{"id":428,"date":"2016-05-03T20:50:48","date_gmt":"2016-05-03T20:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jewishstudiescolumbia.com\/myny\/?p=428"},"modified":"2016-05-04T17:16:53","modified_gmt":"2016-05-04T17:16:53","slug":"molly-picon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jewishstudiescolumbia.com\/myny\/arts\/molly-picon\/","title":{"rendered":"Molly Picon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Molly Picon: The Petite Darling of Yiddish Musical Theatre<\/strong><\/p>\n

By: Deborah Pollack <\/em><\/p>\n

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Above: Molly Picon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Molly Picon, the petite darling of Yiddish Musical theatre, was 4\u201911 and weighed only 95 pounds.((Power, Sharon. \u201cYiddish Theatre Actresses and American Jewish Identity.\u201d Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies<\/em>3 (2012): 84\u2013107. muse.jhu.edu<\/em>. Web.)) Yet, she was one of the biggest stars on the Yiddish vaudeville and Broadway stage. Some called her the Jewish Charlie Chaplin or the Jewish Helen Hayes.((Ganton, Sarah. \u201cFrom Vaudeville to \u2018Fiddler\u2019: (Re)introducing Molly Picon, the \u2018Jewish Charlie Chaplin.\u2019\u201d 16th Street<\/em>. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.))\u00a0Picon had many talents in the entertainment sector. Aside from being the star of many Yiddish and English speaking plays, she stared in motion pictures and became a radio and television personality. She wrote almost 100 songs and skits for the stage.((\u201cMolly Picon | Jewish Virtual Library.\u201d N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.)) Known from her geneyvishe oygen, <\/em>mischievous eyes, and dark bob, she won hearts across the United States, Israel, Europe, South Africa, and Australia. She truly delighted audiences everywhere.((\u201cMolly Picon | Jewish Women\u2019s Archive.\u201d N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.))<\/p>\n

Picon’s Early Years<\/strong><\/p>\n

Picon was born as Margaret Pyekoon, in a tenement on Broome Street on the Lower East Side of New York. The date of her birth was always unclear. In her autobiography she writes that various records have listed her as being born on either February 28th<\/sup> or June 1st<\/sup>. Picon writes: \u201cNaturally, I celebrate both dates.”((\u201cMolly Picon | Jewish Women\u2019s Archive.\u201d N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.)) Her father, Louis Picon, was from Warsaw, Poland, and worked in the needle trades. Her mother, Clara, had come from Kiev, Russia, and worked as a seamstress. Louis was married to two women, Molly\u2019s mother, Clara Ostrovsky, and his previous wife from Poland. This kept Louis busy and resulted in him not being very present for much of Molly\u2019s and her younger sister Helen\u2019s life.((\u201cMolly Picon | Jewish Virtual Library.\u201d N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.)) When Molly was 3, Clara, known as Mama Picon, picked up with her girls are moved in with her parents and eight of Molly\u2019s cousins in Philadelphia. The house was packed.((Ganton, Sarah. \u201cThe Molly Picon Story, Part 2: A Star (and a Romance) Is Born.\u201d 16th Street<\/em>. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.))<\/p>\n

\"Above:<\/a>
Above: Molly Picon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Molly described her childhood self as \u201ca small skinny kid who loved to kibbitz with the neighbors.\u201d While her mother sewed costumes for the Columbia Theatre, Molly would kibbitz <\/em>away. She would learn song and dance routines from her neighbors and would perform duets with her mother in her living room. Molly\u2019s talent remained private. Yet, one day, while on a trolly car with her mom, a drunk approached Molly to perform. Molly wrote: \u201cI got up in the car and did my whole act\u2026Then the drunk took off his derby and passed it around to the people in the car and collected two dollars in coins, which he gave to me. So I consider that my first professional performance.”((Ganton, Sarah. \u201cFrom Vaudeville to \u2018Fiddler\u2019: (Re)introducing Molly Picon, the \u2018Jewish Charlie Chaplin.\u2019\u201d 16th Street<\/em>. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.))<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The Start of Her Acting Career<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mama Picon began to take\u00a0Molly to perform at amateur nights. Clara sewed Molly a fancy new dress that was red with an elegant fake-fur muff,((\u201cMolly Picon | Jewish Women\u2019s Archive.\u201d N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.)) and took her on the trolley to the Bijou Theatre, where every Friday night, children were given the opportunity to perform. Often times, scouts would be present and would look for talent. Molly won the competition in which she earned a five dollar prize and a new stage name: Baby Margaret. ((Ganton, Sarah. \u201cFrom Vaudeville to \u2018Fiddler\u2019: (Re)introducing Molly Picon, the \u2018Jewish Charlie Chaplin.\u2019\u201d 16th Street<\/em>. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.))\u00a0By the time she\u00a0was 5, Molly had made\u00a0singing at various amateur night for children part of her weekly routine.((\u201cMolly Picon | Jewish Virtual Library.\u201d N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.)) When an actor from the Columbia theatre troupe saw Molly, she convinced Clara to put her on stage.((Ganton, Sarah. \u201cFrom Vaudeville to \u2018Fiddler\u2019: (Re)introducing Molly Picon, the \u2018Jewish Charlie Chaplin.\u2019\u201d 16th Street<\/em>. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.)) There was an opening in Mike Tomashefsky’s Yiddish stock company and at the age of six, Picon began playing children’s parts for him.((\u201cMolly Picon | Jewish Virtual Library.\u201d N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.)) Molly sang in English and Dutch, danced traditional Russian dances, played whatever part she could find, such as playing Topsy in\u00a0Uncle Tom\u2019s Cabin<\/em>\u00a0in both Yiddish and German. Molly left high school after two years, and devoted her full time and attention to the Vaudeville circuit.((Ganton, Sarah. \u201cFrom Vaudeville to \u2018Fiddler\u2019: (Re)introducing Molly Picon, the \u2018Jewish Charlie Chaplin.\u2019\u201d 16th Street<\/em>. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.))<\/p>\n

Finding a Business Partner and Love<\/strong><\/p>\n

Molly continued her fame in Boston, where she performed in an act entitled \u201cThe Four Seasons.” When a massive influenza epidemic hit, Molly went into various theaters\u00a0looking for someone she would know who could lend her money. Instead, when she walked into the Grand Opera House, she met Jacob Kalich, her future husband.((Ganton, Sarah. \u201cFrom Vaudeville to \u2018Fiddler\u2019: (Re)introducing Molly Picon, the \u2018Jewish Charlie Chaplin.\u2019\u201d 16th Street<\/em>. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.))<\/p>\n

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Above: Molly Picon and Jacob Kalich, 1923<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kalich came to America in 1914, and after meeting Molly, he cast her in one of his plays. Kalish saw Molly’s talent, especially\u00a0in\u00a0comedy. He famously told Molly: “Molly, that’s our job. Make them laugh!((Schumach, Murray. \u201cMolly Picon, an Effervescent Star Of the Yiddish Theater, Dies at 94.\u201d The New York Times<\/em> 7 Apr. 1992. NYTimes.com<\/em>. Web. 3 May 2016.)) Because of her success, Molly decided to stay in Boston. Molly and Jacob complimented each other well. Molly taught Jacob how to act in America and Jacob helped Molly with her Yiddish. They quickly fell in love and got married on June 29th<\/sup> 1919 in Molly\u2019s childhood home.((Ganton, Sarah. \u201cThe Molly Picon Story, Part 2: A Star (and a Romance) Is Born.\u201d 16th Street<\/em>. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.))<\/p>\n

By 1920, Molly had hit it big in Boston. Yet, her and Jacob had their yes on an even bigger stage \u2013 Second Avenue in New York, \u201cThe Broadway of Yiddish theatre.”\u00a0In order to help Molly prepare for this new venture, Jacob took her to Europe to work on her Yiddish. One news clipping\u00a0stated that: \u201cKalich carried her off, not to New York, but to Europe, where she could perfect her accent, her acting, and her knowledge of Jewish life at its source.” The two traveled to Vienna, Budapest, Paris, Lodz, and various other European cities.((Ganton, Sarah. \u201cThe Molly Picon Story, Part 2: A Star (and a Romance) Is Born.\u201d 16th Street<\/em>. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.))<\/p>\n

One of the first plays that Molly stared in was Jacob\u2019s Yiddish operetta, Yankele<\/em>. Picon played\u00a0the role of a small boy.((\u201cMolly Picon | Jewish Virtual Library.\u201d N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.)) Because of the show’s success, many Europeans wrote\u00a0to their family members in the United States about \u201cthe greatness of Picon in Yankele.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0((\u201cMolly Picon | Jewish Virtual Library.\u201d N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.))<\/p>\n

\u00a0Molly Takes New York<\/strong><\/p>\n

After being thrown out of Romania because of anti-Semitism, Picon and Kalich came to New York. With Molly\u2019s perfected Yiddish, they were ready to take on Second Avenue. They teamed up with the composer Joseph Rumshinsky to create operettas scripted and directed by Kalich and\u00a0lyrics by Picon. Molly\u2019s debut in New York was her performance in Yonkele. <\/em>The show was a hit! Because Molly was unknown in New York, the manager of the theater questioned why the show had such a large amount of advance ticket sales. Molly\u2019s future audience told him that they had heard about her from relatives in Europe, who had seen her there and written to America to tell their relatives to see her. The success Molly had in Europe\u00a0truly preceded her in New York.\u00a0((Ganton, Sarah. \u201cThe Molly Picon Story, Part 2: A Star (and a Romance) Is Born.\u201d 16th Street<\/em>. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.))<\/p>\n

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Above: Poster for Yankele, 1924<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Molly found that that the duo \u201cnever mingled with people outside the Yiddish theater. Yiddish was our center, our link, and I never felt like a complete stranger in Europe because I was always in the midst of a familiar language and heritage\u2014the Yiddish world.\u201d((Ganton, Sarah. \u201cThe Molly Picon Story, Part 2: A Star (and a Romance) Is Born.\u201d 16th Street<\/em>. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.)) Molly not only perfected her Yiddish, but he found a home in the European Yiddish world. ((Ganton, Sarah. \u201cThe Molly Picon Story, Part 2: A Star (and a Romance) Is Born.\u201d 16th Street<\/em>. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.))<\/p>\n

In 1922, Picon and Kalich began building a small theatrical empire among New York’s growing immigrant audiences.((Molly Picon Biography – Life, Family, Children, Story, Death, School, Mother, Young, Old, Born.” N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.)) From the years 1922 to 1929, Molly would open 8 shows in New York, such as Yankele, Mamale, Raizele, Oy Is Dus a Meydl <\/em>[Oh, what a girl], and The Circus Girl, <\/em>in which Picon dangled by one foot from a rope. The show Mamale<\/em> was such a success, that it later turned into a movie (featured in the video below). Many of Picon\u2019s characters had ambiguous genders, where she either dresses as a tom boy, or as an actual boy.((\u201cMolly Picon Biography – Life, Family, Children, Story, Death, School, Mother, Young, Old, Born.\u201d N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.)) As Molly, Jacob, and Rumshinsky took control of the Second Avenue Theatre, America fell in love with Molly’s charm and laugh. ((Ganton, Sarah. \u201cThe Molly Picon Story, Part 3: Broadway Comes Calling.\u201d 16th Street<\/em>. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.)) D.W. Griffith, known as the inventor of Hollywood, called Molly \u201cthe most interesting actress in America.\u201d((Ganton, Sarah. \u201cThe Molly Picon Story, Part 2: A Star (and a Romance) Is Born.\u201d 16th Street<\/em>. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2016.))\u00a0No matter what she did, Molly received race reviews. One reviewer wrote:<\/p>\n

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Above: Molly Picon in Mamale, 1938<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One cannot say that Miss Picon is good looking as stage standards go and surely her simple and untrained cavorting counts for but a minor asset. As a singer she is damned by the faint praise of \u2018adequate,\u2019 and yet this skinny, undersized Jewish girl has developed one of the most valuable theatrical followings in New York through the sheer ability of adapting herself to the medium she wishes to present.((Ganton, Sarah. \u201cThe Molly Picon Story, Part 3: Broadway Comes Calling.\u201d 16th Street<\/em>. N.p., n.d. Web.3 May 2016.))<\/p>\n

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