Lives in the Yiddish Theatre
SHORT BIOGRAPHIES OF THOSE INVOLVED IN THE Yiddish THEATRE
aS DESCRIBED IN zALMEN zYLBERCWEIG'S "lEKSIKON FUN YIDISHN TEATER"

1931-1969
 

Bunem Badkhan
(Bunem Chizhik)

Born circa 1827 in Shidlovtze, Poland. His parents were undoubtedly holy. After his marriage, B. became a tutor, even when he had the ability to create and sing songs and speak grammar; he cast off being a melamed and became a badkhan (comedian).

B. was so well-known that people used to take him on each rabbinic wedding.

B. was known to mashkhilim and he was an epicurus. Once they even caught him on the Sabbath smoking a cigarette, and the rabbis issued an edict that one may not take him to weddings.

At the same time Goldfaden came to Poland with his troupe, and B. became friendly with Tsukerman and friends with the Schwartz Brothers Quartet, until he went with the actors and began to act with them as the "taten" in "Shmendrik", but he didn't completely reject being a badkhan when he needed to play a role, and so at times he was a badkhan, and at times he was an actor.

B. also took his three sons onto the stage, as well as a daughter. However when he grew tired of the stage, he toured with a son across small towns and villages and played the badkhan shtik and Purimshpiele in the inns and taverns.

Around 1901 B. passed away in Warsaw's Jewish hospital.

B. left three children who acted on the Yiddish stage, and one son, an orchestra conductor in a Moscow governmental theatre.


M. E. from Emanuel Chizik.

  • Zalmen Zylbercweig -- Der tate a barimter varsh. badkhan -- der zun a mshumd un dirizhor in keyzerliben teater in moskve ("Unzer ekspes", Warsaw, 162, 1928).


 

 

 

 


 

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Adapted from the original Yiddish text found within the  "Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre" by Zalmen Zylbercweig, Volume 1, page 132.
 

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