Yosef Mandelkern

Mandelkern was born in Bialystok, Poland. 

He was a writer in the city administrative office. He later immigrated to America, where he played in Baltimore with Thomashefsky.

On 21 July 1886, Mandelkern placed an announcement in the New York Yiddish newspaper in the name of  “Di neye yiddishe teater organizatziye” (the New Yiddish Theatre Organization) that "Jacob P. Adler would be arriving from Europe. It went on to say that Adler was being sponsored by two Chicago Jews; the owner of a Chicago clothing warehouse, Drozdovitch and the clothier Rosengarten. The article claimed that Mandelkern was journeying to London in order to bring Adler back to New York.”  However, instead of Adler, he brought the actor Mogulesko and Finkel’s theatrical company.

From 1894 to 1895 Mandelkern was the manager of a film theatre together with Adler and Thomashefsky.

Later, Mandelkern traveled to Lemberg and brought the prima donna, Berta Tanzman, back with him.

M. E. from Misha Tanzman.
 

References from Misha Nachamkus:

• B. Gorin--“History of the Yiddish Theatre”, Vol. II, pp. 38, 39, 145.

• Bessie Thomashefsky -- “Mayn lebns geshichte” (My Life Stor), New York, 1918, p. 160.

• Jacob P. Adler -- Meyn lebn (My Life) “din aye varhayt” (The new reality), N.Y. July 11, 1925.

• Boris Thomashefsky--Thomashefsky about Adler’s first year in America, April 16, 1929.

• M. Osherowitz -- Di ershte tzvey yiddisher teaters in Amerike un di bittere konkurentz zeyere (The first two Yiddish theatres in America and their bitter competition).