Celia Adler
Encyclopedia
Celia Feinman Adler was an American
Jewish actress, known as the "First Lady of the Yiddish Theatre".
She was the daughter of Jacob Adler
and Dinah Shtettin
, and the older half-sister of Stella
, Luther Adler
and Jacob Adler's five other children. Unlike Stella and Luther, who became well known for their work with the Group Theater, their film work and as theorists of the craft of acting, she was almost exclusively a stage actress.
Mainly known for her work in Yiddish theater, where she was associated with the Yiddish Art Theater movement of the 1920s and 1930s, she also gave one of the first theatrical portrayals of a Holocaust survivor, in Luther Adler's 1946 Broadway production of A Flag Is Born
(written by Ben Hecht
and featuring a 22-year-old Marlon Brando
, Stella Adler's prize pupil in method acting
). Adler, along with co-stars Paul Muni
and Marlon Brando
, refused to accept compensation above the Actor's Equity minimum wage because of her commitment to the cause of creating a Jewish State in Israel.
In 1937, Celia Adler starred in the Henry Lynn
Yiddish film
, Where Is My Child. From 1937-1952, she appeared in several films and television programs. Her last film was a 1985 British documentary with archive footage, Almonds and Raisins, narrated by, among others, Orson Welles
, Herschel Bernardi
and Seymour Rechzeit.
She was married three times, to actor Lazar Freed, theatrical manager Jack Cone, and businessman Nathan Forman. All three marriages ended in divorce. One of her sons by Lazar Freed, Dr. Selwyn Freed, was a renowned urologist in New York City.
She is buried in the Yiddish Theatre Section of Mount Hebron Cemetery
, Flushing, New York
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Jewish actress, known as the "First Lady of the Yiddish Theatre".
She was the daughter of Jacob Adler
Jacob Pavlovich Adler
Jacob Pavlovich Adler , born Yankev P. Adler, was a Jewish actor and star of Yiddish theater, first in Odessa, and later in London and New York City....
and Dinah Shtettin
Dinah Shtettin
Dinah Shtettin was a prominent English-born Yiddish theater actress. She was the second wife of Jacob Adler, with whom she had a daughter, Celia; they divorced, and she married Siegmund Feinman...
, and the older half-sister of Stella
Stella Adler
Stella Adler was an American actress and an acclaimed acting teacher, who founded the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City and the The Stella Adler Academy of Acting in Los Angeles with long-time protege Joanne Linville, who continues to teach and furthers Adler's legacy...
, Luther Adler
Luther Adler
Luther Adler was an American actor best known for his work in theatre, but who also worked in film and television. He also directed plays on Broadway.-Life and career:...
and Jacob Adler's five other children. Unlike Stella and Luther, who became well known for their work with the Group Theater, their film work and as theorists of the craft of acting, she was almost exclusively a stage actress.
Mainly known for her work in Yiddish theater, where she was associated with the Yiddish Art Theater movement of the 1920s and 1930s, she also gave one of the first theatrical portrayals of a Holocaust survivor, in Luther Adler's 1946 Broadway production of A Flag Is Born
A Flag is Born
A Flag Is Born was a play promoting the creation of a Jewish State in the ancient land of Israel. It opened on Broadway on September 4, 1946. The cast included Paul Muni, Celia Adler and Marlon Brando. Hollywood’s most successful screenwriter, Ben Hecht, was the playwright; it was directed by...
(written by Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, and novelist. Called "the Shakespeare of Hollywood", he received screen credits, alone or in collaboration, for the stories or screenplays of some 70 films and as a prolific storyteller, authored 35 books and created some of...
and featuring a 22-year-old Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
, Stella Adler's prize pupil in method acting
Method acting
Method acting is a phrase that loosely refers to a family of techniques used by actors to create in themselves the thoughts and emotions of their characters, so as to develop lifelike performances...
). Adler, along with co-stars Paul Muni
Paul Muni
Paul Muni was an Austrian-Hungarian-born American stage and film actor...
and Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
, refused to accept compensation above the Actor's Equity minimum wage because of her commitment to the cause of creating a Jewish State in Israel.
In 1937, Celia Adler starred in the Henry Lynn
Henry Lynn
Henry Lynn was a film director, screenwriter, and producer, who concentrated on Yiddish life and culture in the United States, early twentieth century, , the era of Yiddish film in America...
Yiddish film
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
, Where Is My Child. From 1937-1952, she appeared in several films and television programs. Her last film was a 1985 British documentary with archive footage, Almonds and Raisins, narrated by, among others, Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
, Herschel Bernardi
Herschel Bernardi
Herschel Bernardi was an American film, Broadway, and television actor....
and Seymour Rechzeit.
She was married three times, to actor Lazar Freed, theatrical manager Jack Cone, and businessman Nathan Forman. All three marriages ended in divorce. One of her sons by Lazar Freed, Dr. Selwyn Freed, was a renowned urologist in New York City.
She is buried in the Yiddish Theatre Section of Mount Hebron Cemetery
Mount Hebron Cemetery
Mount Hebron is a Jewish cemetery located in the Flushing neighborhood of New York City. It was founded in 1903 as the Jewish section of Cedar Grove Cemetery. It is noted for its Yiddish theater section....
, Flushing, New York
Flushing, Queens
Flushing, founded in 1645, is a neighborhood in the north central part of the City of New York borough of Queens, east of Manhattan.Flushing was one of the first Dutch settlements on Long Island. Today, it is one of the largest and most diverse neighborhoods in New York City...
.
External links
- Judith Laikin Elkin, Celia Adler, Jewish Women Encyclopedia