Molly Picon (; Malka Opiekun; February 28, 1898 – April 5, 1992) was an American actress of stage, screen, radio and television, as well as a lyricist and dramatic storyteller. She began her career 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 ...

and film, rising to a star, before transitioning into character roles in English-language productions. She is most widely known for her role as Yente the Matchmaker in the 1971 musical film ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 19 ...

''.

Early life

Picon was born in New York City to Jewish emigrants Louis (Opiekun) Picon and Clara (Ostrovsky) Picon. Her father was from Warsaw and her mother from near

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. The family began living in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, when she was three years old.

Career

Picon became a star of 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, ...

, performing in plays in the District for seven years. Picon was so popular in the 1920s, many shows had her adopted name, Molly, in their title. In 1931, she opened the Molly Picon Theatre. Picon appeared in many films, beginning with

silent movies A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

. Her early films were made in Europe; among the first, and earliest to survive, was 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 ...

'' East and West'', a film adaptation of the 1921 play ''Mezrach und Maarev'' produced in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

in 1923. The film depicts a clash of New and Old World Jewish cultures. She plays a US-born daughter who travels with her father back to Galicia in East Central Europe. In 1934, Picon had a musical comedy radio show, ''The Molly Picon Program'', broadcast on WMCA in New York City. In 1938, she starred another radio program on WMCA, ''I Give You My Life''. That program "combined music and dramatic episodes that purported to be the story of her life." Two years later, she starred in ''Molly Picon's Parade'', a variety show on WMCA.Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 523, 337, 455. Picon made her English language debut on stage in 1940. On Broadway, she starred in the

Jerry Herman Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyricist ...

musical ''

Milk and Honey Milk and Honey may refer to: Music * The Milk and Honey Band, an English band * Milk and Honey (album), ''Milk and Honey'' (album), a 1984 album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono * Milk & Honey (Crowder album), ''Milk & Honey'' (Crowder album), 2021 * M ...

'' in 1961. In 1966, she dropped out of the disastrous '' Chu Chem'' during previews in Philadelphia; the show closed before it reached Broadway. Jim nabors molly picon 1968

Picon had a bit part in the 1948 film ''

The Naked City ''The Naked City'' (a.k.a. ''Naked City'') is a 1948 American crime procedural produced by Mark Hellinger, directed by Jules Dassin and written by Albert Maltz and Malvin Wald, from a story by Malvin Ward. Starring Barry Fitzgerald, with ...

'' as the woman running a news-stand and soda fountain towards the climax of the film. Her first major Anglophonic role in the movies was in the film version of ''

Come Blow Your Horn ''Come Blow Your Horn'' is Neil Simon's first play, which premiered on Broadway in 1961 and had a London production in 1962 at the Prince of Wales Theatre. Simon rewrote the script more than two dozen times over several years, resulting in a hit ...

'' (1963), with

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

. One of her best-known film roles was as Yente the Matchmaker in the 1971 film adaptation of the Broadway hit ''

''. Picon appeared as Molly Gordon in an episode of

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

's '' Gomer Pyle, USMC'' and had a recurring role as Mrs. Bronson in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

police comedy ''

Car 54, Where Are You? ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1961 to April 1963. Filmed in black and white, the series starred Joe E. Ross as Gunther Toody and Fred Gwynne as Francis Muldoon, two mismatched New York City Po ...

''. In the comedy '' For Pete's Sake'' (1974), she appeared as an elderly

madam Madam (), or madame ( or ), is a polite and formal form of address for Woman, women in the English language, often contracted to ma'am (pronounced in American English and this way but also in British English). The term derives from the French la ...

("Mrs. Cherry") who arranges a disastrous stint for

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

on a job as a

call girl A call girl or female escort is a prostitute who (unlike a street prostitution, street walker) does not display her profession to the general public, nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by ...

. She later had television roles as Mother Mishkin in the third episode of ''

Vega$ ''Vegas'' (stylized as ''Vega$'') is an American crime drama television series starring Robert Urich that aired on ABC from September 20, 1978, to June 3, 1981, with the pilot episode airing April 25, 1978. ''Vegas'' was produced by Aaron Spel ...

'', a role on the soap opera ''

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'' and appeared in a few episodes of '' The Facts of Life'' as Natalie's grandmother. Picon's final role was as Roger Moore's mother in the comedies '' Cannonball Run'' and its sequel ''

Cannonball Run II ''Cannonball Run II'' is a 1983 American action comedy film starring Burt Reynolds and an all-star cast, released by Warner Bros. and Golden Harvest. The film is the second installment of the ''Cannonball Run'' trilogy and a sequel to ''The Ca ...

'' in 1981 and 1984, respectively.

Books

Picon wrote ''So Laugh a Little'' (1962), a biography about her family. In 1980, she published her autobiography, ''Molly!''.

Personal life

Picon was married to actor and playwright Yankel (Jacob) Kalich from 1919 until his death from cancer in 1975. They had no children.

Legacy

* An entire room was filled with her memorabilia at the Second Avenue Deli in New York City (whose Second Avenue location is now closed), and is now at 162 E. 33rd St., where the Picon memorabilia adorns the walls. * The

New Century Theatre The New Century Theatre was a Broadway theater in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, at 205–207 West 58th Street and 926–932 Seventh Avenue. Opened on October 6, 1921, as Jolson's 59th Street Theatre, the theater was desi ...

, a former legitimate Broadway theatre at 932 Seventh Avenue and West 58th Street in Midtown Manhattan (since closed and demolished), was briefly known as the Molly Picon Theatre in 1943. * She was inducted into the

American Theatre Hall of Fame American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

in 1981. * '' Picon Pie'', a biographical play, ran

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 ...

from 2004 to 2005. * In 2007, she was featured in the film ''Making Trouble'', a tribute to female Jewish comedians, produced by the

Jewish Women's Archive The Jewish Women's Archive (JWA) is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to document "Jewish women's stories, elevate their voices, and inspire them to be agents of change." JWA was founded by Gail Twersky Reimer in 1995 in Brook ...

. * Costumes she wore in various theater productions are displayed at the

National Museum of American Jewish History The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History (The Weitzman) is a Smithsonian-affiliated museum at 101 South Independence Mall East (S. 5th Street) at Market Street in Center City Philadelphia. It was founded in 1976. History With ...

in Philadelphia.

Filmography

References A reference is a relationship between Object (philosophy), objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to ''refer to'' the second object. ...

Sources

* Eth Clifford. ''Molly Picon – So Laugh a Little'', Messner, 1962 (se

. * Lila Perl, Donna Ruff. ''Molly Picon: A Gift of Laughter'', Jewish Publication Society, 1990, .

External links

* * *
Guide to the Papers of Molly Picon (1898-1992)
at the

American Jewish Historical Society The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish history and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation an ...

, New York.
Pages from a Performing Life: The Scrapbooks of Molly Picon
a
American Jewish Historical Society

Women of Valor exhibit on Molly Picon
at th
Jewish Women's Archive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Picon, Molly 1898 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from New York City American child actresses American autobiographers 20th-century American memoirists American film actresses American silent film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses American people of Polish-Jewish descent American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Burials at Mount Hebron Cemetery (New York City) Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Pennsylvania Jewish American comedians Jewish American actresses American vaudeville performers Yiddish theatre performers Yiddish film actors Jewish women comedians 20th-century American Jews Comedians from New York City Comedians from Philadelphia American women comedians