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
 

Ben-Zion Kit


Noakh Nakhbush recalls:

"Prompter, co-founder of the troupe, traveled everywhere with the 'Vilner [Vilna Troupe].' A very nice man, not tall, a geviksiker, strong Yiddish bahavnter, with a love for better Yiddish theatre, had acted very well as the teacher in the one-act, 'Hercules,' in Zalmen Zylbercweig's translation of Leib Kadison's stage direction. In the drama 'Jews' by Chirikov, he played a clockmaker. Incidentally, when I was in Warsaw in 1938-39, Kit was connected with a Yiddish newspaper in Vilna."

Joseph Sandel writes about him in the book, "Ungekumene yidishe kinstler in poyln":

"Ben-Zion Kit was a journalist and also wrote songs. He belonged to the first members of the famous 'Vilna Troupe.' At times he complained about this, that he hadn't any success in life, that his wife is to blame, but when I visited him in 1937, he already was living a solitary life and was hiding from the world. He painted pictures, which he seldom displayed and never exhibited. Ben-Zion Kit, however, who was not allowed into any exhibitions, read all of the notices about exhibitions and artists who had shown in the Polish or Yiddish press. Not once did he provoke a dispute about an artist and about directions in the arts. The journalist was considered a 'jivak.' they used to opkhuzkn from the material, which he used to bring as a not-current, old-fashioned....

In his old and lonely attic shtibl, Kit painted with an actor like patom. He also figured in various poses. The creations were a mix of truth and fantasy.

Ben-Zion Kit also published many articles about exhibitions, and about the creations of various artists. At the end of this work he kept the manuscript.

In the year 1939 until 1941Kit worked in Lida as a bookkeeper. There he also was killed in the year 1942."


Sh. E. from Noakh Nakhbush.

  • Joseph Sandel-- "Umgekumene yidishe kinstler in poyln," Warsaw, 1957, Volume 1, page 45; Volume 2, page 200.


 

 

 

 


 

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Adapted from the original Yiddish text found within the  "Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre" by Zalmen Zylbercweig, Volume 5, page 4354.
 

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