Maurice Moscovich (born Morris Maaskov; November 23, 1871 – June 18, 1940) was a

Russian American Russian Americans ( rus, русские американцы, r=russkiye amerikantsy, p= ˈruskʲɪje ɐmʲɪrʲɪˈkant͡sɨ) are Americans of full or partial Russian ancestry. The term can apply to recent Russian immigrants to the United Stat ...

actor who was well-known for his roles in

Yiddish theatre Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Central European Ashkenazi Jewish community. The range of Yiddish theatre is broad: operetta, musical comedy, and satiric or nostalgic revu ...

. His 14 films, which he made at the end of his life, include Charlie Chaplin's '' The Great Dictator''.

Life and career

Maurice Moscovich was born Morris Maaskov in Odessa, Tsarist Russia. He emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

no later than 1897 and performed for decades in the

in New York and appeared in two 1930 Broadway plays. In the last four years of his life, Moscovitch played supporting roles in 14 films. With his distinctive accent, he portrayed mostly wise and friendly old men, often with Jewish background. He played a shopkeeper in the highly praised '' Make Way for Tomorrow'' (1937) and the art dealer Maurice Cobert in '' Love Affair'' (1939) with

Irene Dunne Irene Dunne (born Irene Marie Dunn; December 20, 1898 – September 4, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is best known for her comedic roles, though she performed in films of other gen ...

and

Charles Boyer Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...

. His last film was Charlie Chaplin's Hitler-satire '' The Great Dictator'', in which he played the Barber's friendly Jewish neighbour, Mr. Jaeckel, who flees into exile to his brother. Maurice Moskovich died at the age of 68, following surgery. At the time of his death, he was playing the role of a dancing master in '' Dance, Girl, Dance''. His role had to be quickly rewritten for actress

Maria Ouspenskaya Maria Alekseyevna Ouspenskaya (russian: Мария Алексеевна Успенская; 29 July 1876 – 3 December 1949) was a Russian actress and acting teacher.Nissen, Axel. 2006. ''Actresses of a Certain Character: Forty Familiar Hollywoo ...

. He is buried with his wife Rose (1872–1944) at the Beth Olam Cemetery in Hollywood. The couple had three sons, including actor

Noel Madison Noel Madison (born Noel Nathaniel Moscovitch; April 30, 1897 – January 6, 1975) was an American character actor in the 1930s and 1940s and appeared in 75 films, often as a gangster. Born in New York City, Madison was the son of actor M ...

(1897-1975).

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moscovitch, Maurice 1871 births 1940 deaths American male film actors 20th-century American male actors Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States American people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish American male actors