Minsky's Burlesque refers to the brand of American burlesque presented by four sons of Louis and Ethel Minsky: Abraham 'Abe' Bennett Minsky (1880–1949), Michael William 'Billy' Minsky (1887–1932), Herbert Kay Minsky (1891–1959), and Morton Minsky (1902–1987).[1][2] They started in 1912 and ended in 1937 in New York City. Although the shows were declared obscene and outlawed, they were rather tame by modern standards.
Morton Minsky, the last of four brothers who made burlesque a New York institution, died yesterday of cancer at his home in Manhattan. He was 85 years old.
With Lawyer Max D. Steuer he put up the Winter Garden Building. It housed two theatres, one on the sixth floor, one on the first. Brother Billy, 45, started showing films in the upper auditorium in 1912. Brother Abe, 54, had been running a nickelodeon theatre of his own and drifted in to help. When Brother Herbert, 40, acquired his law degree from Columbia and Brother Morton, 30, was graduated from New York University, they helped out, too.