Michael Burstein ( he, מייק בורשטיין; born July 1, 1945) is an Israeli-American actor known onstage as Mike Burstyn. He was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to the late Yiddish-language actors,
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 ...
and
Lillian Lux. His first cousin was
Borsch Belt
The Borscht Belt, or Jewish Alps, is a colloquial term for the mostly defunct summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in parts of Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster counties in the U.S. state of New York, straddling both Upstate New York and the nor ...
comedian, Jay Lester.
Mike began performing on stage at
Yiddish theater
Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Central European Ashkenazi Jewish community. The range of Yiddish theatre is broad: operetta, musical comedy, and satiric or nostalgic revu ...
s from childhood, in musicals and melodramas produced by his father,
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 ...
, especially as part of the
Four Bursteins. (Mike and his twin sister were billed as ''Motele'' and ''Zisele'') in standard Pesach Burstein productions like
A Khasene in Shtetl (''A Wedding in the Village'').
[What a Life! The Autobiography of Pesach'ke Burstein, Yiddish Matinee Idol; By Pesach'ke Burstein with Lillian Lux Burstein; Syracuse University Press, 2003 ()] He headed out on his own after reaching adulthood, in a bid to reach audiences bigger than the
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 ver ...
stage.
He has performed on television in the United States, Israel, and the Netherlands. He has performed on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
, the
Yiddish theater
Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Central European Ashkenazi Jewish community. The range of Yiddish theatre is broad: operetta, musical comedy, and satiric or nostalgic revu ...
, and on the Israeli stage. He had his own show, ''De Mike Burstyn Show'' (1978–1981). He was cast as the lead in
Israel Becker's ''
The Flying Matchmaker
''The Flying Matchmaker'' (also: ''Two Kuni Lemel'', ''Shnei Kuni Leml'' or שני קוני למל) is a 1966 Israeli film musical directed by Israel Becker. The story is based on the 1880 Yiddish play ''Di tsvey Kuni-Lemels'' by Abraham Goldfaden. ...
'', an Israeli film. In 1981, he took part in the
Israeli heats of the
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
with the song "Sviv kol ha'olam". The song was placed sixth.
Among his most noted roles in Yiddish theater was the part in his father's production of
Itzik Manger
Itzik Manger (30 May 1901, Czernowitz, then Austrian-Hungarian Empire – 21 February 1969, Gedera, Israel; yi, איציק מאַנגער) was a prominent Yiddish language, Yiddish poet and playwright, a self-proclaimed folk bard, visionary, a ...
's ''
Songs of the Megillah
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at melody, distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various song form, forms, such as those includ ...
'' (the longest running Yiddish production to date in Israel, released on Broadway as ''Megilla of Itzik Manger'').
Burstyn appeared on Broadway in ''
Barnum
Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He wa ...
'', where he succeeded
Jim Dale
Jim Dale (born James Smith; 15 August 1935) is an English actor, composer, director, narrator, singer and songwriter. In the United Kingdom he is known as a pop singer of the 1950s who became a leading actor at the National Theatre. In Britis ...
in the title role. He was nominated for
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...
s for his performance as Mayer in ''
The Rothschilds''
off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
in 1990 and in
On Second Avenue
''On Second Avenue'' is a Yiddish American musical theatre production which looks back at the heyday of Yiddish Theater, especially in the Yiddish Theater District in Manhattan's East Village on Second Avenue.
The original 1987 production ope ...
in 2005. In 2009, he starred in the title role of the stage adaption by
Joseph Bologna
Joseph Bologna (December 30, 1934 – August 13, 2017) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter notable for his roles in the comedy films ''My Favorite Year'', ''Blame It on Rio'' and ''Transylvania 6-5000 (1985 film), Transylvania ...
's ''Lansky''.
Personal life
Burstyn holds dual
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i-
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 ...
citizenship. ''
The Komediant'' is a documentary recounting the lives and careers of the Burstein family.
['' The Komediant'', New Yorker Video, New York, 1999]
References
External links
Official websiteOriginal official websiteMike Burstyn & FriendsYouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
Videos
Mike BurstynFlorida 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 Archives pages
*
*
*
GoldenLand Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burstyn, Mike
1945 births
American male film actors
20th-century American male singers
20th-century American singers
American male musical theatre actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
American people of Polish-Jewish descent
American emigrants to Israel
Israeli male film actors
20th-century Israeli male singers
Israeli male musical theatre actors
Israeli male stage actors
Israeli male television actors
Jewish American male actors
Living people
Male actors from New York City
Yiddish-language singers
Yiddish theatre performers