Leo Fuld
Encyclopedia
Lazarus 'Leo' Fuld was a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 singer who specialised in Yiddish songs.

Prior to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Leo Fuld was one the most popular recording and concert artists in Europe. Possessing an instantaneously recognizable voice, Fuld recorded throughout Europe and the Americas in many languages, including Yiddish, English, German, French, Hebrew and Dutch. His career after the war once again made his name popular throughout the world, and on the most prestigious night club and concert stages. At 83 he recorded probably his best record ever, called the Sergeant Pepper of Yiddish Music by Abe Goldstein
Abe Goldstein
Abe Goldstein was an American boxer.He was World Bantamweight Champion in 1924, and was ranked the # 5 bantamweight of all time-Boxing career:...

.

Leo Fuld was the third of ten children from a poor Jewish family. His father, Louis Fuld, was a merchant in occasional goods. Fuld's talent for singing already showed at a young age during services in the synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...

. Fuld received a study grant for the Seminarium. His parents expected that the young Leo would develop into a `chazzan', the chorister in the synagogue. On his sixteenth birthday, Fuld already began leading services in `sjoels' in the province. At this time he would also sing secular music in bars. He made his debut in a Rotterdam bar where he sang sixty songs for one dollar. His initial successes led him to enter an audition at VARA-radio. Here he was taken on directly and made his debut beside Louis Davids. Fuld left for the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 in 1932 to audition at the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 and was to become the first Dutch singer ever behind a BBC microphone.

He was heard by the famous Jack Hylton
Jack Hylton
Jack Hylton was a British band leader and impresario.He was born John Greenhalgh Hilton in the Great Lever area of Bolton, Lancashire, the son of George Hilton, a cotton yarn twister. His father was an amateur singer at the local Labour Club and Jack learned piano to accompany him on the stage...

, who signed the 19 year old Fuld to a three year contract with his celebrated band, which resulted in engagements in every important theatre in the British Isles and the Continent. In 1936 he was signed by Clifford C. Fischer for the French Casino in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and later the Paramount Theatre
Paramount Theater (New York City)
The Paramount Theatre was a noted movie palace located at 43rd Street and Broadway in the Times Square district of New York City. Opened in 1926, it was the premiere showcase for Paramount Pictures and also became a popular live performance venue. The theater was closed in 1964 and its space...

 on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

. As an International favorite, Fuld started to adapt Yiddish and Hebrew songs for inclusion in his repertoire. At the French Casino his biggest song was Rosinkes Mit Mandeln, and the great Al Jolson
Al Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....

 came back every night at "five to ten" just to catch his performance.

In 1938 his temporary visa ran out and he had to return to Europe where he applied for an immigration visa. He caught the last boat back before the Nazis invaded the Lowlands and immediately offered his services to the Free Netherlands Government in Exile. Together with the late Hendrik Willem Van Loon
Hendrik Willem van Loon
Hendrik Willem van Loon was a Dutch-American historian and journalist.-Life:He was born in Rotterdam, the son of Hendrik Willem van Loon and Elisabeth Johanna Hanken. He went to the United States in 1902 to study at Cornell University, receiving his degree in 1905...

, Fuld started the shortwave
Shortwave
Shortwave radio refers to the upper MF and all of the HF portion of the radio spectrum, between 1,800–30,000 kHz. Shortwave radio received its name because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than 200 m which marked the original upper limit of the medium frequency band first used...

 broadcasts to Holland and the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....

. Rumors reached the UK of what was happening to the Jewish population of Holland and that almost the complete Fuld family was murdered by the Nazis. As a result, during this period he no longer could face an audience and stopped singing completely.

As he always had a talent for writing, he soon became one of the most sought after material writers on Broadway, writing for such comedians as Milton Berle
Milton Berle
Milton Berlinger , better known as Milton Berle, was an American comedian and actor. As the manic host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater , in 1948 he was the first major star of U.S. television and as such became known as Uncle Miltie and Mr...

, the Ritz Brothers
Ritz Brothers
The Ritz Brothers were an American comedy team who appeared in films, and as live performers from 1925 to the late 1960s.Although there were four brothers, the sons of Austrian-born haberdasher Max Joachim and his wife Pauline, only three of them performed together. There was also a sister,...

, Jackie Miles, Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...

, Jan Murray
Jan Murray
Jan Murray was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and game show host who made his name on the Borscht Belt.-Early life:Murray was born Murray Janofsky in The Bronx, New York City...

, Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...

 and Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...

, followed by the "Kraft Music Hall
Kraft Music Hall
The Kraft Music Hall was a popular variety program, featuring top show business entertainers, which aired on NBC radio and television from 1933 to 1971....

" program. He also produced, directed and wrote a comedy show called Fun For Your Money with which he toured the USA.

In 1948 he returned to Holland as an American citizen to search for news about his family. Upon his arrival, in gratitude for his wartime broadcasts, thousands of people greeted him and he was offered a contract to sing at the largest theatre in Amsterdam. Not having sung for over five years he was petrified with fear, but was such a success that he was held over for six weeks. Having regained his confidence, he accepted an engagement at the London Casino where he was a tremendous hit.

Offers followed from all over the world, and while at the Sa Majeste in Paris with his revue, he visited a little Yiddish night club where he heard a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...

 sing a song which touched him deeply - "Wohin Soll Ich Geh'n?". Fuld was so impressed that he asked the composer for a copy and said "I'll make this a world hit!". He kept his promise; upon returning to England he wrote English lyrics and recorded it for Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....

 under the title "Where can I Go?". It was also released in America, and as the saying goes, it took him twenty years to become a star over-night. He sang it on television in the Milton Berle
Milton Berle
Milton Berlinger , better known as Milton Berle, was an American comedian and actor. As the manic host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater , in 1948 he was the first major star of U.S. television and as such became known as Uncle Miltie and Mr...

 show, the Perry Como
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...

 Show and in the Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...

 Show, and it was also recorded by some of America's biggest record stars such as Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...

 and Steve Lawrence
Steve Lawrence
Steve Lawrence is an American singer and actor, perhaps best known as a member of a duo with his wife Eydie Gormé, billed as "Steve and Eydie"...

. Among his greatest fans were such stars as Billy Holliday, Al Jolson
Al Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....

 and Edith Piaf
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...

.

Since 1949, Leo Fuld made five world tours and appeared in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, Brazil, North Africa, Egypt, Israel and Lebanon. He shared the stage for 10 weeks with Edith Piaf at the Paris ABC Theatre and was engaged by the Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I , born Tafari Makonnen, was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974...

 to sing at the wedding of his daughter at the Imperial Palace in Adis Abeba.

In 1956 he sets up his own nightclub in New York 'Sabrah' in New York, which was very successful, before relocating to Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

. There he married to Ilone Mendels, having one daughter Mirjam Fuld-Lelah. After divorce Fuld returned to the Netherlands.

With producer Mohamed el-Fers
Mohamed El-Fers
Mohamed el-Fers is a Dutch writer, musician and filmmaker.-Life:El-Fers was musician in Los Compañeros , Nass el-Ghorba , Tiq Maya , Medina and Atlal...

 and arranger Kees Post he recorded his last CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

, The Legend for the Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

-based company Hippo Records. On the CD Fuld sings his best known-songs, but they are provided with striking Oriental arrangements.

At 84 Leo Fuld died in his place of residence in Amsterdam.

The remainder of Leo's family lives in the Netherlands while his two favorite nephews (Avi and Peled) live in Israel.

Short discography

  • 1933 : A Brievele der Mamme (Parlophone
    Parlophone
    Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...

    )
  • 1933 : Mein Shtetl (c'est sa première chanson à succès : il devient une vedette) (Victrola)
  • 1933 : Roumanische Kretsche (Victrola)
  • 1934 : A Klesmer Yingel (Oi Mamme! Bin Ich Farliebt) (Victrola)
  • 1934 : My Yiddishe Mama  (Victrola)
  • 1935 : Oif'n Pripetshik  (Victrola)
  • 1935 : Fraitag Oif der Nacht  (Victrola)
  • 1935 : Shein Wie Die Lewone  (Victrola)
  • 1936 : Yiddish ges'l (Odeon)
  • 1936 : Dos Pintele Yid  (Victrola)
  • 1936 : Mo-me-le (Victrola)
  • 1937 : Az der Rebbe Tantst  (Victrola)
  • 1937 : Zigany Melody/Miserlu (acc. Grisha Farfel his trumpet and Orchestra) (Melodisc 5019)
  • 1937 : Der Siderel (Yiddele Briederel) (Victrola)
  • 1937 : Gesselach  (Victrola)
  • 1938 : A Letter to My Mother / You're the Sweetest in the Land (HMV)
  • 1939 : My Yiddishe Mama (Ariola)
  • 1939 : Resele (Victrola)
  • 1939 : Meine mutter bleib in Ungarn (Victrola)
  • 1947 : Wo Ahin Soll Ich Geh'n (Where can I Go)/Hebrew Chant with Orchestra Bruce Campbell and Wardour Singers (Decca). C'est son plus grand succès et le record des ventes. Plus de exemplaires vendus
  • 1947 : Pigalle/Homeland (with Orchestra Lew Stone
    Lew Stone
    Lew Stone was a British dance band leader and arranger. He was well known in Britain during the 1930s.Stone learned music at an early age and became an accomplished pianist. In the 1920s, he worked with many important dance bands...

    ) (Decca F 9187/Decca DR.13631)
  • 1948 : Wus Geween Ist Geween/I Love You Much Too Much (with Tuschinsky Orch.) (Elite Spezial 9080)
  • 1948 : Live at Tuschinsky (Telefunken
    Telefunken
    Telefunken is a German radio and television apparatus company, founded in Berlin in 1903, as a joint venture of Siemens & Halske and the Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft...

    )
  • 1948 : A brivele der mamme/Der alter zigoiner (with Orchestra Lew Stone
    Lew Stone
    Lew Stone was a British dance band leader and arranger. He was well known in Britain during the 1930s.Stone learned music at an early age and became an accomplished pianist. In the 1920s, he worked with many important dance bands...

    ) (Saturne 1055)
  • 1948 : Moshiah (with Orchestra Guy Luypaerts (Saturne)
  • 1951 : Oif'n Weg Steht A Boim (Saturne)
  • 1952 : Misirlou
    Misirlou
    Misirlou , is a popular Greek song with popularity in five styles of music: Greek rebetiko, Middle-Eastern belly dancing, Jewish klezmer, American surf rock, and international orchestral easy listening .- History :...

     (Vogue)
  • 1952 : Glik (Tikva)
  • 1952 : Der Alter Tsigayner (Tikva)
  • 1952 : Bessarabien (with Orchestra Abe Ellstein) (Hed-Arzi)
  • 1952 : A Sudenyu (Tikva)
  • 1952 : Ikh Zing (Tikva)
  • 1954 : In Concert (Ohel Shem Concert Hall, Tel Aviv) (Vogue LP85)
  • 1954 : Der emigrant (Telefunken UX 4673)
  • 1954 : You Got To Have A Little Mazl (Tikva)
  • 1954 : Leo Fuld Sings Roumanische, Kretchme and other Yiddish Songs (Hataklit HI 25005)
  • 1956 : Leo Fuld zingt (Telefunken)
  • 1958 : Leo Fuld (with Martin Roman
    Martin Roman
    Martin Roman was a German jazz pianist.At the time of the Reichstagsbrand in February 1933, Martin was stopped by SS men at the entrance to the huge Vaterland emporium in Berlin, where his band, the Marek Weber Band, was employed. He left for Holland. In January 1944 Roman was transported to Terezín...

     and his Orchestra) (Simcha Records JLP 2)
  • 1959 : Poylish Yidl (Hataklit)
  • 1960 : Zigany Melody (Tikva)
  • 1965 : Rumaynisher Kretshme (Hataklit)
  • 1967 : A Yiddische Momme/Recorded in 1967 (Artone MDS S - 3022)
  • 1967 : Doina/Spiel Zigeuner (Artone)
  • 1970 : A Yiddische Momme (Vogue HJV 119)
  • 1972 : My Yiddische Mama (CBS
    CBS
    CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

    )
  • 1975 : Dat kleine beetje geluk op aarde (Europaclub)
  • 1991 : Shalom Israel (Columbia
    Columbia Records
    Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

    )
  • 1997 : God Zegen Nederland EP (c'est sa dernière chanson)
  • 1997 : The Legend (c'est sa dernière album enregistrée) (Hippo Records 97002)
  • 1999 : Leo Fuld (Sony BMG)
  • 2002 : Shalom Israel (Sony BMG)
  • 2002 : Slavia : le chant de l'Est (2cd avec Leo Fuld) (Virgin)
  • 2003 : Leo Fuld Greatest Hits (Sony BMG)
  • 2005 : My Yiddishe mama (Artone)
  • 2006 : Vi ahin sol ich gayn (Hatikvah)
  • 2008 : The Legend - 10 ans Édition anniversaire (Hippo Records 97002)

Documentaries

  • 1993 The International Singing Star Leo Fuld(Netherlands TV) Screenwriter: Eveline van Dyck, Director of photography: Fred Mekenkamp, Director: Netty van Hoorn. Running time: 65 min. 16 mm fim in a Dutch and English version. Distributed by Dutch Film Promotion Jan Luykenstraat 2, 107 ICM Amsterdam. In the mediatheek Jewish Historical Museum Amsterdam

  • 1994 Ik Zing De Wereld Rond (Netherlands TV) Screenwriter: Leo Fuld, Director: Mohamed el-Fers
    Mohamed El-Fers
    Mohamed el-Fers is a Dutch writer, musician and filmmaker.-Life:El-Fers was musician in Los Compañeros , Nass el-Ghorba , Tiq Maya , Medina and Atlal...

    . Running time: 60 min. S-VHS in Dutch version. Broadcast by MokumTV on the Amsterdam Salto Network. Broadcasttape with original material was lost at Salto, there is a VHS-copy in the mediatheek Jewish Historical Museum Amsterdam

  • 1995 A YIDDISH X-MAS IN AMSTERDAM (Netherlands TV) With Leo Fuld and Daphne Meijer. Director: Mohamed el-Fers. Running time: 60 min. S-VHS in Dutch version. Broadcast by Salto Omroepstichting Amsterdam. In the Mediatheek Jewish Historical Museum Amsterdam

  • 1996 THE LEGEND (TRAILER ONLY) Screenwriters: Leo Fuld, Mohamed el-Fers. Trailer for a MokumTV-serie with Berta van Laar, Levent Gemici, Zeki Güngör, Boris Yalçin and Leo Fuld. Running time: 6.56 min. S-VHS in Dutch with music The Legend composed by Kees Post. Broadcast by Salto Omroepstichting Amsterdam.

  • 1997 LEO FULD IN KOPSPIJKERS (Netherlands TV) Final of VARA television Kopspijkers with Jack Spijkerman.

  • 1997 FULD IN RAILAND (Netherlands TV) Netherlands 1997 Screenwriter/Director: Mohamed el-Fers. Running time: 60 min. S-VHS in Dutch version. Documentary about Leo Fuld and the Algerian musicgroup Railand. Broadcasted by Salto Omroepstichting Amsterdam.

  • 1997 THE KING OF YIDDISH MUSIC MEETS QUEEN BEATRIX (Netherlands TV) Screenwriter/Director: Mohamed el-Fers. Running time: 60 min. S-VHS in Dutch version. Broadcast by Salto Omroepstichting Amsterdam.

  • 1997 OIF´M WEG STANT MAL A BOIM - GOODBYE LEO (Netherlands TV) Director: Mohamed el-Fers. Director of photography funeral Leo Fuld: Ria van Eck, Dick van der Geld. Running time: 60 min. S-VHS in Dutch version. Broadcasted by Salto Omroepstichting Amsterdam.

External links

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