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Moishe Finkel (ca. 1850–June 7, 1904) (also known as Morris or Maurice Finkel) was a prominent figure in the early years of Yiddish theater. He was business partner first of Abraham Goldfaden
Abraham Goldfaden

Abraham Goldfaden ; was an Ukraine-born Jewish poet, playwright. stage director and actor in the languages Yiddish and Hebrew, author of some 40 plays....
 and later of Sigmund Mogulesko
Sigmund Mogulesko

Sigmund Mogulesko — Yiddish: ??????????, ?????, first name also sometimes given as Zigmund, Siegmund, Zelig, or Selig, last name sometimes spelled Mogulescu — was a singer, actor, and composer in the Yiddish theater, originally from Kalarash, Bessarabia ....
 (the greatest Yiddish star of the generation) and, for a time, was married to prima donna
Prima donna

Originally used in opera companies, "prima donna" is Italian language for "first lady". The term was used to designate the leading female singer in the opera company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given....
 Annetta Schwartz
Annetta Schwartz

Annetta Schwartz was one of the first distinguished female performers in Yiddish theater. She and her sister Margaretta Schwartz shared prima donna duties in Abraham Goldfaden's troupe in Romania beginning in 1877....
. Together, they dominated Yiddish theatre in Bucharest in the early 1880s and in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 in the late 1880s and into the 1890s, with a repertoire based mainly in the works of Joseph Lateiner
Joseph Lateiner

Joseph Lateiner was a playwright in the early years of Yiddish theater, first in Bucharest, Romania and later in New York City, where he was a co-founder in 1903 with Sophia Karp of the Grand Theater, New York's first purpose-built Yiddish language theater building....
 and Moses Horowitz
Moses Horowitz

Moses Ha-Levi Horowitz , also known as Moishe Hurvitz, Moishe Isaac Halevy-Hurvitz, etc., was a playwright and actor in the early years of Yiddish theater....
.

After divorcing Schwartz, who returned to Europe, Finkel, then in his 40s, married 16-year-old Emma Thomashefksy, sister of one of the most powerful figures in Yiddish theatre, Boris Thomashefsky
Boris Thomashefsky

Boris Thomashefsky was a Ukraine-born Jewish singer and actor who became one of the biggest stars in Yiddish theatre; born in Tarashcha , a shtetl near Kiev, Ukraine, he emigrated to the U.S....
.






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Moishe Finkel (ca. 1850–June 7, 1904) (also known as Morris or Maurice Finkel) was a prominent figure in the early years of Yiddish theater. He was business partner first of Abraham Goldfaden
Abraham Goldfaden

Abraham Goldfaden ; was an Ukraine-born Jewish poet, playwright. stage director and actor in the languages Yiddish and Hebrew, author of some 40 plays....
 and later of Sigmund Mogulesko
Sigmund Mogulesko

Sigmund Mogulesko — Yiddish: ??????????, ?????, first name also sometimes given as Zigmund, Siegmund, Zelig, or Selig, last name sometimes spelled Mogulescu — was a singer, actor, and composer in the Yiddish theater, originally from Kalarash, Bessarabia ....
 (the greatest Yiddish star of the generation) and, for a time, was married to prima donna
Prima donna

Originally used in opera companies, "prima donna" is Italian language for "first lady". The term was used to designate the leading female singer in the opera company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given....
 Annetta Schwartz
Annetta Schwartz

Annetta Schwartz was one of the first distinguished female performers in Yiddish theater. She and her sister Margaretta Schwartz shared prima donna duties in Abraham Goldfaden's troupe in Romania beginning in 1877....
. Together, they dominated Yiddish theatre in Bucharest in the early 1880s and in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 in the late 1880s and into the 1890s, with a repertoire based mainly in the works of Joseph Lateiner
Joseph Lateiner

Joseph Lateiner was a playwright in the early years of Yiddish theater, first in Bucharest, Romania and later in New York City, where he was a co-founder in 1903 with Sophia Karp of the Grand Theater, New York's first purpose-built Yiddish language theater building....
 and Moses Horowitz
Moses Horowitz

Moses Ha-Levi Horowitz , also known as Moishe Hurvitz, Moishe Isaac Halevy-Hurvitz, etc., was a playwright and actor in the early years of Yiddish theater....
.

After divorcing Schwartz, who returned to Europe, Finkel, then in his 40s, married 16-year-old Emma Thomashefksy, sister of one of the most powerful figures in Yiddish theatre, Boris Thomashefsky
Boris Thomashefsky

Boris Thomashefsky was a Ukraine-born Jewish singer and actor who became one of the biggest stars in Yiddish theatre; born in Tarashcha , a shtetl near Kiev, Ukraine, he emigrated to the U.S....
. They had two children, but their relationship was always troubled and eventually Emma Finkel left her husband and began divorce proceedings. Her suit mentioned examples of spousal cruelty including violence. She began a relationship with another actor, David Levinson. At the same time, Moishe Finkel's business partnership with Jacob Adler
Jacob Adler

Jacob Adler may refer to:* Jacob Pavlovich Adler , Russo/Ukrainian-American actor; star of New York Yiddish theater; progenitor of show-business family...
, which entailed managing the Grand Theatre together, ended with a bitter dispute and a legal battle for control of the theatre eventually settled in Adler's favor. Emma Finkel and her lover had continued working for Adler.

On June 7, 1904, while Emma, the children and Levinson were staying at a summer colony in New Jersey, Finkel turned up unexpectedly and shot his wife, Levinson, and himself. He killed himself and seriously injured his wife. Levinson was unhurt.

Jacob Adler wrote of him that he "never smiled" and other contemporaneous accounts concur that he had a difficult personality. Finkel's son from his first marriage, Abem Finkel, became a Hollywood scriptwriter. The children from his marriage to Emma, Bella and Lucy Finkel, became Yiddish actors. Bella married Paul Muni
Paul Muni

Paul Muni was an United States Academy Awards-winning and Tony Award-winning Stage and film actor.BiographyEarly life and career...
. Emma Thomashefsky Finkel lived partially paralyzed for a number of years, and continued to act in roles that could be played sitting down. She died of complications from her condition in 1929 at age 46.