Philip "Fyvush" Finkel ( yi, פֿײַוויש פֿינקעל; October 9, 1922 – August 14, 2016) was an American actor known as a star 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 ...

and for his role as lawyer Douglas Wambaugh on the television series ''

Picket Fences ''Picket Fences'' is an American family drama television series about the residents of the town of Rome, Wisconsin, created and produced by David E. Kelley. The show initially ran from September 18, 1992, to June 26, 1996, on the CBS televis ...

'', for which he earned an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1994. He is also known for his portrayal of Harvey Lipschultz, a crotchety history teacher, on the television series ''

Boston Public ''Boston Public'' is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox. Set in Boston, the series centers on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school in the Boston Public Schools district. It feature ...

''.

Early life

Philip Finkel was born at home in

Brownsville, Brooklyn Brownsville is a residential neighborhood in eastern Brooklyn in New York City. The neighborhood is generally bordered by Crown Heights to the northwest; Bedford–Stuyvesant and Cypress Hills to the north; East New York to the east; Canarsie ...

, the third of four sons of Jewish immigrant parents, Mary ("Miryam"), a housewife from

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

, Belarus, and Harry ("Cwi Hirsh") Finkel, a tailor from

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. He adopted the stage name "Fyvush", a common

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 ...

given name.

Career

Finkel first appeared on the stage at age 9, and acted for almost 35 years in the thriving

s of the

Yiddish Theater District The Yiddish Theatre District, also called the Jewish Rialto and the Yiddish Realto, was the center of New York City's Yiddish theatre scene in the early 20th century. It was located primarily on Second Avenue, though it extended to Avenue B, b ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

's Lower East Side, as well as performing as a standup comic in the Catskills'

Borscht 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 nort ...

. In 2008, he recalled:

I played child parts till I was 14, 15, then my voice changed. So I decided to learn a trade and went to a vocational high school in New York. I studied to be a furrier, but I never worked at it. As soon as I graduated high school, I went to a stock company in Pittsburgh, a Jewish theater, and I played there for 38 weeks, and that's where I actually learned my trade a little bit as an adult.

He worked regularly until the ethnic venues began dying out in the early 1960s, then made his

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

debut in the original 1964 production of the musical '' Fiddler on the Roof'', joining the cast as Mordcha, the innkeeper, in 1965. The production ran through July 2, 1972. Finkel then played Lazar Wolf, the butcher, in the limited run 1981 Broadway revival, and eventually played the lead role of Tevye the milkman for years in the national touring company. Shortly afterward, Finkel succeeded Hy Anzell in the role of Mr. Mushnik in the Off-Broadway musical '' Little Shop of Horrors''. Then in 1988, Finkel's work as "Sam" in the New York

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Festival revival of the Yiddish classic '' Cafe Crown'' earned him an Obie Award and a

Drama Desk 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. Fol ...

nomination. Finkel made his movie debut in the English-subtitled, Yiddish sketch-comedy revue ''Monticello, Here We Come'' (1950), then after small parts in an episode of the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American action crime drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theodopolis "Theo" Kojak. Taking the time slot of the popular ''Cannon'' series, ...

'' in 1977 and the miniseries ''Evergreen'' in 1985, returned to film in the detective comedy ''Off Beat'' (1986). That same year saw a role opposite

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

in a

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

American Playhouse ''American Playhouse'' is an American anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Overview It premiered on January 12, 1982, with ''The Shady Hill Kidnapping'', written and narrated by John Cheever an ...

'' adaptation of

Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; 10 July 1915 – 5 April 2005) was a Canadian-born American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only w ...

's novel '' Seize the Day'', and a role in the film adaptation of

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

's Broadway comedy ''

Brighton Beach Memoirs ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'' is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon, the first chapter in what is known as his Eugene trilogy. It precedes ''Biloxi Blues'' and ''Broadway Bound''. Productions ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'' had a pre-Broadway e ...

''. An appearance as a lawyer in director Sidney Lumet's ''Q & A'' (1990) led TV producer-writer

David E. Kelley David Edward Kelley (born April 4, 1956) is an American television writer, producer, and former attorney, known as the creator of '' Doogie Howser, M.D.'', '' Picket Fences'', ''Chicago Hope'', ''The Practice'', '' Ally McBeal'', ''Boston Publi ...

to cast Finkel as public defender Douglas Wambaugh in the television series ''

'' (

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, 1992–1996). For the role, Finkel earned a 1994 Emmy Award, announcing at the televised ceremonies that he had waited 51 years for that moment. Following the end of ''Picket Fences'', Finkel had a regular role on the short-lived revival of ''

Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo. ...

'' ( ABC, 1998) and then reteamed with writer-producer Kelley to play history teacher Harvey Lipschultz in ''

'' ( Fox; 2000–04). Through the 1990s and 2000s, Finkel appeared in movies including ''Nixon'' and ''The Crew'', guested on TV series including '' Chicago Hope'', '' Law & Order'', ''

Early Edition ''Early Edition'' is an American fantasy comedy-drama television series that aired on CBS from September 28, 1996, to May 27, 2000. Set in Chicago, Illinois, it follows the adventures of a man who mysteriously receives each ''Chicago Sun-Times' ...

'', and ''

Hollywood Squares ''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show Television pilot, piloted on NBC in 1965 and the regular series debut ...

'', and provided voiceovers for episodes of the

animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'' (" Lisa's Sax") and ''

Aaahh!!! Real Monsters ''Aaahh!!! Real Monsters'' is an American animated television series developed by Klasky Csupo for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on three young monsters—Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm—who attend a school for monsters under a city dump and learn to ...

'' ("Ickis! You'll Be Snorched!") and the animated direct-to-video feature ''

The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars ''The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars'' is a 1998 American animated musical film. It is based on the 1988 novella of the same name by Thomas M. Disch. It is the sequel to '' The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue'' (1997). The film was release ...

''. In 2009, he appeared in the

Coen brothers Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...

' film ''

A Serious Man ''A Serious Man'' is a 2009 American black comedy-drama film written, produced, edited and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Set in 1967, the film stars Michael Stuhlbarg as a Minnesota Jewish man whose life crumbles both professionally and pe ...

'', and in 2013 had a guest appearance in '' Blue Bloods'' ("Men In Black") Finkel continued to appear onstage in productions such as ''Fyvush Finkel: From Second Avenue to Broadway'' (1997) and Classic Stage Company's historical drama ''New Jerusalem'' (2007), by playwright

David Ives David Ives (born July 11, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is perhaps best known for his comic one-act plays; ''The New York Times'' in 1997 referred to him as the "maestro of the short form". Ives has also written ...

Personal life

Finkel was married to Trudi Lieberman from March 1947 until her death in 2009. They had two sons: Ian, a musical arranger and xylophonist, and Elliot, a concert pianist. Finkel died in Manhattan on August 14, 2016, at the age of 93, as a result of heart problems. His son Ian died on November 16, 2020, from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

Awards

*American Comedy Award for his performance in ''Picket Fences'' (1993) * Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Dramatic Series, ''Picket Fences'' (1993–94) * Obie Award for his performance in ''Cafe Crown'' (1988–89)

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * *
Profile: Fyvush Finkel
Aveleyman.com; accessed September 22, 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Finkel, Fyvush 1922 births 2016 deaths Yiddish theatre performers American people of Polish-Jewish descent American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent American male film actors American male television actors American male stage actors Jewish American male actors Male actors from New York City Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Primetime Emmy Award winners Vaudeville performers Obie Award recipients People from Brownsville, Brooklyn American male voice actors 21st-century American Jews