290:), the only child of Solomon Kalakh, a poor brush manufacturer and amateur violinist. Her mother was Babette Halber Kalakh, a seamstress who often made costumes for local theaters. Babette was an active opera fan and her devotion inspired a love for the stage in her daughter. They often attended performances together and when young Bertha came of age, her parents scraped together their meager funds to send her to private music and drama schools. At age thirteen, she joined the chorus of the local Polish theater and later attended the prestigious
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immigrants were incapable of producing anything more than low-brow, minstrel entertainment, but the Thalia had made a name for itself with its revolutionary
Yiddish-language translations of Shakespeare. Kalich played a number of roles in these landmark works, even beating out the other male stars for a chance to play the coveted role of Hamlet.
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recorded scenes from
Goldfaden's historical plays for "The Forward Hour" on radio station WEVD, but her poor health meant that she needed to rehearse long, grueling hours even for short parts. Her last public appearance came on February 23, 1939, at a benefit for her at the Jolson Theater, where she recited the final scene of
504:. Success was short-lived, however, and by 1915, Kalich was frequently returning to Yiddish roles to supplement her income. Her mainstream success in the American theatrical world enhanced her prestige there, and she began to receive top billing at the Second Avenue Theatre alongside stars like David Kessler.
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were celebrated in the
Yiddish press and idolized by Jewish audiences. They were the royalty of American Jewry, embodying the immigrant success story and enjoying a celebrity attained by few Jewish artists before or since. Thanks to the exalted status of its stars, the Yiddish theatre itself has come
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Fifteen hundred people attended her funeral, considered a disappointing turnout, considering her status in the Jewish community. She had come to be seen as "a relic of the theatrical past, with a manner too romantic and grand even for the
Yiddish stage", Soyer notes. "But, nevertheless, in the prime
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By the late 1920s, Kalich's eyesight was failing, and she gradually became blind. Though she officially retired in 1931, she continued to appear onstage occasionally, especially at evenings mounted in her honor that served to elevate her legacy in the
Yiddish theatre community. Late in her life, she
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After a series of performances in
Budapest, Goldfaden offered her a permanent position with his company, and Kalich left later that year for Romania. She was able to pick up Romanian in a matter of months, and was subsequently able to appear in major roles there with the state theater. According to
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In her new home, Kalich set out to emphasize her dramatic skills over her musical talents, working hard as a proponent of the
Yiddish theater movement, hoping to help the theatres gain credibility in addition to notoriety. Anti-semitism in America had initially led audiences to believe that Jewish
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According to
Yiddish theatre scholar Joel Berkowitz, Shakespeare's plays served "as both sources and symbols" in helping Jewish immigrants "cross the bridge from Yiddish to American culture." It didn't hurt that fans compared Kalich to another famous female Hamlet of the era,
155:; 17 May 1874 – 18 April 1939) was a Jewish-American actress. Though she was well-established as an entertainer in Eastern Europe, she is best remembered as one of the several "larger-than-life" figures that dominated New York stages during the "Golden Age" of
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of her career at the beginning of the twentieth century, Kalich played an important role in efforts to improve the artistic standards of the
Yiddish theater, whose status she also helped to raise with her success with English-speaking audiences."
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Along with her male counterpart Boris
Thomashefksy (1868–1939), Kalich became a darling of the press, admired by her fans and critics alike. According to theatre historian Henry Bial, minorities in American had not yet seen such accolades:
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Even at that age, Kalich already had a major career in at least three countries and four languages. Her success prompted jealousies, however and in 1894 there was rumored to be an assassination plot in the works by some of her rivals.
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during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Historians estimate that, during her career, Kalich performed more than 125 different roles in seven different languages.
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historian Daniel Soyer, "she was such a success that anti-Semitic theatergoers, who had come with the intention of pelting her with onions, threw flowers instead."
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won enormous critical praise and increased Kalich's fanbase outside of the Jewish community. This production in combination with her performances in playwright
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By 1910, though, "she was having trouble finding suitable roles in the light American theater for her more emotional and tragic style."
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Kalich married Leopold Spachner in 1890 at the age of 16. They had two children, a son Arthur (who died young) and a daughter Lilian.
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She left New York for Hollywood in 1914, where she appeared in a few notable films, including a reprise of her hit Broadway role in
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Her roles tended to be "women of the world", such as the title characters she played in Pierre Berton and Charles Simon's play
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1006:"David Kessler Dies; Noted Yiddish Actor; Stricken While Acting Role in a Tolstoy Play, His Death Follows an Operation".
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by Charlotte E. Wells and Dorothy Donnelly. Prod. George Mooser. Harris Theatre, New York. 23 October 1918 - March 1919
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by Carina Jordan. Prod. F. C. Whitney. Knickerbocker Theatre, New York. 1 December 1913 - December 1913.
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especially for Kalich. These productions made it out of the Yiddish playhouses, going all the way to
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Bertha Kalich died on 18 April 1939, aged 64, from undisclosed causes. Her remains were interred at
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to play a central role in the narrative of Jewish inmmigration to the United States.
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In addition to her work with Shakespeare, Kalich's performance in Leon Kobrin's
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by Bertram Millhauser. Dir. George Fitzmaurice. Manhattan Film Company, 1914.
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727:, Trans. Charles Edward Amory Winslow. Dir. Edgar J. MacGregor.
597:. Manhattan Theatre, New York. 23 October 1905 - December 1905.
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by Hans Wiers-Jenssen, book adapted by Hermann Hagedorn. Prod.
621:. Lyric Theatre, New York. 10 September 1906 - September 1906.
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693:. Comedy Theatre, New York. 17 January 1923 - February 1923.
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was looking for fresh talent, and there Kalich appeared in
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by Mary Murillo, based on a story by James R. Garey. Dir.
639:. Lyric Theatre, New York. 21 October 1907 - October 1907.
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and J.J. Shubert. New Theatre, New York. 14 February 1910
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A placard for the Thalia Yiddish Theatre's production of
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While still barely a teen, Kalich sang in the chorus for
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655:. Garden Theatre, New York. 24 March 1908 - April 1908.
900:
Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia
717:. Frazee Theatre, New York. 14 May 1924 - June 1924.
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Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States
832:(in Yiddish). New York: Elisheva. pp. 2425–58.
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348:starring "Madam Bertha Kalish" in the title role
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651:. Des. Frank E. Gates and E. A. Morange. Prod.
627:by Percy MacKaye, music by A. A. Stanley. Des.
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926:Adler, Jacob. Trans. Lulla Rosenfeld (1999).
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364:(The wild queen) and a Yiddish production of
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826:Zylbercweig, Zalmen; Mestel, Jacob (1931).
1036:"Bertha Kalich, Noted Actress, Dies at 64"
274:Kalich was born Beylke Kalakh in Lemberg,
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1101:Women of achievement and Herstory, May 17
966:Shakespeare on the American Yiddish Stage
848:Shakespeare on the American Yiddish Stage
605:adapted from the Yiddish play written by
257:Learn how and when to remove this message
1173:American people of Polish-Jewish descent
968:. Des Moines: University of Iowa Press.
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1143:20th-century American actresses
1133:19th-century American actresses
1087:"Madam Bertha Kalish as Hamlet"
1081:portrait gallery at NYP Library
1070:Bertha Kalich papers, 1866-1955
593:, Trans. John Severance. Prod.
182:needs additional citations for
1193:American silent film actresses
1103:, retrieved February 28, 2004.
701:adapted from the Yiddish play
689:. Dir. Lester Lonergan. Prod.
435:; performed on Broadway, 1906.
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930:A Life on the Stage: A Memoir
635:, and Percy Anderson. Prod.
427:, adapted from Yiddish play
313:, winning the title role in
829:Leḳsiḳon fun Yidishn ṭeaṭer
514:caricature of Bertha Kalich
423:a play based on a story by
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1153:Yiddish theatre performers
1065:Internet Broadway Database
866:10.1162/105420404772990763
772:. with Eugene Ormonde and
401:and the title role in his
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1148:Jewish American actresses
768:, by Will S. Davis. Dir.
303:Lviv Polish Theatre Opera
130:Leopold Spachner (m.1890)
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1183:Lviv Conservatory alumni
1138:American stage actresses
964:Berkowitz, Joel (2002).
902:. Jewish Women's Archive
477:. Under the tutelage of
157:American Yiddish Theatre
1188:American film actresses
800:. Fox Film Corp, 1916.
788:. Fox Film Corp, 1916.
776:. Fox Film Corp, 1916.
119:Performing in American
784:by Mary Murillo. Dir.
709:, based on a story by
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981:"Harrison Grey Fiske"
853:TDR: The Drama Review
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542:Mount Hebron Cemetery
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502:Marta of the Lowlands
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1109:portrait Otto Sarony
1092:NYPL Digital Gallery
850:by Joel Berkowitz".
387:The East Side Ghetto
292:Lemberg Conservatory
191:improve this article
102:Lemberg Conservatory
1198:Actresses from Lviv
934:. New York: Knopf.
729:49th Street Theatre
698:The Kreutzer Sonata
687:Siegfried Trebitsch
653:Harrison Grey Fiske
637:Harrison Grey Fiske
619:Harrison Grey Fiske
602:The Kreutzer Sonata
595:Harrison Grey Fiske
591:Maurice Maeterlinck
479:Harrison Grey Fiske
419:The Kreutzer Sonata
399:The Kreutzer Sonata
1008:The New York Times
987:on 9 November 2005
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979:Turney, Wayne S.
725:Hermann Sudermann
682:Jitta's Atonement
675:The Riddle: Woman
471:Hermann Sudermann
334:Coming to America
315:Avrom Goldfaden's
307:Yankev Ber Gimpel
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189:Please help
184:verification
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76:(1939-04-18)
1128:1939 deaths
1123:1874 births
991:28 February
906:16 December
774:Mayme Kelso
715:Lee Shubert
711:Leo Tolstoy
691:Lee Shubert
663:Lee Shubert
615:Leo Tolstoy
586:Monna Vanna
519:Later years
487:Monna Vanna
483:Maeterlinck
425:Leo Tolstoy
311:prima donna
299:La Traviata
55:17 May 1874
1117:Categories
941:0679413510
805:References
270:Early life
217:newspapers
108:Occupation
51:1874-05-17
1084:—,
874:162309559
659:The Witc'
781:Ambition
713:. Prod.
546:Flushing
528:'s poem
465:(1905),
407:Broadway
321:Shulamis
318:operetta
135:Children
1063:at the
765:Slander
756:. Dir.
617:. Dir.
573:Theatre
301:in the
288:Ukraine
282:(today
276:Galicia
231:scholar
151:, born
111:Actress
63:Galicia
59:Lemberg
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872:
669:Rachel
579:Fedora
475:Heimat
462:Fédora
345:Hamlet
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149:Kalish
127:Spouse
82:Queens
870:S2CID
721:Magda
560:Works
536:Death
238:JSTOR
224:books
1056:IMDb
993:2004
936:ISBN
908:2017
736:Film
452:Zaza
284:Lviv
210:news
71:Died
41:Born
1054:at
862:doi
723:by
705:by
647:by
609:by
589:by
544:in
485:'s
473:'s
459:'s
431:by
294:.
193:by
1119::
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950:^
916:^
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882:^
868:.
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