited to play in the overworked comedic roles, or in
the historical or modern Yiddish operettas as in plays
by Gordin or Libin.
When Morris Moskovitch came
to Poland to perform as a guest artist, Fishelewitz,
appearing as "Leyzer the clown," and did not receive any
lesser praise from the critics for his performance as "Uriel
the troublemaker" (Uriel Mazik). Fishelewitz was better
as "Shmuel Shames" in "Pintele yid," or as "Shloymke" in
Latayner's "Shloymke and Rikl," which played for a whole
season in the Yiddish theatre in Europe... Here (in
America) his glow disappeared. He even performed in
second-class troupes...but he could no longer capture
that which was lost. He was never a union member. As
things went from bad to worse in the professional
Yiddish theatre (especially in the out-of-town theatre),
so too for him. There was a brief period of time when
Fishelewitz managed to make a living in New York, going
around selling socks, especially among the actors. But
life delivered even worse blows to him. His one and only
son was attacked by gangsters and eventually died.
Fishelewitz, now an elderly man, moved to Los Angeles
and settled there. There he played from time to time
with out-of-town stars who would come to Los Angeles and
hire local actors. Or at times he would even join a
troupe that was put together locally. He spend time with
"amateurs," or with children in children theatres. He
didn't have to worry about his food. Uncle Sam took care
of that. He lived in Boyle Heights, once a Jewish
enclave. He joined two societies and lived out his life
with his old memories.
-
Noach Prilutzky
-- "Yiddish theatre," Bialystok, 1921, Vol. II,
pp. 31-32.
-
[--] -- Baym
frishn kbr fun yitskhok fishelvitsh e"h,
"Forverts," Los Angeles, 12 June 1955.
-
Zalmen
Zylbercweig -- Der toit fun 2 alte yidishe
aktoren, "Forverts," N.Y., 5 July 1955.
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