Hy Anzell (September 7, 1923 – August 23, 2003) was a

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

-speaking American actor. He originated the role of the flower shop owner, "Mr. Mushnik", in the original off-Broadway production of '' Little Shop of Horrors'' with

Ellen Greene Ellen Greene is an American actress and singer. She has had a long and varied career as a singer, particularly in cabaret, as an actress and singer in numerous stage productions, particularly musical theatre, as well as having performed in many ...

and

Lee Wilkof Lee Wilkof (born June 25, 1951) is an American actor and veteran of the Broadway stage. He originated the roles of Samuel Byck in ''Assassins'' and Seymour in ''Little Shop of Horrors, ''later earning a Tony Award nomination for the 2000 revival ...

. He was also in the original 1976 Broadway cast of '' Checking Out''. He appeared in dozens of films and television programs. He had roles in a number of films directed by

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

, beginning with ''

Bananas A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

'', and notably including ''

Annie Hall ''Annie Hall'' is a 1977 American satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen from a screenplay written by him and Marshall Brickman, and produced by Allen's manager, Charles H. Joffe. The film stars Allen as Alvy Singer, w ...

'' (in which he had his best-known movie role as Uncle Joey Nichols). He died of natural causes at age 79.Lauren Lyster
"Hy Anzell: Actor"
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', August 25, 2003. Anzell was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Filmography

References

External links

* *
Hy Anzell
at the

Lortel Archives The Internet Off-Broadway Database (IOBDB), also formerly known as the Lortel Archives, is an online database that catalogues theatre productions shown off-Broadway. The IOBDB was funded and developed by the non-profit Lucille Lortel Foundatio ...

* American male film actors American male television actors American male stage actors Male actors from New York City 1923 births 2003 deaths Yiddish-speaking people 20th-century American male actors American male musical theatre actors 21st-century American male actors 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers Jewish American male actors 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews {{US-theat-actor-1920s-stub