Tenen Holtz (born Alex Elihu Tenenholtz; February 17, 1887 – July 1, 1971) was an American actor. He appeared in nearly 60 films between 1926 and 1961.

Biography

Holtz was born in

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, 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 th ...

, and came to the United States when he was seven years old. While he was in elementary school, he began working, but he pursued studies in evening high school to improve his language abilities.

Jacob Pavlovich 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 ...

observed Holtz performing in a school production and not only gave him a permanent pass to Adler's playhouse but also allowed him to attend rehearsals. His first appearance in amateur

Yiddish theatre 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 ...

plays occurred in 1903 in the

staged reading A stage reading, also known as a staged reading, is a form of theatre without sets or full costumes. The actors, who read from scripts, may be seated, stand in fixed positions, or incorporate minimal stage movement. There is an overlap with t ...

s of the works of Yiddish author

Sholom Aleichem ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Pereiaslav, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = New York City, U.S. , occupation = Writer , nationality = , period = , genre = Novels, sh ...

. In July 1926, he went to California "to see what all these pictures were about", he said. His film debut came in ''Upstage''. Holtz's final television appearance was as murder victim Otto Joseph in the 1964 ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

'' episode, "The Case of the Arrogant Arsonist". He died in

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

in 1971, aged 84. Holtz married Ethel Fishman, and they had a daughter, Naomi, who married

Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Records ...

Selected filmography

* ''

Upstage Upstage may refer to: * UpStage, an open source server-side application that has been purpose built for cyberformance * ''Upstage'' (film), (also known as The Mask of Comedy) is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film *The Upstage Gallery, feat ...

'' (1926) * '' Exit Smiling'' (1926) * ''

Long Pants ''Long Pants'' (also known as ''Johnny Newcomer'') is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Frank Capra and starring Harry Langdon. Additional cast members include Gladys Brockwell, Alan Roscoe, and Priscilla Bonner. Plot The silent ...

'' (1927) * ''

The Demi-Bride ''The Demi-Bride'' is a 1927 American comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard, depicting the naughtiness synonymous with Paris at the time. The film is considered lost. A one minute fragment was shared by the Eye Filmmuseum. Synopsis Crique ...

'' (1927) * ''

Frisco Sally Levy ''Frisco Sally Levy'' (a.k.a. "Véspera de Natal") is a lost 1927 comedy silent film directed by William Beaudine and starring Sally O'Neil and Roy D'Arcy, which was released on April 2, 1927.The Trail of '98 ''The Trail of '98'' is a 1928 American silent action-adventure/drama film featuring Harry Carey and Dolores del Río about the Klondike Gold Rush. The film was originally released by MGM in a short-lived widescreen process called “Fantom S ...

'' (1928) * ''

Detectives A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

'' (1928) * ''

The Cardboard Lover ''The Cardboard Lover'' is a 1928 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring Marion Davies, Nils Asther and Jetta Goudal. It was produced by Cosmopolitan Productions and distributed by Metro Goldwyn Mayer. ...

'' (1928) * ''

Old Gray Hoss ''The Ol' Gray Hoss'' is a 1928 '' Our Gang'' short silent comedy film directed by Anthony Mack. It was the 78th ''Our Gang'' short released. Cast The Gang * Joe Cobb as Joe * Jean Darling as Jean * Allen Hoskins as Farina * Bobby Hutchins a ...

'' (1928) * ''

Bringing Up Father ''Bringing Up Father'' is an American comic strip created by cartoonist George McManus. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, it ran for 87 years, from January 2, 1913, to May 28, 2000. The strip was later titled ''Jiggs and Maggie'' (or ''M ...

'' (1928) * '' Noisy Noises'' (1929) * ''

The Duke Steps Out ''The Duke Steps Out'' is a 1929 American silent comedy-drama film directed by James Cruze and starring William Haines and Joan Crawford. The film is lost, but the Vitaphone sound discs track of music and sound effects survive in the UCLA Film ...

'' (1929) * '' House of Horror'' (1929) * ''

Three Live Ghosts ''Three Live Ghosts'' is a novel by Frederic Isham published in 1918. He adapted it into the 1920 Broadway play of the same name produced by Max Marcin. There were also three film adaptations: * ''Three Live Ghosts'' (1922 film), a British com ...

'' (1929) * '' Lilies of the Field'' (1930) * ''

The Melody Man ''The Melody Man'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code drama musical film produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by Roy William Neill and starred John St. Polis, Alice Day and William Collier, Jr. The story is based on a Broad ...

'' (1930) * ''

The Woman Racket ''The Woman Racket'' is an extant 1930 Pre-Code talking film produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Tom Moore and Blanche Sweet. It is based on a 1928 Broadway play, ''Night Hostess'' by Philip Dunning. In January 2012 the fil ...

'' (1930) * ''

Caught Cheating ''Caught Cheating'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer from a screenplay by W. Scott Darling. The film stars Charles Murray, George Sidney, and Nita Martan, and it was released by Tiffany Productions on January ...

'' (1931) * ''

Three Girls Lost ''Three Girls Lost'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code drama film directed by Sidney Lanfield and starring Loretta Young, Lew Cody, and John Wayne. The film also featured Ward Bond (in a small unbilled role), and co-starred Wayne with Paul Fix for t ...

'' (1931) * ''

Faithless Faithless are an English band that formed in 1995, with its core members being Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. Their first album, '' Reverence'', was released in 1996 and their most recent, ''All Blessed'', in 2020. They have sold millions ...

'' (1932) * ''

Whistling in the Dark Whistling without the use of an artificial whistle is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips, usually after applying moisture (licking one's lips or placing water upon them) and then blowing or sucking air through the space. The a ...

'' (1933) * '' Money Means Nothing'' (1934) * ''

British Agent ''British Agent'' is a 1934 American romantic espionage film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Leslie Howard and Kay Francis. It is based on ''Memoirs of a British Agent'', the 1932 autobiography of R. H. Bruce Lockhart, who worked for ...

'' (1934) * '' Cipher Bureau'' (1938)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holtz, Tenen 1887 births 1971 deaths American male film actors American male silent film actors Jewish American male actors Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States 20th-century American male actors