lindenfeld/shlomo

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

Shlomo Lindenfeld

Born on 30 October 1878 in Warsaw, Poland. Father -- housing administrator. He learned in a cheder and in a Russian trade school. He sang with prayer leader Arye Leyb Shtreykher, and later became aroused by a chorus there in Siedlce of the performing troupe (Zhelazo, Gelade, Slutzkever, Strelska et al), where he came quickly to act in small roles. Then he went over to the troupe of Rabinowitz, and due to the ban on acting in Yiddish, he was forced (in Bialystok) to become a singer (together with Rabinowitz, Zhelazo and Moshe Shapiro) at weddings and other pleasurable events.

He arrived in Warsaw and again (together with Zhelazo et al), was a badkhan at weddings, and initially when he came to Bernstein's troupe, he performed there as a character role player, and he then went over to a member troupe of Lerman, Bernstein, and Beker. He returned to Warsaw and entered into Rappel's, where he acted and was assistant regisseur.

From there he traveled to Paris, where he acted in a Yiddish variety. He arrived again in Warsaw, where he sang (often together with Herman Feinstein) many couplets for gramophone, and went to Lodz, where he acted in vaudeville ("Arcadia", Pietrkow 22), directing his translation and adaptations from Polish and German forms and comedies, then as a coupletist in Bendin. From there he went to to Antwerp, where he acted together with Spivakovski.

1913 -- Again acted in Lodz's variety houses.

1914 -- Performed in "concerts" in Warsaw.

1915-17 -- Acted in vaudeville in Warsaw's "Venus" [Theatre], and other places, later in Bialystok, then he toured with Hyman and Anna Jacobowitz and went to Poltava, where he acted for several months in the troupe of Konievski-Breytman, later in Becker's troupe. For a certain time, L. also worked as a copyist with telephonograms, and then for a year's time acted with Adolf Segal in Berdichev

He arrived back in Poland, where L. no longer returned to the stage but became a badkhan and farveyler at simkhas.

L. published under his name and with his initials "Sh. L.", many songs and couplets of popular melodies. he also issued in print: "Sh. Lindenfeld. Der geferlikher lokator, a farce in one act, publisher L. Goldfarb, Warsaw, 1927" [16 pp., 16°]. [Free adaptation of a Polish farce "Der shtiler lokator"], "Sh. Lindenfeld. Der feter fun provints, oder, Pst! Pst!, a farce in one act. Publisher L. Goldfarb, Warsaw, 1927". [16 pp., 16°, translated by G. Timoris "Der patsient fun provints"], "A kale oyf probe, a comedy in one act, adapted by Sh. Lindenfeld" [printed in "three new one-acters", Warsaw, 1927], "Khantshe-gnendil bgeym doktor, a humoresque in one act, adapted by Sh. Lindenfeld" [printed in "three new one-acters", Warsaw, 1927], and "Der shver als eydem, a comical farce-comedy in one act, translated and adapted from Sh. Lindenfeld, publisher L. Goldfarb, Warsaw, 1928" [16 pp., 16°].

In the publishing house "Melody" (Warsaw), there were published the following of L.'s songs, as well as by him there was translated and adapted:

"Di lustike minut", "Dos shpeyze-tsetl" (1909)
"Hits, Hats, Hots" (1910)
"Ikh ob a kale", "Ikh borg nisht keynem" (1912)
"Di hbdlh", "Di lodkelekh", "Ven ikh tref dikh aleyn bay nakht", "Moshiakh oyf dem oytomobil" (1916)
"Dudl iz popular", "Dos yingl mit a pas" (1918)
"Gevald, vu nemt men a dirh?" (1924)
"Tsum dashek", "Vos zogt ir oyf mayn mazel?", "Donkey, Monkey Business", "Yom tov in der vokhn", "Nerven, gerven", "Di velt hot zikh ibergekert" (1926)
"Gevald, vu nemt men koyln?" (printed in "35 letste teater lider", Warsaw, 1930).

M. E.

Adapted from the original Yiddish text found within the "Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre" by Zalmen Zylbercweig, Volume 2, page 1090.