mozer/bentsion/V4

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

Bentsion Mozer
(Yakov Hertsog)

M. was born on 27 September 1892 [according to Reyzen, 1887] in Yagelnitsa, Galicia.

Until age eighteen he learned in a yeshiva and afterwards he went away to Czernowitz and Vienna to study, but due to an illness, he spent three years in solitude in a village in the Carpathians. Allowed in to the Poalei Zion party, afterwards becoming Secretary for the professional movement in Eastern Galicia.

Literary-wise he began with the publication of sketches in Lemberg's "Togblat" led by Moshe Kleynman, after in the "Yidisher arbeyter", Krakow's "Tog", "Ilustrirte tsaytung" (directed by Beni), and in various literary calendars.

In 1918 he co-worked in "Dos folksblat" in Lemberg and "Di geverkshaftn".

In Bukhfor's issue in 1919 in Lemberg "Eyner a mentsh un andere bavelen", and in the publication "'Pratsa' meshlekh" by Andersen, also the one-act "Der bal-tshuva".

In 1921 he immigrated to America, afterwards returning for a short visit to Poland, soon returning to travel to America, where he made a home for himself. In 1921 he became a Yiddish teacher in the Farband school in Philadelphia, later settling down in Los Angeles, California, where he since 1942 was a teacher and wrote from time to time in the "Morgn freyheyt", especially about the film world.

Besides this, M. also wrote a children's novel "Beni".

M. had also in "Yungvarg", March 1945, published his one-act "Eliyahu hanvya", and in 1934 in "Hamer" the one-act "Felder reydn", that was performed by the actor Leyzer Zelazo with professional actors.

In 1950 he had the children's school for Yiddish fraternal "folks-orden" in Los Angeles, co-organizing M.'s "Mir veln lebn", a musical play in two parts that that was performed in Washington and in other places.

In 1951 he had the progressive Yiddish children's school in Los Angeles issue mimeographs of M.'s "Der goldener fodem", a musical revue.

M.'s publications include:

[1] Bentsion Mazer
Der bal-tsuvah (one-acter)
Yiddish book -- and art publisher Max Hikel, Vienna-Brin Tre't [p. 32].

[2] B. Mozer
Eliyahu Hanvye [one-acter]
[published in "Yungvarg", N. Y., March 1945, pp. 8-10].

[3] B. Mozer
Felder reydn
[published in "Hamer". N. Y., November 1934]

M. E. and Sh. E.

Z. Reyzen -- "Lexicon of Yiddish Literature", Vol. II, p. 294.

Adapted from the original Yiddish text found within the "Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre" by Zalmen Zylbercweig, Volume 4, page 3063.
You can read an earlier biography of Bentsion Mozer in the Lexicon's volume 2, by clicking here.