Zygmunt Turkow (6 November 1896 – 20 January 1970) was a Polish actor, playwright, and director of Jewish origin from

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, who became famous for roles in the pre-war Jewish films and stage plays in

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 ...

. His brother,

Jonas Turkow Jonas Turkow (Warsaw, 15 February 1898 – Tel Aviv, 4 February 1988) was an actor, stage manager, director and writer. He received the Itzik Manger Prize for his contributions to Yiddish letters. He was the brother of the actor Zygmunt Turkow, ...

, was also a noted actor and stage manager. In 1924, he directed and acted in the silent film ''Tkies-khaf''. Shortly after

German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

in 1939 he left Poland together with his second wife. In 1940 he settled in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. In 1952, he moved to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Turkow produced works by Iso Szajewicz at the Nowości Theatre, where he worked for many years. He was the founder of several notable theatres, including the Brazilian National Theatre in 1940 and the traveling Zuta Theatre in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, Israel in 1956, where he served as manager and director. The Zygmunt Turkow Theatre is named in his honor.

References

External links

Zygmunt Turkow profile
IMDb.com. Accessed 3 January 2024. Polish male stage actors Male actors from Warsaw 1896 births 1970 deaths Polish male film actors Jewish Polish male actors Polish male dramatists and playwrights Writers from Warsaw People from Warsaw Governorate Jews from the Russian Empire Polish emigrants to Brazil Polish emigrants to Israel 20th-century Polish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Polish male writers Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Brazil {{Poland-actor-stub