Aharon Meskin ( he, אהרן מסקין, 1898–1974) was an Israeli stage actor.
Biography
Aharon Meskin was born in 1898 in
Mogilev in the
Russian Empire (now in
Belarus). His parents were Moshe Meskin and Rashel Chasanov. Following the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
, Maskin joined the
Red Army, in which he became an officer and, in 1919, was responsible for the distribution of food to the residents of
Moscow. During this period, he met members of recently founded
Habima Theatre
The Habima Theatre ( he, תיאטרון הבימה ''Te'atron HaBima'', lit. "The Stage Theatre") is the List of national theatres, national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the ce ...
in Moscow and provided them with food.
He joined Habima Theatre in 1922, and appeared in its production of the play, ''
The Dybbuk'' by
S. Ansky
Shloyme Zanvl Rappoport (1863 – November 8, 1920), known by his pseudonym S. Ansky (or An-sky), was a Jewish author, playwright, researcher of Jewish folklore, polemicist, and cultural and political activist. He is best known for his play ' ...
.
In 1928, he
immigrated to
Mandate Palestine.
During his career on the Hebrew stage, Meskin played many leading roles, including
Othello
''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...
; the
Golem;
Shylock
Shylock is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's play ''The Merchant of Venice'' (c. 1600). A Venetian Jewish moneylender, Shylock is the play's principal antagonist. His defeat and conversion to Christianity form the climax of the ...
(in ''
The Merchant of Venice'');
Willy Loman in ''
Death of a Salesman''; the black pastor Stephen Kumalo in ''
Cry, The Beloved Country'';
Captain Queeg in ''
The Caine Mutiny'' and many others. His final performance was in
Nisim Aloni's ''The Gypsies of Jaffa'', produced in 1971.
Awards and recognition
* In 1960, Meskin was awarded the
Israel Prize
The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor.
History
The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...
, in theatre.
See also
*
Culture of Israel
The roots of the culture of Israel developed long before modern Israel's independence in 1948, and traces back to ancient Israel ( 1000 BCE). It reflects Jewish culture, Jewish history in the diaspora, the ideology of the Zionist movement that de ...
*
List of Israel Prize recipients
This is a complete list of recipients of the Israel Prize from the inception of the Prize in 1953 through to 2022.
List
For each year, the recipients are, in most instances, listed in the order in which they appear on the official Israel Prize ...
*
List of Israeli actors
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meskin, Aaron
1898 births
1974 deaths
Belarusian Jews
Jews from Mandatory Palestine
Israeli Jews
Soviet emigrants to Israel
Jewish Israeli male actors
Israeli male stage actors
Israel Prize in theatre recipients
People from Mogilev