Tenen Holtz (born Alex Elihu Tenenholtz; February 17, 1887 – July 1, 1971) was an American actor. He appeared in nearly 60 films between 1926 and 1961.

Biography

Holtz was born in Ozeran, Volhynia district, now in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, and came to the United States when he was seven years old. While he was in elementary school, he began working, but he pursued studies in evening high school to improve his language abilities.

Jacob Pavlovich Adler Jacob Pavlovich Adler (Yiddish: יעקבֿ פּאַװלאָװיטש אַדלער; born Yankev P. Adler; February 12, 1855 – April 1, 1926)IMDB biography was a Jewish actor and star of Yiddish theater, first in Odessa, and later in London and ...

observed Holtz performing in a school production and not only gave him a permanent pass to Adler's playhouse but also allowed him to attend rehearsals. His first appearance in amateur

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 ...

plays occurred in 1903 in the

staged reading A stage reading, also known as a staged reading, is a form of theatre without Theatrical scenery, sets or Stage clothes, full costumes. The actors, who read from scripts, may be seated, stand in fixed positions, or incorporate minimal Blocking ...

s of the works of Yiddish author

Sholom Aleichem Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich (; May 13, 1916), better known under his pen name Sholem Aleichem (Yiddish and , also spelled in Soviet Yiddish, ; Russian and ), was a Yiddish author and playwright who lived in the Russian Empire and in the Unit ...

. In July 1926, he went to California "to see what all these pictures were about", he said. His film debut came in ''Upstage''. Holtz's final television appearance was as murder victim Otto Joseph in the 1964 ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...

'' episode, "The Case of the Arrogant Arsonist". He died in

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the List of United States counties and county equivalents, most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 202 ...

in 1971, aged 84. Holtz married Ethel Fishman, and they had a daughter, Naomi, who married

Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many vocalists at Capitol Records, including ...

Selected filmography

* ''

Upstage Upstage may refer to: * UpStage, an open source server-side application that has been purpose built for cyberformance * ''Upstage'' (film), (also known as The Mask of Comedy) is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film * ''Upstage'' (magazine), ...

'' (1926) as Sam Davis * ''

Exit Smiling ''Exit Smiling'' is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Sam Taylor and starring New York and London revues star Beatrice Lillie in her first (and only silent) film role and Jack Pickford, the brother of star Mary Pickford. The film ...

'' (1926) as Tod Powell * ''

Long Pants ''Long Pants'' (also known as ''Johnny Newcomer'') is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Frank Capra and starring Harry Langdon. Additional cast members include Gladys Brockwell, Alan Roscoe, and Priscilla Bonner. Plot Harry She ...

'' (1927) as Minor Role (uncredited) * ''

The Demi-Bride ''The Demi-Bride'' is a 1927 American comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard, depicting the naughtiness synonymous with Paris at the time. The film is considered lost. A one minute fragment was shared by the Eye Filmmuseum. Plot Criquette i ...

'' (1927) as Gaston * ''

Frisco Sally Levy ''Frisco Sally Levy'' (a.k.a. "Véspera de Natal") is a lost film, lost 1927 comedy silent film directed by William Beaudine and starring Sally O'Neil and Roy D'Arcy, which was released on April 2, 1927.The Trail of '98 ''The Trail of '98'' is a 1928 American synchronized sound action-adventure/drama film featuring Harry Carey and Dolores del Río about the Klondike Gold Rush. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical ...

'' (1928) as Mr. Bulkey * ''

Detectives A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

'' (1928) as Orloff * '' The Cardboard Lover'' (1928) as Argine * ''

Old Gray Hoss ''The Ol' Gray Hoss'' is a 1928 ''Our Gang'' short silent comedy film directed by Anthony Mack. It was the 78th ''Our Gang'' short to be released. Cast The Gang * Joe Cobb as Joe * Jean Darling as Jean * Allen Hoskins as Farina * Bobby Hu ...

'' (1928) as Man with Soot on Face (uncredited) * ''

Bringing Up Father ''Bringing Up Father'' is an American comic strip created by cartoonist George McManus. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, it ran for 87 years, from January 2, 1913, to May 28, 2000. The strip was later titled ''Jiggs and Maggie'' (or '' ...

'' (1928) as Ginsberg Feitelbaum * ''

Noisy Noises ''Noisy Noises'' is a 1929 ''Our Gang'' short silent comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was the 82nd ''Our Gang'' short to be released. Cast The Gang * Joe Cobb as Joe * Jean Darling as Jean * Allen Hoskins as Farina * Bobby H ...

'' (1929) as Man practicing with fiddle * ''

The Duke Steps Out ''The Duke Steps Out'' is a 1929 American synchronized sound comedy-drama film directed by James Cruze and starring William Haines and Joan Crawford. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with ...

'' (1929) as Jake, Duke's Manager * '' House of Horror'' (1929) as Brown * '' Three Live Ghosts'' (1929) as Crockery Man * '' Lilies of the Field'' (1930) as Paymaster * ''

The Melody Man ''The Melody Man'' is a 1930 American pre-Code drama musical film produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures. This film is important historically as being Columbia's first sound feature to feature color. The first reel of the film was photogra ...

'' (1930) as Gustav * ''

The Woman Racket ''The Woman Racket'' is an extant 1930 Pre-Code talking film produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Tom Moore and Blanche Sweet. It is based on a 1928 Broadway play, ''Night Hostess'' by Philip Dunning. In January 2012 the fil ...

'' (1930) as Ben * ''

Caught Cheating ''Caught Cheating'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer from a screenplay by W. Scott Darling. The film stars Charles Murray, George Sidney, and Nita Martan, and it was released by Tiffany Productions on Janu ...

'' (1931) * ''

Three Girls Lost ''Three Girls Lost'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code drama film directed by Sidney Lanfield and starring Loretta Young, Lew Cody, and John Wayne. The film also featured Ward Bond (in a small unbilled role), and co-starred Wayne with Paul Fix for ...

'' (1931) as Photographer (uncredited) * ''

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) as Diner Proprietor (uncredited) * '' Whistling in the Dark'' (1933) as Herman Lefkovitz * '' Money Means Nothing'' (1934) as Mr. Silverman * ''

British Agent ''British Agent'' is a 1934 American romantic espionage film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Leslie Howard and Kay Francis. It is based on ''Memoirs of a British Agent'', the 1932 autobiography of R. H. Bruce Lockhart, who worked for ...

'' (1934) as Lenin * '' Cipher Bureau'' (1938) as Simon Herrick * ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

'' (1962) (Season 7 Episode 20: "The Test") as Sol Dankers * ''

'' (1962) Season 6, Episode 1: "The Case of the Bogus Books" as Mr. Gilfain * ''

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 a ...

'' (1963) (Season 1 Episode 32: "Death of a Cop") as Druggist

References

External links

* * ongressforjewishculture.org/people/4052/ ELYE TENENHOLTS {{DEFAULTSORT:Holtz, Tenen 1887 births 1971 deaths American male film actors American male silent film actors Jewish American male actors Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States 20th-century American male actors Ukrainian Jews