ERC > LEXICON OF THE YIDDISH THEATRE  >  VOLUME 5  >  YAKOV RELES


Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre
BIOGRAPHIES OF THOSE WHO WERE ONCE INVOLVED IN THE Yiddish THEATRE;
aS FEATURED IN zALMEN zYLBERCWEIG'S  "lEKSIKON FUN YIDISHN TEATER"


VOLUME 5: THE KDOYSHIM (MARTYRS) EDITION, 1967, Mexico City

 

Yakov Reles


 

R. was born on the 22nd of July, 1878 in Lemberg, Galicia. In his biography he says, "A child of proletarian parents. In Lemberg I finished the government school. As a Jewish working man I was a devoted fan of Yiddish theatre. When in 1905, the God-gifted artist Sigmund Feinman made a guest appearance in Lemberg. His acting inspired me at once. I eventually took over his role in "Vice King". I studied it and after some time I appeared in Lemberg. That was the start of my artistic career. In the Bader's calendar the following notation appears:

"R. is an amateur drama lover and a character actor."

A. Maisel’s in a larger work about theatre in Galicia, pronounced in a belles-lettres format about R.’s burgeoning career in the theatre in the following manner:

"Just as his (Reles') drunkard cohorts frightened the director Gimpel, and just as all the other actors were also, so to speak, wrung out, it was announced that their buddy, Yankl Layzer Reles would very soon appear on the stage. The theatre troupe regretted this immediately. They were afraid of an immoral outcome. The Lemberg theatre stood—according to the current concept in those days—on a very high plateau. The managers of the theatre then started to shorten his appearances on the stage every day. One Saturday night all of those pals came to the theatre, and when the last one handed over his ticket, he called out to the director Gimpel: "Mr. Director, it’s going to be very lively tonight in this theatre. My friends have very nicely 'included' and demand that

you sign your signature on this paper. The paper read that Yankl Layzer Reles should immediately become a star actor. Further the leader said: "My mother should live so long, or you will after tonight, be in a hospital bed…"

The gang got their way and Yankl Layzer appeared in Latayner’s play called "Azariah the Hero." That evening went by as a great success, and during the rehearsals the actors made fun of his acting. But then realizing what they had done, they were frightened. So they all decided to perform really well that evening. On that evening Yankl Layzer’s future as an actor was signed sealed and delivered. He remained an actor, but the after his performance, those same drunkards hitched a horse to a carriage and brought Yankl Layzer to Tzengut’s restaurant where they all got drunk and partied… Reles was the most sincere actor in the theatre. His great respect for the stage, his dedication to each and every role, his strong ambition covered up any shortcomings he might have had. Actually, he was a bit too coarse. He lacked softness and all in all he lacked a fine education. He was grateful to the prompter when he helped him to remember words in a play. He earned the right to appear on the stage. He always knew his role by heart, and as soon as the curtain fell he took the play from the prompter and reread it.

Yankl Layzer Reles succeeded in the theatre and throughout the province of Galicia. His fame spread to Czernowitz to the eyes of the director; Axelrod. …After World War I he left for Argentina, after which he spent some time in Vienna and finally returned to Lemberg where, in World War II, he was slaughtered as a martyr."


Sh.E.

  • A. Maisels -- Vegn teater in galitsye, "yerlkekher gedenk-bukh," Buenos Aires, 1961, pp. 142-145.


 

 

 

 


 

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Adapted from the original Yiddish text found within the  "Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre" by Zalmen Zylbercweig, Volume 5, page 3960.

Tramslation courtesy of Paul Azaroff.
 

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