Molly Picon

Molly Picon ( born June 1, 1898 in New York City; † April 5, 1992 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Yiddish: מאָלי פּיקאָן ) was an American theater and film actress, who came into existence as a poet. She was known for her roles in Yiddish theater and film in the U.S.. As the Yiddish theater lost its importance, she began to appear in English-language productions.

Early years

Molly Picon was born in New York City as Malka ( Margaret ) Opiekun, daughter of Louis and Clara (or Denis ) Opiekun. The name " Opiekun " comes from the Polish and means " guardian " or " caretakers " and was changed to the immigration to the USA Picon. Her career began at the age of 6 years in the Yiddish theater. In 1912 she made her debut in " Arch Street Theater " in New York City and became a star on the Yiddish stage in the Second Avenue.

Career

Molly Picon was so popular that many shows had the name " Molly " in their title in the 1920s. In 1931 she opened the " Molly Picon Theatre ". Her film career began in 1921 in Austria: She made her debut in 1921 in Otto Kreisler's film The Jew girl and played in the two Goldin movies Guard your daughters (1922 ) and East and West ( 1923). East and West is also the oldest surviving film in which it occurs. The film is in a humorous way by the cultural differences that existed between the assimilated New Yorker Judaism and Orthodox, Eastern European Jewry. Picon plays an American-born daughter, who is traveling with her father back to Galicia in Central Eastern Europe. Her husband in real life, Jacob Kalich, plays one of her relatives in Galicia. The film in Vienna was manufactured by Listo film in co-production with her Molly Picon film in New York.

Picon known film " Yidl mitn fiddle " (1936 ) was shot on location in Poland. In this movie she wears most of the time male clothing. In the film, a girl and her father are forced by poverty to go as mobile musicians on the road. Fearing violence she disguises herself as a boy, which leads to problems when she falls in love with another musician of the troops.

Picon was 1940 her English debut on stage. In 1961 she appeared on " Milk and Honey " by Jerry Herman in Neil Simon's play " Come Blow Your Horn " and in the musical. In 1966 she left the disastrous production " Chu Chem " during the rehearsal performances in Philadelphia - the show was closed before they could be shown on Broadway. Her first English-language film role was in the film version of "Come Blow Your Horn " ( If it could speak my bedroom ) in 1963. 1971 she played the matchmaker Yente in the film version of the Broadway musical hit " Fiddler On The Roof".

Personal

Molly Picon died at the age of 93 years on April 5, 1992 in Lancaster (Pennsylvania ) to Alzheimer 's disease. Her husband was from 1919 until his cancer death in 1975, Jacob Kalich. They had no children.