Aaron Maskin
Encyclopedia
Aharon Meskin was an Israeli stage actor.
in the Russian Empire
(now in Belarus
). His parents were Moshe Meskin and Rashel Chasanov. Following the Russian Revolution, Maskin joined the Red Army
, in which he became an officer and, in 1919, was responsible for the distribution of food to the residents of Moscow
. During this period, he met members of recently-founded Habima Theatre in Moscow and provided them with food.
He joined Habima Theatre in 1922, and appeared in its production of the play, The Dybbuk by S. Ansky
.
In 1928, he emigrating to Mandate Palestine, together with the Habimah Theatre.
During his career on the Hebrew stage, Meskin was widely acclaimed and played many leading roles, including Othello
; the Golem
; Shylock
(in The Merchant of Venice
); Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman
; the black pastor Stephen Kumalo in Cry, The Beloved Country
; Captain Queeg
in The Caine Mutiny
and many others. His final performance was in Nisim Aloni
's The Gypsies of Jaffa, produced in 1971.
Biography
Aharon Meskin was born in 1898 in MogilevMogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
in the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(now in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
). His parents were Moshe Meskin and Rashel Chasanov. Following the Russian Revolution, Maskin joined the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
, in which he became an officer and, in 1919, was responsible for the distribution of food to the residents of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. During this period, he met members of recently-founded Habima Theatre in Moscow and provided them with food.
He joined Habima Theatre in 1922, and appeared in its production of the play, The Dybbuk by S. Ansky
S. Ansky
Shloyme Zanvl Rappoport , known by his pseudonym S. Ansky , was a Russian Jewish author, playwright, and researcher of Jewish folklore....
.
In 1928, he emigrating to Mandate Palestine, together with the Habimah Theatre.
During his career on the Hebrew stage, Meskin was widely acclaimed and played many leading roles, including Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
; the Golem
Golem
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
; Shylock
Shylock
Shylock is a fictional character in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.-In the play:In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock is a Jewish moneylender who lends money to his Christian rival, Antonio, setting the security at a pound of Antonio's flesh...
(in The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
); Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. Premiered at the Morosco Theatre in February 1949, the original production ran for a total of 742 performances.-Plot :Willy Loman...
; the black pastor Stephen Kumalo in Cry, The Beloved Country
Cry, The Beloved Country
Cry, the Beloved Country is a novel by South African author Alan Paton. It was first published in New York City in 1948 by Charles Scribner's Sons and in London by Jonathan Cape; noted American publisher Bennett Cerf remarked at that year's meeting of the American Booksellers Association that there...
; Captain Queeg
Captain Queeg
Lieutenant Commander Philip Francis Queeg, USN, is a fictional character in Herman Wouk's 1951 novel The Caine Mutiny. He is also a character in the identically titled 1954 film adaptation of the novel and in The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, the Broadway theatre adaptation of the novel that opened...
in The Caine Mutiny
The Caine Mutiny
The Caine Mutiny is a 1952 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Herman Wouk. The novel grew out of Wouk's personal experiences aboard a destroyer-minesweeper in the Pacific in World War II and deals with, among other things, the moral and ethical decisions made at sea by the captains of ships...
and many others. His final performance was in Nisim Aloni
Nisim Aloni
-Biography:Aloni was born in Mandate Palestine to a poor family in Florentin, a neighborhood in south Tel Aviv which later became an inspiration for his work....
's The Gypsies of Jaffa, produced in 1971.
See also
- List of Israel Prize recipients