Sidney Hart

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

Sidney Hart
(Yosef Hersh)

Born on 24 December 1887 in Tishmienitz, Galicia, to pious parents. Father -- a butcher, who soon immigrated to America.

In 1900 he came to his father in America. Here he learned in school.

Seeing Thomashefsky act in the "Yeshiva bukher," H. became excited, so much so that he decided to become an actor and wrote a play; however he had no courage to do the readings(?). He became familiar with a group of "amateurs" and entered into their club, where Peter Graf was regisseur, and in 1903 he acted for the first time in the role "Yozef" from Shliferstein's "Dora," then he participated in a certain Zeyken's "historical" drama "Di shreklikhe rakhe fun safinya zaremba." The production looked for actors and a manager for Baltimore, L. Largman, engaged him for six dollars a week. For the second season, he became engaged in the same theatre for ten dollars a week. However, both times he did not receive enough to pay the rent, and held out for support that his parents sent to him.

When Mike Thomashefsky's troupe guest-starred there, H. became engaged in the troupe to Philadelphia.

In 1905 he came to New York and entered into vaudeville, and in

1906 he became engaged by Heine-Chaimovich, and here he married the actress Berta Mahler, and both left for the province to act in theatre. After a short time, he became director; 1908 in Baltimore, 1909 in Philadelphia, 1910 in Cleveland. From 1915 until 1919 he was director of Hart's Metropolitan Theatre in Newark. In 1919 H. became a member of the union, and entered into acting in Schnitzer's Art Theatre, then he acted for two years in the People's Theatre, and since 1922 in the National Theatre, Liberty and Public Theatre under the direction of Louie Goldberg. 1929-30 -- in Satz's Folks Theatre.

H. helped the deceased actor Joseph Groper collect (in manuscript) a list of Yiddish actors, prompters and dramatists.

Sh. E.

Adapted from the original Yiddish text found within the "Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre" by Zalmen Zylbercweig, Volume 1, page 588.