Molly Picon

Molly Picon
Born	Małka Opiekun February 28, 1898(1898-02-28) New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	April 6, 1992 (aged 94) Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1904–1984
Spouse(s)	Jacob Kalich (1919–1975) (his death)

Molly Picon (Yiddish: מאָלי פּיקאָן; February 28, 1898^[1] – April 6, 1992) was an American actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a lyricist. She was first and foremost a star in Yiddish theatre and film, but as Yiddish theatre faded she began to perform in English-language productions.

Early life

Picon was born as Małka Opiekun in New York City, the daughter of Clara (née Ostrow), a wardrobe mistress, and Louis Opiekun, a shirtmaker.^[2] Opiekun is a Polish language name meaning, "guardian" or "caretaker". Her surname was later changed to Picon. Her career began at the age of six in the Yiddish Theatre. In 1912, she debuted at the Arch Street Theatre in New York and became a star of the Second Avenue Yiddish stage.

Career

Picon was so popular in the 1920s that many shows had her adopted name, "Molly", in their title. In 1931 she opened the Molly Picon Theatre. She appeared in many films, starting with silent movies. Her earliest film still existing is East and West which deals with the clash of new and old Jewish cultures. She played an American-born daughter who travels with her father back to Galicia in East Central Europe. Her real-life husband Jacob Kalich played one of her relatives.

Picon's most famous film, Yidl Mit'n Fidl (1936), was made on location in Poland, and has her wearing male clothing through most of the film. In the film, a girl and her father are forced by poverty to set out on the road as traveling musicians. For her safety, she disguises herself as a boy, which becomes inconvenient when she falls in love with one of the other musicians in the troupe. Later Mamele was made in Poland.

Picon made her English language debut on stage in 1940. On Broadway, she starred in the Jerry Herman musical Milk and Honey in 1961. In 1966 she quit the disastrous Chu Chem during previews in Philadelphia; the show closed before reaching Broadway.

Her first major English speaking role in the movies was the film version of Come Blow Your Horn (1963), with Frank Sinatra. She portrayed Yente, the Matchmaker in the film adaptation of the Broadway hit Fiddler on the Roof in 1971. She was featured in a bit part in the 1948 film The Naked City as the woman running a newsstand and soda fountain towards the climax of the film. In the 1970s, she was featured as a madame named Mrs. Cherry in For Pete's Sake, starring Barbra Streisand. She later played a role on television on the soap opera Somerset and appeared on an episode of The Facts of Life.

Legacy

An entire room was filled with her memorabilia at the Second Avenue Deli in New York (now closed at that location).

Personal life

Picon died on April 6, 1992, aged 94, from Alzheimer's disease in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Jacob Kalich, her husband from 1919 until his death in 1975, died from from cancer. They had no children. She is buried in the Yiddish Theater section of the Mount Hebron Cemetery.

References

Sources

• Eth Clifford. Molly Picon - so laugh a little, Messner, 1962 (see[1]).
• Lila Perl, Donna Ruff. Molly Picon: a gift of laughter, Jewish Publication Society, 1990, ISBN 0827603363.

External links

• Molly Picon at the Internet Movie Database
• Molly Picon at the Internet Broadway Database
• Molly Picon, All-American Maydl at American Jewish Historical Society
• Women of Valor exhibit on Molly Picon at the Jewish Women's Archive
• Molly Picon at Find a Grave