|
Born in 18... in Pantshe (Panciu), Romania. As a youth
he sang with a cantor, had the desire for the stage, and
due to that this his parents were against it, and he
fled from home for Constantinople. Because of the very
harsh conditions, he migrated across various countries,
until he suggested himself as a matron in 1897 for
America.
According to Moshe
Zilberstein, S. was a coupletist even in the varieties
in Romania, and from there went away to London, where he
became an English actor, and there used to in one
evening perform in several theatres and became very
popular.
He came to America and S.
for the first time worked in a cafe-salon as a worker,
then in a tin factory, and later became an
assistant to Mogulesko in a theatre, and rewrote roles.
Here at times he saw Mogulesko "present himself", who
had encouraged him to perform in the Vienna cellars with
Mogulesko's songs. S. sang then for brisses and once for
his benefit(?) in Turin Hall he acted in the role of "Kuni
lemel" in "Both Kuni Lemels". Later he became engaged in
varieties to Spivak in the "First Yiddish Atlantic
Garden" on 1333 Eldridge Street. Here he had great
success with his songs, especially with his countrymen
of his Romanian... Later he went over to the Thalia
Music Hall and then in the People's Music Hall, where he
performed with songs of Meyzel and Meyerovitsh, but most
of the time with his own songs.
After his marriage to Miss
Finkelstein, S. went to Chicago, where he acted in
Moshkovitsh's music hall (12th Street), then in St.
Louis, where he called out into the street for visitors
to Glickman's Russian chorus. From here he went to San
Francisco, where he performed on the English vaudeville
stage as "Joe Comedian" [Yiddish-comical type in
English], and then traveled to London, where he acted in
English.
During the World War he
returned to America, where he cast off suggestions to
act in Yiddish theatre and returned back to England on
the ship "Lusitania", on which he was killed on 7 May
1915 during the catastrophe at sea.
S. in his time was
considered as the best Yiddish coupletist and was the
darling of the East Side [the Jewish part of New York].
M. E. from
Morris Meyer, Moshe Zilberstein and Louis Kremer. |