Moishe Finkel (c. 1850 – June 7, 1904) (also known as MorrisJones 2006. or Maurice Finkel) was a prominent figure in the early years of

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 rev ...

. He was business partner first of

Abraham Goldfaden Abraham Goldfaden (Yiddish: אַבֿרהם גאָלדפֿאַדען; born Avrum Goldnfoden; 24 July 1840 – 9 January 1908), also known as Avram Goldfaden, was a Russian-born Jewish poet, playwright, stage director and actor in the languages Yid ...

and later of Sigmund Mogulesko (the greatest Yiddish star of the generation)Bercovici and, for a time, was married to

prima donna In opera or commedia dell'arte, a prima donna (; Italian for "first lady"; plural: ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given. ''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage per ...

Annetta Schwartz. Together, they dominated Yiddish theatre in Bucharest in the early 1880s and in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in the late 1880s and into the 1890s, with a repertoire based mainly in the works of

Joseph Lateiner Joseph Lateiner (1853 – 1935) was a playwright in the early years of Yiddish theater, first in Bucharest, Romania and later in New York City, where he was a co-founder in 1903 with Sophia Karp of the Grand Theater, New York's first purpose-built ...

and

Moses Horowitz Moses Ha-Levi Horowitz (February 27, 1844Baker 1998. – March 4, 1910), also known as Moishe Hurvitz, Moishe Isaac Halevy-Hurvitz, etc., was a playwright and actor in the early years of Yiddish theater.Bercovici, ''O sută de ani…'' Jacob Adle ...

.BercoviciAdler After divorcing Schwartz, who returned to Europe, Finkel, then in his 40s, married 16-year-old Emma Thomashefsky, sister of one of the most powerful figures in Yiddish theatre,

Boris Thomashefsky Boris Thomashefsky (russian: Борис Пинхасович Томашевский, sometimes written Thomashevsky, Thomaschevsky, etc.; yi, באָריס טאָמאשעבסקי) (1868–1939), born Boruch-Aharon Thomashefsky, was a Ukrainian-b ...

. They had two children, but their relationship was always troubled and eventually Emma Finkel left her husband and began divorce proceedings. Her suit mentioned examples of spousal cruelty including violence. She began a relationship with another actor, David Levinson. At the same time, Moishe Finkel's business partnership with

Jacob Adler Jacob Pavlovich Adler (Yiddish: יעקבֿ פּאַװלאָװיטש אַדלער; born Yankev P. Adler; February 12, 1855 – April 1, 1926)IMDB biography was a Jewish actor and star of Yiddish theater, first in Odessa, and later in London and ...

, which entailed managing the Grand Theatre together, ended with a bitter dispute and a legal battle for control of the theatre eventually settled in Adler's favor. Emma Finkel and her lover had continued working for Adler.Jones 2006. On June 7, 1904, while Emma, the children and Levinson were staying at a summer colony in New Jersey, Finkel turned up unexpectedly and shot his wife, Levinson, and himself. He killed himself and seriously injured his wife. Levinson was unhurt. Jacob Adler wrote of him that he "never smiled"Adler, 1999, p. 113. and other contemporaneous accounts concur that he had a difficult personality. Finkel's son from his first marriage, Abem Finkel, became a Hollywood scriptwriter. The children from his marriage to Emma, Bella and Lucy Finkel, became Yiddish actors. Bella married Paul Muni. Emma Thomashefsky Finkel lived partially paralyzed for a number of years, and continued to act in roles that could be played sitting down. She died of complications from her condition in 1929, aged 46.

Notes

References

* Adler, Jacob, ''A Life on the Stage: A Memoir'', translated and with commentary by Lulla Rosenfeld, Knopf, New York, 1999, . Especially p. 86. *Jones, Faith
"Stage Killing: Solving an Attempted Murder-Suicide."
The Forward, Oct. 13, 2006. *Lawrence, Jerome. '' Actor: The Life and Times of Paul Muni.'' New York: Putnam, 1974. *''Leksikon fun Yidishn Teater'' vol. 4. New York, 1963. * Bercovici, Israil, ''O sută de ani de teatru evreiesc în România'' ("One hundred years of Yiddish/Jewish theater in Romania"), 2nd Romanian-language edition, revised and augmented by Constantin Măciucă. Editura Integral (an imprint of Editurile Universala), Bucharest (1998). . ''See the article on the author for further publication information.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Finkel, Moishe 1850 births 1904 deaths American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Jewish American male actors Romanian Ashkenazi Jews Yiddish theatre performers Year of birth uncertain 1904 suicides