Mina Bern
Encyclopedia
Mina Bern was a Polish-born American
actress. She was a star of the Yiddish theater.
. Her theatrical debut was in Bialystock under the director Yehuda Greenhoyz. In 1930, through her relative Moishe Broderzon
, she shortened her name and auditioned successfully to join the Ararat Yiddish cabaret theater in Lodz
. and then played at the Warsaw Scala and later, the Kaminska theaters and the local folk theater. With Dina Halperin and Sam Bronetski she worked in the collective Our Theater, and later with Zygmunt Turkov. A few years later, she established a small cabaret theater in Białystok.
Bern fled to Russia with her daughter after the Nazi invasion of Poland; there she played with the "Bialistocker yidishn miniatur-teatr" (miniature revi-teater) of Shimon Dzigan
and Israel Shumacher
. In 1944 she was sent to a camp in Uganda where she did children's theater for Poles stationed there. Through Jewish family connections she went to Kenya in 1945 and from there to Israel
where she worked with Jenny Lavitz in the revue Rozhinkes mit mandlen, favorably reviewed and subsequently staged at the Hebrew Li-La-Lo revue theater.
In 1949, after an incident in which she was found guilty of sending a thug to beat up theater critic Haim Gamzu, who had written a bad review of her performance, she emigrated to the United States
. She married the actor and producer Ben Bonus. She was a member of the Jewish actors union and recorded songs in Hebrew.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress. She was a star of the Yiddish theater.
Biography
Mina (Bernholtz) Bern was born in Bielsk PodlaskiBielsk Podlaski
-Roads and Highways:Bielsk Podlaski is at the intersection of two National Road and a Voivodeship Road:* National Road 19 - Kuźnica Białystoka Border Crossing - Kuźnica - Białystok - Bielsk Podlaski - Siemiatycze - Międzyrzec Podlaski - Kock - Lubartów - Lublin - Kraśnik - Janów Lubelski - Nisko...
. Her theatrical debut was in Bialystock under the director Yehuda Greenhoyz. In 1930, through her relative Moishe Broderzon
Moishe Broderzon
Moishe Broderzon was a Yiddish poet, theatre director, and the founder of the Łódź literary group Yung-yidish....
, she shortened her name and auditioned successfully to join the Ararat Yiddish cabaret theater in Lodz
Lódz
Łódź is the third-largest city in Poland. Located in the central part of the country, it had a population of 742,387 in December 2009. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is approximately south-west of Warsaw...
. and then played at the Warsaw Scala and later, the Kaminska theaters and the local folk theater. With Dina Halperin and Sam Bronetski she worked in the collective Our Theater, and later with Zygmunt Turkov. A few years later, she established a small cabaret theater in Białystok.
Bern fled to Russia with her daughter after the Nazi invasion of Poland; there she played with the "Bialistocker yidishn miniatur-teatr" (miniature revi-teater) of Shimon Dzigan
Shimon Dzigan
Shimon Dżigan was a Yiddish comedian. His father was a soldier in the Russian military. After the outbreak of the first world war Dzigan was apprenticed to a tailor to help the family make ends meet....
and Israel Shumacher
Israel Shumacher
Israel Shumacher was a Yiddish comedian who worked together with Shimon Dzigan, thus forming "Dzigan and Shumacher", one of the most famous Yiddish comic duos in the 20th century. Israel Shumacher first met Shimon Dzigan at the revolutionary Jewish theater in Łódź, Poland...
. In 1944 she was sent to a camp in Uganda where she did children's theater for Poles stationed there. Through Jewish family connections she went to Kenya in 1945 and from there to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
where she worked with Jenny Lavitz in the revue Rozhinkes mit mandlen, favorably reviewed and subsequently staged at the Hebrew Li-La-Lo revue theater.
In 1949, after an incident in which she was found guilty of sending a thug to beat up theater critic Haim Gamzu, who had written a bad review of her performance, she emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. She married the actor and producer Ben Bonus. She was a member of the Jewish actors union and recorded songs in Hebrew.
Filmography
- Brooklyn Babylon (2001) .... Nanna
- Flawless (1999) .... Mrs. Spivak
- Celebrity (1998) .... Elderly Homeowner
- The First Seven Years (1998) (TV) .... Landlady
- I'm Not Rappaport (1996)
- Everything Relative (1996) .... Grandma Kessler
- Little Odessa (1994) .... Grandma Tsilya
- It Could Happen to You (1994) .... Muriel's Neighbour
- Pressure Drop (1994) .... Ida Potashner
- Avalon (1990) .... Alice Krichinsky
- Crossing DelanceyCrossing DelanceyCrossing Delancey is a romantic comedy film starring Amy Irving and Peter Riegert released in 1988. It is directed by Joan Micklin Silver and based on a play by Susan Sandler, who also wrote the screenplay...
(1988) .... Would-be Victim - Tenement (1985) (as Mina Bern Bonas) .... Ruth