Jacob Jacobs (born Yakov Yakubovitsh) (January 2, 1890October 14, 1977), was a

Yiddish 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 ...

theater and

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 ...

director, producer, lyricist, songwriter, coupletist, character actor, comic born in Rosca (now Riska,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

). In 1904 the family emigrated to the United States and Jacobs worked in a soda factory, later in a sheet-metal factory, and then learned tailoring.Zalmen Zylbercweig, ''Leksikon fun Yidishn teater'', Book one, 549 In 1907 he joined the chorus in a vaudeville theater and he sang couplets on Sundays, when vaudeville plays could not be presented. The following year he was hired as a vaudeville actor. In 1911 he was in his first play, Leon Kobrin's ''Yankel Boyla'' at the Odeon theater. In 1912 he became director of the Lyric Theater in

Brownsville, Brooklyn Brownsville is a residential neighborhood in eastern Brooklyn in New York City. The neighborhood is bordered by Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Crown Heights to the northwest; Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bedford–Stuyvesant and the subsection of ...

, and then a partner with Nathan Goldberg in the Lennox Theater in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

. From 1926 to 1930 he was co-director of the National Theater, and subsequently the Prospect Theater in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. He wrote the music to his own couplets. He married Rebecca Treitler (Betty), daughter of the Yiddish theater director. In 1932 he collaborated with composer

Sholom Secunda Sholom Secunda (, , Alexandria, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire13 June 1974, New York) was an American composer of Ukrainian-Jewish descent, best known for the tunes of "Bei Mir Bistu Shein" and " Donna Donna". Biography He was born in 1894 ...

on a Yiddish musical comedy, ''I Would If I Could.'' Although the show was not a great success, it did produce a song that become a #1 hit, Bei Mir Bistu Shein.http://faujsa.fau.edu/blog/tag/jacob-jacobs/ Maxine Schackman, Florida Atlantic University Yiddish theater collection He wrote, composed and directed the

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 ...

show, "The President's Daughter" in 1970. He is buried in Mount Hebron Cemetery, in the Yiddish Theatrical Alliance area.

References

External links

Jacob Jacobs recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Jacob 1890 births 1977 deaths Yiddish theatre Hungarian emigrants to the United States American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Hungarian Jews Burials at Mount Hebron Cemetery (New York City)