The "Lexicon of
the Yiddish Theatre" is only a file of the
activity of its people whose biographies it
brings forth, though it is not a critical analysis
about their activity. Fragments of more
specific criticism is brought, made only at
death, or at the time when they had
withdrawn from
their theatre activity.
The "Lexicon"
records only the actions, but not any
appraisal that rates the quality of
the actions, which leaves the writer of the
history of Yiddish theatre or the critic.
They want hereof to evaluate
that which is, and the importance of the of the
practiced actions. Therefore we may in no
way consider the number of lines of each
biography as the measure of value of the
subject. It has been troublesome to bring
more information about each one, and more
bibliography. A large number of actors have
an extended amount of data; others have what
is inexact, or very little data about their
activities. It is therefore self-evident
that what is possible within the "Lexicon of
the Yiddish Theatre" will certainly be
unwise for everyone who are associated with
the Yiddish theatre, and to keep from today
onwards dates, historical facts and
documents.
Due to the
universal character of the "Lexicon",
there is included within the
biographies of certain actors who generally
act in small roles, detailed data about Yiddish theatre in their
related countries.
In order that the picture
of the scope of Yiddish theatre in the world
should be complete, here are brought the
biographies and lists of activities of
everyone who worked directly (actors), or
directed (dramatists, composers, theatrical
directors et al), on the stage. Thereby,
included are the biographies of each
dramatist who were professional writers,
only some biographical data from the very
first who entered into literature. Of more
subsequent literary activity was hulled out
only very direct activity of Yiddish
theatre.
The idea to
create the "Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre"
that had come to me arose many years ago. No
specific date
can be given [for this], but I believe that the year 1914 was
agreed on
as the time the idea was drafted, and that the year 1918 was
[the year] when the plan began
to take on its current form.
It is difficult
to determine if the direct initiative for
the work was called forth by me through my
coming into contact with Yiddish actors and
feeling their misery, which is more a term
for a very short, unique life, or they had
felt a certain impact from Sh. Niger's "[Der] Pinkes"
and the first edition of Zalmen Reyzen's
"Lexicon of Yiddish Literature". It is
possible that everything together called
forth to me to plan to
write a work, that I should provide a
picture of those who have produced and
brought up an important branch of our
culture -- the Yiddish theatre.
From the moment,
however, that I started collecting the
material for this purpose, the plan of the
work required it to change, until it had
taken the concrete form of the book, which
is now before the reader.
In 1922 I sent
out a questionnaire sheet to the Yiddish
actors, but with a scarce success, one
reason being the difficulty in obtaining
responses from the Yiddish actors, [and so] I began
in 1922 to issue in Lodz a weekly page,
"Theatre and the Arts", in order to come into direct
contact with the Yiddish theatre world. In
the weekly page I published biographies,
along with the photographs of Yiddish
actors. But due to the economic conditions,
the weekly page had to be stopped; this
already had stopped the collection of the biographies.
At each time a
Berlin publisher led me into negotiations
about publishing my planned book; the
publisher had made the condition that I
should be satisfied with a lexicon of
only named actors of importance. I rejected
the proposal because that book would be quite
something other than what I had wanted to
create.
From a newly
sent out questionnaire sheet, I received a
small number of responses from Poland, and a
few from the Yiddish actors in Argentina,
sent in thanks to the initiative of the writer
L. [Leib -- ed.] Malach, who was there then.
It became clear
to me that in order to realize the idea of
the "Lexicon", I had to come into personal
contact with the Yiddish actors, especially
to collect data from them about their
deceased colleagues.
As America
is in this current day the onlen- hub
of the Yiddish stage, I have decided to make
America the center of the publication and
thither sailed in September 1926. Here the
actors and dramatist Max Gabel were the
first to help carry out my plan. Thanks to
to he who is the editor of the "Forward",
Ab. Cahan, who gave us an editorial post in
his newspaper for several months, so that I
should be able to be in America and collect
material. After several weeks we managed to
procure several hundred of the "Lexicon"
like: Jacob Kalich, Jacob Kirschenbaum, Jean
Greenfield (President of the Yiddish Actors
Union), and thanks to Reuben Guskin (Manager
of the Actors Union) who became impacted by
the union mailing (through his recording
secretary Hershel Kaufman) of my
questionnaire to their members.
Also the Yiddish
Dramatic League has, thanks to an initiative
by their secretary Nahum Stutchkoff, sent
out similar questionnaires.
The Yiddish
actors who had already become disappointed
several times by similar activities, have
still, thanks to the agreement reached with
their union, responded to certain measures (Fishl
Zinger was the first). And besides their
very own biographies, the actors had
anshtot the sixty names of older or
deceased actors who I have also sought in a
basic way from B. Gorin's "History of Yiddish
Theatre". We provided the names and
partial information for over two hundred
actors. That number later became
farfilfakht. Especially collaborative,
furthermore, were the actor Sidney Hart, who
gave over to us the manuscripts that had
been handed over by the deceased Joseph
Groper, a list of the Yiddish actors of the
world.
In the span of
eight months in the year 1927, I have in my
home residence in Eretz Yisrael, adapted the
material that I had taken with me, conducted
studies within the theatre department of the
university library in Jerusalem, and have
maintained a continuing correspondence with
many Yiddish writers throughout the world.
So we managed to
prevail upon the Yiddish Artists Union in
Poland, that it may implement a registration
questionnaire for all their members, and
that material may be called for so that it
may serve as biographies for the "Lexicon".
In Argentina the
writer Jacob Botashansky took on the mission
to produce biographies of the local Yiddish
actors. Then the same work was taken on by
the actor Yitzhak Brestovitsky.
In America, the
older actors: Cesar Greenberg, Joseph
Weinstock, Avraham Fishkind, the journalist
Jacob Kirschenbaum, Goldfaden's secretary
Yitzhak Libresko, the Broder Singer Sane
Shapiro, the theatre collector Sholem
Perlmutter, and an entire array of other
actors, who prepared for us information
about the deceased or former actors.
Having wrought the
gathered material, I came back
to America in order to finish the collection
of the materials and produce the necessary
material titles for the publication. Here I
hit
the dreadful material crisis, which has
since then begun in the Yiddish theatre. It
had appeared that it is in
that impossible moment, something to do. But
thanks to the collaboration and assistance
of Messrs. Max Gabel, Jacob Kalich, Chaim Ehrenreich, Reuben Guskin and Abe Sincoff,
there was the organization for the material
support of the "Lexicon".
After an
unsuccessful conference, to which there came
very few of those who were sought (and
mostly only the performers of Maurice
Schwartz's Yiddish Art Theatre), that on 4
January 1928, there came a second
conference, in which there was created the
Publishing Committee of the "Lexicon",
which consisted of Max Gabel
(Chairman), Jacob Kalich (Treasurer), Ch. W. Groll (Secretary), and
Messrs. Reuben Guskin,
Samuel Goldenburg, Julius Nathanson and Ab.
Sincoff as members.
The Yiddish
Actors Union subsequently (per the proposal of Jacob
Mestel) made a decision that the "Lexicon"
will be issued under their supervision, with
the request to appoint an Editorial
Committee that may control the material in
the genoykeyt of which I am not
certain,
which was split among Jacob Mestel, Reuben
Weisman, Yitzhak Lesh, Reuben Guskin and
Jean Greenfield.
At the same time
with the subsequent collection of the
biographies and other material for the
"Lexicon", I began the creation of the
budget for the book.
In a meeting of
the committee there, a plan was worked on,
according to which the publication would cost
13,500 dollars, and it was decided that the
price of the book would be ten dollars, but
beyond this there may be published a deluxe
edition that may cost twenty-five dollars.
The creation of
the fund for the publication was organized
so that I could take over the subscriber
campaign with the Yiddish Actors in America,
and with private persons across the American
province, and to therefore bring in the sum
of 5,000 dollars. The committee further
will, through activities and through the
creation of subscribers among private
persons in New York, produce the other
8,500 dollars.
Very often there
also was triggered a negative
attitude by certain Jewish actors and
private persons who go on as theatre
amateurs, [but] we still succeeded thanks to the
assistance of the entire Yiddish press in
America in creating the determined sum.
But, moreover, I
was forced with some people, and this was
completely given to me: Louis Goldberg in
the Public Theatre, Oscar Green in the
Hopkinson Theatre, Rosetta Bialis and Izidor
Cashier in the McKinley Square Theatre,
Nathan Goldberg in the Prospect Theatre,
Anshel Schorr and Harry Hochstein in the
Liberty Theatre, Willy Pasternak in the
Second Avenue Theatre, Charley Cohan in
Gabel's People's Theatre, Abraham Teitelbaum
in the Yiddish Art Theatre, and Simon Wolf
in the National Theatre. In Newark the
director of that theatre Bernard Elving
showed much assistance. In Boston the
members of the committee for the "Lexicon"
Julius Nathanson, who specially traveled
thither for that purpose, carried much
material helping among the friends of
Yiddish theatre. In Cleveland I received
assistance from journalist Leon Wiesenfeld.
In Chicago interest was shown by Sarah Patt
and Joseph Weinstock. In Detroit the
director of the local Yiddish theatre
Avraham Littman has shown a particular
eagerness and fruitful work. In Buffalo
assistance was received by the
Wallerstein family. In Toronto, there was
assistance with the work by A. Gelberg. In
Montreal -- Mr. Hershman. In Asbury Park
there was assistance by Chaike and Harry
Milberg. An especially warm support the
whole time was given by the actress Amelia
Adler and her brother Louie Devison.
In 1928 I had,
in the interest of the "Lexicon", visited
the following countries: France, England,
Poland, Galicia, Germany, Rumania, Austria
and Lettland (Latvia --ed.), where I
collected material, and I carried out a
subscription campaign. In some cities there
were activities staged for the "Lexicon", in
which I spoke about the history of Yiddish
theatre, illustrating with scenes from
Yiddish repertoire through local Yiddish
actors. Also other speakers have spoken
menini diuma. Everywhere, local events
were a manifestation of the love of Yiddish
theatre.
In London, where
I have in the library of the British Museum
collected data for the "Lexicon", we were
shown assistance by Mr. Morris Meyer,
Professor Ferdinand Staub, Yehuda Shayak, B.
Weinberg and Yitzhak Perkof. The last two
later formed the committee for England. Our
friend Podruzhnikov and Keyzer assisted in
the collection of subscriptions.
In Poland there
was a general conference of the Yiddish
actors in which a decision was adopted to be
active for the "Lexicon", and there was
formed a committee of Messrs. David
Lederman, Yitzhak Nozyk and Zishe Katz. Here
I also exploited several visits to the
Yiddish Scientific Institute (YIVO -- ed.)
to enlarge the collection of material. The
material situation in Poland appreciated to
create an appropriate number of
subscribers.
In Galicia help
was especially shown by Leon Riz and
the actor Yehuda Gutman, who had put together
much data about the Galician Yiddish actors.
In Rumania the
actor and director Itsikl Goldenberg gave us
important information about the older
generation of the local Yiddish actors. It
is here, as in Galicia, that we managed to
collect much data about the Broder- and
folk singers. I was given help in Rumania by
friends Barbu Lazareanu, Max Breen,
Maurice Ziegler and Sh. Iris.
In France there
was the assistance for the "Lexicon" by
Henri and Regina Lakhtiger.
In Berlin I had,
with the help of Benjamin Zuskin, collected
the data of guest-stars that were there from the
Moscow Yiddish State Theatre. That material
was later increased through members of the
Zalmen Zylbercweig troupe. Not being able
to personally visit the Soviet Union, he
appointed for there as correspondent Leon Dushman in Minsk.
In Latvia help
was received from the journalist S. Kitay.
I returned to New York
on 26 January 1929, for the
event of the realization of the publication
of the "Lexicon". The editorial collegium
had begun to return from their a conference
in which I read the writings of the
biographies. However, soon after being
revealed, this manner of work was not
practical, in addition some members
generally never got involved in the sessions
and were content with giving answers to
specific questions that were posed. The
subsequent development had fed into it, that
the editorial collegium is in fact removed
from the work and colleague Jacob Mestel
will remain as the sole individual who
will be given to such matters, from
instructing to correcting data in the
biographies, which are all written by me. He
was also about to make some changes in size
and he made them, so we began to work
together continuously. His work is done with
very much exactitude, and he honestly
deserves to be called the associate editor
of the "Lexicon".
The financial
crisis in which the Yiddish theatre in
America is at times more stuck in debt,
had many disturbances to the technical
construction of their activity. Many members
of the committee were away from New York,
others were here taken up with narrow union
matters. Remaining were only a few members
of the committee, which became larger with
the Messrs.: Jean Greenfield, Ludwig Satz,
Joseph Rumshinsky and Maurice Schwartz;
however from the entire committee there
remains active only Joseph Rumshinsky, Jacob
Kalich, Ab. Sincoff and Maurice Schwartz.
The committee
has even raised several great sums from
subscriptions. There were arranged two
activities in New York and one in Argentina,
but the slow tempo with which the work had
proceeded, covered the publication of the
book and continued the expense of the
publication, which now had already reached a sum
of more than 20,000 dollars.
The economic
situation also has made it so the "Lexicon"
may not appear in [just] one book, but in
several. In the current moment, it is
unclear if the entire work will be contained in
two or three volumes. In the last volume,
comments and corrections will be entered
about the biographies of the earlier volume.
Also there will be a supplement for those
whose biographies were included at random in
the earlier volume.
So, despite all
efforts, there are not included in the
volume the following biographies:
Abelman Benny,
Abelman Tsipe, Adler Hymie, Adler Luther, "Unzer
vinkl", "Azazel", Eykhen (Dembsky), Achron
Joseph, Antsipovitsh, Ostrovsky, Abo,
Apelbaum Moshe, Oksman Sh. A., Oksenfeld
Israel, Aronovitsh Louis, "Artistish vinkele",
Orlovska, Orska Miriam-Rukhl, "Ararat",
Orshansky, B., Bogin Shlomo, Badanes Ida,
Banderovsky, Borisova (Kompaneyets), Borits
Ignats, Buchbinder, Burshtin Yerakhmiel,
Burshtin Minnie, Bialagalovsky, Chaim and
wife, Biber Sender, Bieli L. S., Blumental
Frida, Bendel Shmuel, Bedash Jack,
Bernshteyn Leyzer, Brodersinger Sane
Shapiro, Bras Chava, Brandesko, Bronshteyn
Yekhezkel, Brin Sonia, Gadiner Sh., Gati
Harry, Gotlib Leon ("Betsalel"), Goldhaber
Morris, Goldenberg Tsilya, Goldring Motl and
wife, Garbarzh, Gudelman H., Guzik Yasha,
Gzhivatsh, Ginzburg Arnold, Gelade Yitzhak,
Gelbert Regine, Ger Lazar, German-Kats,
Grosbard Herts, Grinberg L., Dolgopolsky
Tsvi, Domb Adam, Dolfman L., Dvorkin Ida,
"Dramatic Arts", Halitsh Hadassah, Haskel
Leonard, Hoffman Aneta, Hofshteyn David,
Hart Ber, "Habima" (Yiddish theatre society
in Czechoslovakia), Heylpern Falk, Herbst
Leon, Volkenfeld Tillie, Van-Rozen Robert,
Wasserman, Vitkover Fishl, Weisman Berl,
Weisman Berl, Weisman Hershel, "Vim't", Vin
Iva, Vinokur Henye, Vinder Meir, Winters
Arthur, Winters Polly, Viner Leibl,
Viner-Zilberman Kerry, Vievyorka Avraham,
Verite, Zavadnik Max, Zatlavska Manya,
Zeydman Morris, Zeyde Chava, Zilberg
Yocheved, Zemel, Zhukova, Zhitomirsky,
Zhelazo Gd.
Many of the
biographies arrived too late, after their
letter (biographies beginning with the first
letter of surname -- ed.) was
published. About others there was very
little information, and I asked thereby
whether they had information about
the subject, to sent it in.*)
As a basis for the biographical page or characteristic
of the actor, it was taken from B. Gorin's
"History of Yiddish Theatre" and dramatics
-- Zalmen Reyzen's "Lexicon of Yiddish
Literature". Where, however, it was
necessary to pass his pride-filled comments.
No kveln of other lexicons or
encyclopedias have been employed, because
they did not hold any new data.
The "Lexicon of
the Yiddish Theatre": The biographies
of actors, actors-badkhans, Brodersingers
and folksingers, dramatists, translators,
composers, painters, directors, regisseurs,
managers, and also from the theatre groups
in dramatic associations.
The system is as
follows: All kinds of theatre and their
farshteher from Goldfaden, about which
there is no biographical facts, will come in
a collective article under the name "Fargoldfaden-teater",
the same about badkhanim-actors and
folksingers, about whom there is no data,
individual biographies are based: or on "M.
E." (oral response [mindlekher entfer])
or "Sh. E." (written response [shriftlekher
entfer]) for a concerned person or
persons who have provided the information.
Then comes the other kveln. The
bracket [ ] signifies an editorial remark.
Naturally, the entire bibliography has not
been utilized. Almost none of the subjects
sized the articles that were published about
him. It was my task to search in the New
York Public Library (in this connection, I
have also received the needed assistance
from Dr. Joshua Bloch and his assistant
Avraham Berger), the articles about theatre,
which were thrown over the tseshtoybte
and tserisene older years of the
Yiddish press. I have a special effort to
note what more bibliography [exists] for the
dramatists whose plays were not published,
so that it gives an onlen point for
the research of Yiddish drama.
Very difficult
also was the subject of photographs. Many
actors were quite eager to give their
younger photographs. Others generally had not given any pictures, and we had
to produce the photographs from posters and
old newspapers and journals. Especially
difficult was the arrival of the pictures of
the deceased, and the pictures that arrived
were most of the time damaged and
torn. That and also the various
formats of the sent photographs and the
differences in their technical execution
have hindered well the use of some
good photographs.
Several
photographs (as from Shachar Goldshteyn,
Aneta and Israel Gradner, Nathan Hamburger)
had to be specially redrawn by Louis
Markovitsh. The photograph of Gershom Bader
was taken according to a drawing by Sh.
Raskin, the image of Bel-mkhshbut --
according to a drawing by M. Chagall, A.
Veyter's photo -- according to a drawing in
his journals.
The composition
of that book is a complicated an exacting
one, often with the assistance of a "young
compositor", and this in full measure is
shown by the compositor Daniel Mandel -- why
he deserves a "yishar koach (may you
have strength!)".
The first volume
of the "Lexicon" began to be set in the
first days of January 1930 and in order to
receive a uniformity, the editors completed
it on 1 January 1930, D. H., no
geshenishen (aside from death), from
after this date there are no more
registered. Others are with a bibliography
from after this date, which relate to
earlier activities.
As an
ershtling, the fields are certain that
there are disadvantages, especially in data.
All hghus and comments will be
accepted with thanks.*)
In the belief
that with the work will become an important,
pioneering work in the field of Yiddish
culture, I find exactly how to express my
thanks to everyone who has hereto assisted
with material or moral support. A special
thanks I also owe my wife and child, who
have had great understanding for the matter,
in family solitude, often being rejected by
necessity, in order that the "Lexicon of the
Yiddish Theatre" can be created, which I
hereby dedicate to them.
Zalmen
Zylbercweig
New York, 22
January, 1931.