Anna Appel (1888–1963), was a Romanian-born American stage and film actress, known for her works in the
Yiddish language
Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
. She was active in New York City for over 50 years in
Yiddish theatre
Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Ashkenazi Jewish community. The range of Yiddish theatre is broad: operetta, musical comedy, and satire, satiric or nostalgic revues; melodr ...
(in the
Yiddish Theatre District
The Yiddish Theatre District, also called the Jewish Rialto and the Yiddish Realto, was the center of New York City's Yiddish theatre scene in the early 20th century. It was located primarily on Second Avenue, though it extended to Avenue B, ...
), and
Yiddish cinema
Yiddish cinema (, ''Idishe Kino'') refers to the Yiddish language film industry which produced some 130 full-length motion pictures and 30 shorts during its heyday from 1911 and 1940. Yiddish film almost disappeared after World War II, due to the ...
.
Biography
Anna Bercovici was born on May 1, 1888 in Bucharest,
Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...
(now Romania). Her parents Jeanette (née Schaeffer) and Bernard Bercovici, owned a hotel.
Her career started in 1902, when her family moved to
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
, Canada where she worked with amateur theatre groups. She moved to New York City to marry Isadore Appel (Isidor Appel), who died in 1908. In 1904, she joined a Yiddish
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
company in New York City; and in 1918, she joined
Maurice Schwartz
Maurice Schwartz, born Avram Moishe Schwartz (June 18, 1890 – May 10, 1960),Yiddish Art Theatre
The Yiddish Art Theatre was a Yiddish theatre company of the 20th century in New York City. The organization was founded in 1918 by actor and impresario Maurice Schwartz, to present serious Yiddish drama and works from world literature in Yiddis ...
in New York City. In 1915, she married Sigmund Ben Avi.
Appel continued to act in vaudeville until 1916, followed by work on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
and
off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
stage productions. She was in the cast of ''Did I Say No?'' (1931) at the
48th Street Theatre
The 48th Street Theatre was a Broadway theatre at 157 West 48th Street in Manhattan. It was built by longtime Broadway producer William A. Brady and designed by architect William Albert Swasey. The venue was also called the Equity 48th Stree ...
; ''Good Neighbor'' (1941) at the
Windsor Theatre
The 48th Street Theatre was a Broadway theatre at 157 West 48th Street in Manhattan. It was built by longtime Broadway producer William A. Brady and designed by architect William Albert Swasey. The venue was also called the Equity 48th Stree ...
; ''All You Need Is One Good Break'' (1950) at the
Mansfield Theatre
The Lena Horne Theatre (previously the Mansfield Theatre and the Brooks Atkinson Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 256 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1926, it was design ...
; ''Highway Robbery'' (1955) at the President Theatre; ''Comic Strip'' (1958) at the Barbizon-Plaza; and ''
Abie's Irish Rose
''Abie's Irish Rose'' is a popular comedy by Anne Nichols, which premiered in 1922. Initially a Broadway theatre, Broadway Play (theatre), play, it has become familiar through repeated stage productions, films and radio programs. The basic premi ...
'' (1954) at the Holiday Theatre.
She died on November 19, 1963 at the age of 75 of a heart attack at
Bellevue Hospital
Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States ...
in New York City.
Filmography
* ''Yizker'' (1924), silent film directed by
Sidney M. Goldin
Sidney M. Goldin, born Samuel Goldstein (March 25, 1878 – September 19, 1937) was an American silent film director as well as a prominent writer, actor and producer for Yiddish theater and Yiddish cinema during the early 20th century. During his ...
; as Zsusi, Leybke's foster mother
* ''Broken Hearts'' (1926), silent film directed by
Mervyn LeRoy
Mervyn LeRoy (; October 15, 1900 – September 13, 1987) was an American film director and producer. During the 1930s, he was one of the two great practitioners of economical and effective film directing at Warner Bros., Warner Brothers studios, ...
; as Mrs. Zelde Marantz
* ''
Symphony of Six Million
''Symphony of Six Million'' is a 1932 American Pre-Code drama film directed by Gregory La Cava and starring Ricardo Cortez, Irene Dunne and Gregory Ratoff. Based on the story ''Night Bell'' by Fannie Hurst, the film concerns the rise of a Jewi ...
'' (1932), directed by
Gregory La Cava
Gregory La Cava (March 10, 1892 – March 1, 1952) was an American film director of Italian descent best known for his films of the 1930s, including ''My Man Godfrey'' and ''Stage Door'', which earned him nominations for Academy Award for Best ...
; as Hannah Klauber
* ''
Faithless
Faithless are an English dance music Band (rock and pop), band that formed in 1995, with its core original members being Rollo Armstrong, Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. During the band's initial period of success, Sister Bliss and Maxi Ja ...
'' (1932), directed by
Harry Beaumont
Harry Beaumont (10 February 1888 – 22 December 1966) was an American film director, actor, and screenwriter. He worked for a variety of production companies including 20th Century Fox, Fox, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation, Goldwyn, Metro Pictur ...
; as Mrs Mandel, second landlady
* ''
Jolly Paupers
''Jolly Paupers'' (original title in ; title in ) is a 1937 Yiddish-language black and white comedy film shot in Interwar Poland by in 1937. It was directed by and Zygmunt Turkow and starred the popular Polish comic duo Shimon Dzigan and Isra ...
'' (1937), directed by
Leon Jeannot
Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to:
Places
Europe
* León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León
* Province of León, Spain
* Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
and
Zygmunt Turkow
Zygmunt Turkow (6 November 1896 – 20 January 1970) was a Polish actor, playwright, and director of Jewish origin from Warsaw, who became famous for roles in the pre-war Jewish films and stage plays in Yiddish. His brother, Jonas Turkow, was als ...
* ''
Green Fields
"Green Fields" is the third single by British alternative rock band the Good, the Bad & the Queen.Note that while frontman Damon Albarn has claimed that the band is officially unnamed, and that "The Good, The Bad & The Queen" was merely the nam ...
'' (1937), directed by Edgar Georg Ulmer; as Rochel
* ''The Singing Blacksmith'' (1938), directed by Edgar Georg Ulmer, Ben–Zvi Baratoff, Ossip Dymow; as Chaye-Peshe
Television
* ''
Lux Video Theatre
''Lux Video Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1957. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays.
Overview
The ''Lux Vi ...
'' (1952), television
anthology series
An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...
; as Frau Schmidt
* ''
Goodyear Television Playhouse
''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' is an American anthology series that was telecast live on NBC from 1951 to 1957 during the first Golden Age of Television.
Goodyear alternated sponsorship with Philco, and ''The Philco Television Playhouse'' ...
'' (1954), television anthology series; as Mama
* ''
Kraft Theatre
''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947, on NBC, airing at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Impe ...
'' (1954–1955), television anthology series; as Mom
* '' Naked City'' (1958), television
police procedural
The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...