Yankel Kalich

Yankel Kalich
Kalich, second from left, in Mezrach und Maarev (1921)
BornNovember 18, 1891
DiedMarch 16, 1975(1975-03-16) (aged 83)
Mahopac, New York, US
Other namesJacob Kalich, Joseph Kalich

Yankel "Jacob" Kalich (Yiddish: יעקב קאַליך, 18 November 1891 – 16 March 1975) was a Yiddish theater actor, director, and producer.

Kalich was born in Rymanów, Galicia, Austria-Hungary in what is now Poland. He immigrated to America in 1914.[1] He opened a theater in Philadelphia. He would go to New York to see Joseph Rumshinsky and would ask him for use of his operettas.[2]

Kalish met actress Molly Picon when she was on the vaudeville circuit, stranded in Boston after an influenza epidemic had closed all the theaters.[3] He hired her to work his Yiddish Theater Season at the Boston Opera House for two years.[3] The couple married on June 29, 1919 in Philadelphia and then took a tour of Europe returning three years later with Picon being a woman "of international reputation."[3][1] The couple began doing a daily radio show in 1934.[1]: 59  Kalich later went on to produce and direct many productions that she was in including a biographical piece about Picon called Oy Is Dus a Lieben.[4][5] The two of them toured doing Yiddish theater in Europe after World War II going "anywhere they could find an audience of survivors."[6]

He made the transition from doing Yiddish theater to being in Hollywood films, playing the role of "Yankel" in Fiddler on the Roof.[7]

  1. ^ a b c Perl, Lila (1990). Molly Picon: a gift of laughter. Jewish Publication Society of America. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-8276-0336-3. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Joseph Rumshinsky Tells About 50 Years in Yiddish Theatre". Welcome to the Museum of the Yiddish Theatre!. 1952-12-01. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  3. ^ a b c Johns, Eric (April 1960). "A Yiddisher Momma in Miniature". Theatre World. 56 (423): 9. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Molly Picon". Asbury Park Press. April 26, 1970. p. 79. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  5. ^ Mantle, Burns (October 13, 1942). "Molly Picon Tells Life Story in 'Oy IsDue a Leben'". Daily News. New York. p. 463. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  6. ^ Pekar, Harvey; Buhle, Paul M.; Hartman, Hershl; Gabler, Neal (2011). Yiddishkeit: Jewish vernacular & the new land. New York: Abrams ComicArts. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-8109-9749-3. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  7. ^ Quin, Eleanor (2024-11-12). "Fiddler on the Roof". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2024-11-12.