Monroe Silver
Encyclopedia
Monroe Silver was an American
actor and singer who was also a comedian and monologist using a Jewish dialect-accent in his performances. For various record labels, he recorded 78rpm discs of parodies like Cohen on the Telephone and Cohen Phones to His Friend Levy. Lee De Forest
recorded Silver doing Cohen on the Telephone for the DeForest Phonofilm
sound-on-film process. The film premiered with 17 other Phonofilm short films at the Rivoli Theater in New York City
on 15 April 1923, and is now in the Maurice Zouary collection at the Library of Congress
. From 1925 to 1935, Silver appeared on The Goodrich Silvertown Orchestra
radio show.
With his Jewish accent, words like 'What are you doing?' came out as 'Vot arrr you doink?' Some performers like Barney Bernard and Louis Mann
tried to imitate him in the early 1920s. Silver made many recordings with Billy Murray
, as an Irish and Jewish dialect combo (see External Links below for links to recordings). Their last recording together was on February 11, 1943 for Beacon Records.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor and singer who was also a comedian and monologist using a Jewish dialect-accent in his performances. For various record labels, he recorded 78rpm discs of parodies like Cohen on the Telephone and Cohen Phones to His Friend Levy. Lee De Forest
Lee De Forest
Lee De Forest was an American inventor with over 180 patents to his credit. De Forest invented the Audion, a vacuum tube that takes relatively weak electrical signals and amplifies them. De Forest is one of the fathers of the "electronic age", as the Audion helped to usher in the widespread use...
recorded Silver doing Cohen on the Telephone for the DeForest Phonofilm
Phonofilm
In 1919, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patent on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly onto film as parallel lines. These parallel lines photographically recorded electrical waveforms from a microphone, which were translated back...
sound-on-film process. The film premiered with 17 other Phonofilm short films at the Rivoli Theater in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on 15 April 1923, and is now in the Maurice Zouary collection at the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
. From 1925 to 1935, Silver appeared on The Goodrich Silvertown Orchestra
The Goodrich Silvertown Orchestra
The Goodrich Silvertown Orchestra was a musical variety radio program, sponsored by B. F. Goodrich and heard in different formats and timeslots from 1925 until 1935. The performers included Henry Burr , Carl Mathieu , James Stanley , Stanley Baughman , Monroe Silver , Frank Banta , and Sam Herman...
radio show.
With his Jewish accent, words like 'What are you doing?' came out as 'Vot arrr you doink?' Some performers like Barney Bernard and Louis Mann
Louis Mann
Louis Mann was an American theatre actor and sometime director, who in his later life made a few appearances in motion pictures...
tried to imitate him in the early 1920s. Silver made many recordings with Billy Murray
Billy Murray (singer)
William Thomas "Billy" Murray was one of the most popular singers in the United States in the early decades of the 20th century...
, as an Irish and Jewish dialect combo (see External Links below for links to recordings). Their last recording together was on February 11, 1943 for Beacon Records.
External links
- Monroe Silver at IMDB
- Cohen on the Telephone at SilentEra with picture of Silver from the film
- Billy Murray and Monroe Silver recordings at Internet Archive
- Billy Murray and Monroe Silver "Oh, How We Love Our Alma Mater" (1927) at Internet Archive
- Recordings of Monroe Silver in "That's Yiddisha Love" (1911) and "Cohen on His Honeymoon"