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
 

Mary Abramov
(Miriam Eynhorn)

 

Born in Radomysl, Kiev Gubernia, Ukraine. Father had traded in lumber and grain and was the owner of the local "Pilsner Beer Brewery". Still in school she manifested a great desire to sing and dance and was the darling of the town. In the beginning of 1916, the pogromists attacked their house, slaughtered her parents, and of the fourteen children -- two sisters and a brother. A. was taken to Kiev by an older sister, where she further continued her studies in a school. In her early youth she became interested in the Yiddish theatre, and, appearing much older than her years, the actor Boris Abramov fell in love with her, and they got married. She entered into the troupe which was under the auspices of Isak Samberg in Kremenchug, and she acted there in young and soubrette roles. From there she went over to the troupe of Harlamp-Kanievsky in Poltava. In 1918, during the invasion of the Ukraine, she went away to Minsk, from there to Vilna and then to Odessa -- in the troupe of Rappel, where Clara Young guest-starred. A. then entered into the Yiddish art theatre with Bartanov at its head, but due to the anxious times the theatre closed and the actors disbanded, and she traveled with a troupe to the Crimea, but also there felt the anxiety and fled to Constantinople, where she began to act gebn Galata quarters (the center of white slavery), and traveled to Bulgaria, where she acted in vaudeville and sang in several languages, then she went to Romania, where she acted in Itsikl Goldenburg's troupe and had great success in  "A mentsh zol men zeyn". From there she traveled to Romania, settled in Frankfurt aum Mein (Germany)

 

and again migrated across Switzerland, France, Belgium and Brussels, where her husband directed three theares with Joseph Kessler and Nathan Blumenthal. She then became hired for Henry Berman and the Shlezinger theatre society for South Africa, where she acted for two seasons in the main women's roles in "Bar Mitzvah" (ninety times), "Palestiner libe" and "Di rumanishe khasune". Among the seasons she performed in concerts, traveled across Africa and prepared to travel in 1931 to Australia, but due to a family situation, it didn't happen and she remained in Johannesburg, where she took part in concerts and entertainments for viltetike purposes, and helped organize the testimonial evenings for Sara Silvia's seventieth birthday. In the last years in South Africa, Max Perlman, Joseph Markovitsh et al guest-starred, and A. participated in his productions, but although she officially withdrew from the stage, she further maintained a connection with the Yiddish actors and other artists through generous synagogue guests in her home.

Together with her husband, she visited America in 1965 and 1967 and refreshed her contact with the Yiddish theatre family.

Her daughter Joyce in 1952 traveled to Los Angeles to study, and there she participated in English in Maurice Schwartz's English-Yiddish troupe. In married life -- Mrs. Trenk, a mother of three children, who suffered a tragedy of her parents, to have a house open for Jewish artists.
 

M. E. and Sh. E. from Oscar Ostroff.


 

 

 

 


 

Home       |       Site Map       |      Exhibitions      |      About the Museum       |       Education      |      Contact Us       |       Links


Adapted from the original Yiddish text found within the  "Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre" by Zalmen Zylbercweig, Volume 6, page 5052.
 

Copyright © Museum of Family History.  All rights reserved.