Friday, March 24, 1918 31

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Molly Picon, at 80,Won't Retire

By HERBERT G. LUFT

(Copyright 1978, JTA, Inc.)

HOLLYWOOD — Molly
Picon worte to me from
Miami Beach that she
celebrated her 80th birth-
day (Feb. 28) by appearing
at the Deauville Hotel din-
ner theater, as she does
nightly, co-starring with
Hans Conreid in tandem in
a comedy fittingly titled
"The Second Time Around."
A special birthday celebra-
tion on stage of the Golden
Apple Theater followed
with Molly's family and
friends attending.
The humor of the most
endearing and enduring
lady of the theater who
looks today more sparkling
than ever has not passed.
Though always categorized
as a performer with a Yid-
dish nigun, Molly in reality
speaks a beautiful king's
English; most people think
she hails from Poland or
Russia while actually she
was born in Philadelphia.
As a child she was disco-
vered on a trolley when she
chanted impromptu "I'm
Going to Go Home in the
Dark." In 1904, she made
her stage debut (at the age
of six) in an amateur vau-
deville act at Philadelphia's
Arch Street Theater.
At 15, she was on tour
with "Uncle Tom's Ca-
bin," playing Topsy, by
turns in English, German
and Yiddish, depending
on the composition of the
audience. In 1918, while
in Boston traveling with a
vaudeville show called
"The Four Seasons" she
met and married Jacob
Kalish with whom she
remained to his recent
death — for almost 60
years.
Kalish told me that he
had been a leading actor-
director in the Yiddish the-
ater of Poland and induced
his young wife to return

In 1960, I saw her in the
cal "Milk and Honey," in
which she added an elec- West End London produc-
trifying dance routine to tion of Leonard Spigelglas'
"A Majority of One," with
her manifold talents.
Robert Morley. Ten years
later, she portrayed another
straight dramatic role on
Broadway, "Paris Is Out,"
with Sam Levene as her co-
star.
After World War 11, Molly
and her husband enter-
tained thousands of home-
less Jews in displaced per-
sons camps throughout
Europe. She also toured
Japan and Korea for the
USO and became busy in
fund-raising activities for
Israel Bonds and the Jewish
National Fund.
Dearly beloved by her
radio, TV, nightclub and
movie audiences, Molly has
MOLLY PI-CON
been a failure at one en-
deavor — retirement. She
with him to Eastern Europe and her husband kept going
after World War Ito perfect until his death. They made
her Yiddish diction on the their home at a vast ranch
stage of Warsaw.
in Mahopac, New York. She
At the same time, she now lives in a modern
started to portray roles of apartment on Manhattan's
street urchins and orphans Third Ave.
(a Jewish replica of the
••
Mary Pickford parts) in a
number of simple, naive

Yiddish-language films

touching the heart-strings
of Jewish audiences the
world over with her wistful
chant and sentimental per-
formance.

Miss Picon appeared in
more than 200 stage pro-
ductions in New York's Sec-
ond Ave. theaters and on
the road, many of them
musicals written especially
for her by Kalish who con-
tinued to direct. They also
appeared jointly in the radio
program of "Mr. and Mrs."
for more than 20 years.

She broke into the
Broadway stage with
"Morningstar," and ap-
peared as the star of "For
Heaven's Sake" and
"How to Be a Jewish
Mother."

Yiddish Poetry in Afrikaans

JOHANNESBURG —
South African poetry is
being translated into Jid-
dish (Yiddish) for the first
time, by Dr. Israel Ben-
Yosef of the University of
South Africa, aided by Afri-

Anti-Israel
Editor Named
to Quebec Body

MONTREAL (JTA) —
The director of the
magazine, Ici Quebec,
which recently created a
furor in Quebec's Jewish•
community for publishing
articles in its February and
DR. BEN-YOSEF
March issues considered
anti-Semitic,' has been kaans poet, Prof. Sarel Pre-
elected president of the torius.
The joint project will en-
Montreal branch of the
nationalist St. Jean Bap- compass 50 poems of which
have so far been trans-
20
tiste Society.
Jean Marie Cossette was lated. The first five have al-
chosen president by accla- ready been published in the
mation and declared the of- local Yiddish publication,
fending articles, one of Barkai, reports the news-
which called Zionism "the paper Die Transualer.
Dr. Ben-Yosef, a senior
cancer of humanity," and
another article insinuating lecturer in Semitic lang-
that Israelis poisoned their uages, has been in the
own oranges, represent the country for six years and is a
poet in his own right.
policy of the publication.

Molly Picon Stars
in Detroit Show

Yiddish theater star
Molly Picon will appear in
"The Second Time Around,"
May 9-21 at the Music
Hall Center for the Per-
forming Arts.
For group orders, call
Joan Heidt, 963-7622. For
ticket information, call the
Music Hall, 963-7680.

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cc

Neil Simon's Comedy Hit

‘ir

THE ODD COUPLE

A NANCY GURWIN PRODUCTION

