Florence Weiss (1899/1900 - 1974, yi, פֿלאָרענס װײס) was a Russian-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Yiddish theatre,

Vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

and film actor, recording artist, and

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

who was active from the 1920s to the 1960s. She worked and performed with such artists as

Moishe Oysher Moishe Oysher () (March 8, 1906 – November 27, 1958) was an American cantor, recording artist, and film and Yiddish theatre actor.Zalmen Zylbercweig, ''Leksikon fun Yidishn teater'', Book 3, 2407. During the 1940s and 1950s he was one of the to ...

Alexander Olshanetsky Alexander Olshanetsky (1892–1946) was a Jewish-American composer, conductor, and violinist. He was a major figure within the Yiddish theatre scene in New York City from the mid-1920s until his death in 1946. Life and career Was born in Odessa ...

, Boris Thomashefsky,

Fyvush Finkel Philip "Fyvush" Finkel ( yi, פֿײַוויש פֿינקעל; October 9, 1922 – August 14, 2016) was an American actor known as a star of Yiddish theater and for his role as lawyer Douglas Wambaugh on the television series ''Picket Fences'', ...

, and

Abe Ellstein Abraham "Abe" Ellstein ( yi, אַבֿרהם עלשטײן, , July 7, 1907 – March 22, 1963) was an American composer for Yiddish entertainments. Along with Shalom Secunda, Joseph Rumshinsky, and Alexander Olshanetsky, Ellstein was one of the "big ...

. The height of her popularity was during the 1930s, when she often toured and performed with her then-husband, Moishe Oysher, and appeared in three Yiddish-language films with him: ''The Cantor's Son'', ''The Singing Blacksmith'', and ''Overture to Glory''.

Biography

Early life

Florence Weiss's year of birth and immigration is unclear. She Her date and place of birth may have been on May 30, 1900 in

Makhnivka Makhnivka ( uk, Махнівка; russian: Махновка; yi, מאכניווקא - ''Makhnivka'') is a village in Khmilnyk Raion of Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine, located on the west bank of the Hnylopiat River. It was named Komsomolske (russian: � ...

, Kiev Governorate,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, as per her Declaration of Intention to become a United States citizen. However, in other documents, including travel manifests, the birth year was cited as 1899. At least one census indicated a year as late as 1904, which strains credulity. She apparently emigrated to the United States via

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

in 1907.

Career

Her first husband was Louis Weiss, a fellow Russian-born Yiddish Theatre actor. In 1920, they were living in

. By 1928, Florence was the leading actress at the Lyric theatre, often costarring with Louis, as well as at the Hopkinson theatre which Louis managed. In 1928, Louis recruited actor

from Philadelphia to star opposite Florence in a play. However, Florence ended up leaving Louis for Oysher, and married Oysher in January 1929 while they were living in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. They continued performing at the Lyric in 1930. By 1931, they had relocated to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. But they soon returned to New York, playing in a Boris Thomashefsky operetta at the Gayety Theatre in 1932 and at the Amphion Theatre in 1933. Although they later became very well known, at first they had difficult making ends meet with the theatre, which is why Oysher decided to become a

Hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' ( he, חַזָּן , plural ; Yiddish ''khazn''; Ladino ''Hasan'') is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this pr ...

as well. The pair appeared regularly together on WEVD radio during the 1930s. In 1935 she and Oysher returned to the Lyric Theatre, Second Avenue Theatre, and the Hopkinson Theatre, and at the Second Avenue theatre in 1936 in an

operetta starring Leo Fuchs. Moishe Oysher and Florence Weiss c

The height of Weiss's fame was in the late 1930s, when she appeared in a handful of films with Oysher, which led to radio appearances, recording sessions and larger concert appearances. In 1937 she appeared in Sidney Goldin's final film, The Cantor's Son (), a film loosely based on Moishe Oysher's own life story. Goldin died while the film was still in production and a relatively unknown director, Ilya Moteleff, stepped in to finish it. They then appeared at the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...

in February 1937 to an audience of 2000. Her next appearance was in The Singing Blacksmith (, 1938), again with Moishe Oysher, which was directed by

Edgar G. Ulmer Edgar Georg Ulmer (; September 17, 1904 – September 30, 1972) was a Jewish- Moravian, Austrian-American film director who mainly worked on Hollywood B movies and other low-budget productions, eventually earning the epithet 'The King of PRC', ...

and based on a 1906 play by

David Pinski David Pinski (Yiddish: דוד פּינסקי; April 5, 1872 – August 11, 1959) was a Yiddish language writer, probably best known as a playwright. At a time when Eastern Europe was only beginning to experience the industrial revolution, Pinsk ...

. The film was successful enough that Victor Records had Oysher and Weiss record their songs from it to be released on disc. In 1939 she also returned to the Hopkinson theatre for a time. Their third and final film together was Overture to Glory (, 1940), which was directed by Max Nosseck, based on a story by Ossip Dimov. In 1940 she was in a play starring Aaron Lebedeff and the Barry Sisters at the Clinton Theatre and appeared regularly in a Vaudeville act with Lebedeff and Celia Adler at the Downtown National Theatre. She continued to appear on stage during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1944 she appeared with Lillian Lux and

Pesach Burstein Pesach "Peishachke" Burstein (April 15, 1896 – April 6, 1986) was a Polish-born American comedian, singer, coupletist, and director of Yiddish vaudeville/theater. He was honored with the Itzik Manger Prize in 1986. His wife Lillian Lux, and ...

at the Hopkinson Theatre. She appeared at the Clinton Theatre in 1947. She also took on a regular opening act role at a Romanian-Jewish restaurant on Broadway, Roumanian Village. From 1949 to the mid-1950s, she appeared in a number of productions with

Irving Jacobson Irving Jacobson (June 18, 1898 - December 17, 1978) was a Yiddish theater star, American stage and film actor. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio to actors Joseph and Bessie Jacobson, his brother was Hymie Jacobson and his sister Henrietta Jacobson, who mar ...

, Max Kletter and others at

Vera Rozanka Vera Rozanka ( yi, װעראַ ראָזאַנקאַ, 1893–1985), was a Ukraine, Ukrainian Yiddish Theatre actor and manager, soprano, writer, radio performer, and recording artist. During her career, she shared the stage with many notables of th ...

's National Theatre. By the late 1950s and 1960s, most of her performances seem to have been at Borscht Belt hotels in the Catskills. She died in May 1974, after a long illness.

Selected recordings

* / with Moishe Oysher (Victor Records, 1938) * / with Abe Ellstein orchestra (Banner Records)

Film appearances

* The Cantor's Son (, 1937) with Moishe Oysher, directed by Sidney Goldin and Ilya Matyleff * The Singing Blacksmith (, also known as , 1938) with Moishe Oysher, directed by

* Overture to Glory (, 1940) with Moishe Oysher, directed by Max Nosseck

References

External links

Florence Weiss recordings
in the

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Florida, Dania Beach, Davie, Florida, Davie, Fort Lauderd ...

Recorded Sound Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Florence Year of birth uncertain 1974 deaths Yiddish-language singers of the United States American women singers Yiddish theatre performers Victor Records artists RCA Victor artists American sopranos People from Kiev Governorate Jewish women singers