Michael Preiss
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Born on 29 January 1904 in
Oleyov, Eastern Galicia. Father -- gut-bazitser
in haltshe Dolina and banker in the same village,
a Husiatin Chasid. He learned Polish, Ukrainian and
German privately, and Yiddish subjects with tutors.
During the outbreak of the first World War (1914), his
family fled to Vienna, where P. entered into the Baron
Hirsch school, which he completed in 1918, then in a
Polish gymnasium and he completed it in 1922 a German
real gymnasium.
As a young student, he
studied dramatic arts with the regisseur and performer
of the "Viener shtadt teater", Julius Haler, who
prepared him for the production of "Uriel Acosta" (24
April 1920), which was staged under the direction of
Jacob Mestel (with the participation of P. as "Uriel
Acosta", and the late actors Mendelson (Yehuda Bleich)
as "De Silva", and Ben Zion Segal as "Ben Yukhai").
Now P. entered into the dramatic school of Jacob Mestel
with the "Fareyn yidishe folks-bine", where he
participated later in various productions and then as a
professional in the troupe of "Folksbine", debuting as
"Der sufr" in Asch's "God of Vengeance", after acting
several years with the troupe across Vienna, the
Austrian provinces and Romania, where he participated in
1924 in the productions of the Stramer troupe across
Czechoslovakia. 1924-1925 -- he studied the German
language with Hans Kirchner and in the "Academye der
darshtelender kunst" under the leadership of Rudolf Ber, |
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participating also in
German in the Marholm troupe in Vienna's "Roland
stage".
1926-27 -- acted for a
season in German and Breslau ("Lare Theatre"),
1927-28 -- in Yiddish with Baratov and Potatska in
Vienna's "Reklam Theatre", 1928-29 -- further in
German in Bri???, 1929-30 -- in German, classical
repertoire with ?? ??rberg and Raul Aslan across the
Austrian province and Switzerland, 1930-31 -- in
German, classical repertoire...Dusseldorf ("Shtadt
Theatre"). 1931-1932 -- ??? in German theatre in
Innsbruck, but as a Jew he had to leave the troupe
and completed the season in Graz. 33?? acted in
Vienna's "Karl Theatre" (German), 1934-35 -- in
Kovno's "Folks House" in Yiddish with Baratov, 1935
-- in German in the "Yiddish Culture House" in
Vienna, and he performed in recitations in German
and Yiddish, 1936-1937 -- in Yiddish, in Vienna's "Yidishe
kunstler shplin", where there also was staged in
Abish Meyzel's translation Arnold Zweig's "Shmuel's
shlikhus". 1938 -- arrested by the Nazis and
released by the Vienna "Yidisher kultur-gemeynde",
where he became employed as a director of the
emigration department. In March 1939 he immigrated
with a transport to England, and he performed in the
camp of "Kitchener kemp" (in Rutshbara by Sandwich)
in "God, Man and Devil", in Yiddish and in Oscar
Wilde's "Florentine Tragedy" in English.
In 1940 his family
brought him to America, where he soon thereafter
acted in Yiddish in Cleveland, then worked as an
employee in a drugstore in New York. In January 1945
he went out on tour across America with a small-arts
program (in Yiddish and English) for the "Yidish
fraternaler folks-orden".
P. was a member in
various German, Czechoslovakian and Austrian artists
unions, and in the Yiddish Actors Union in Vienna,
where he also was a member in the Executive
(Committee).
M. and Sh.
E.
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