Pesach "Peishachke" Burstein (April , â€" April , ) was a Polish-born
American comedian, singer, coupletist, and director of Yiddish
vaudeville/theater. He was honored with the Itzik Manger Prize in .
His wife Lillian Lux, and son Mike Burstyn are also actors.Born in
Pułtusk, then in Congress Poland, in the Russian Empire (today, in
Poland), Burstein was called Pesach-ke due to his birth on Passover.
In he moved with his family to Berdiansk (Ukraine), where his father
ran a clothing store. He ran away from home as a teenager to join a
traveling Yiddish theatrical troupe. He was arrested as a spy by
Russians during World War I. He never again saw his parents, who were
beaten and killed in a robbery in Minsk, as they were traveling back
to Poland in .:Brought to the United States in by Boris Thomashefsky
and signed to a -year recording contract by Columbia Records, he is
well-remembered for singing "Odessa Mama" and the Yiddish version of
"Sonny Boy". There is a common myth that this recording was made same
day, in the same studio and with the same orchestra that Jolson had
just used, but the Burstein waxing was made some time after the
million-selling Jolson recording. In addition, Jolson was an exclusive
Brunswick artist, whilst Burstein recorded for Columbia, on its Green
Label ethnic series. Jolson was accompanied by the Brunswick studio
orchestra, under the direction of Gus Haenschen. The (considerably
smaller) studio orchestra accompanying Burstein was probably a
sub-group of the National Theater pit orchestra, under the baton of
Joseph Rumshinsky. An impressive stage whistler and actor-director of
the popular A Khasene in Shtetl (A Wedding in the Village) act with
his entire family.
American comedian, singer, coupletist, and director of Yiddish
vaudeville/theater. He was honored with the Itzik Manger Prize in .
His wife Lillian Lux, and son Mike Burstyn are also actors.Born in
Pułtusk, then in Congress Poland, in the Russian Empire (today, in
Poland), Burstein was called Pesach-ke due to his birth on Passover.
In he moved with his family to Berdiansk (Ukraine), where his father
ran a clothing store. He ran away from home as a teenager to join a
traveling Yiddish theatrical troupe. He was arrested as a spy by
Russians during World War I. He never again saw his parents, who were
beaten and killed in a robbery in Minsk, as they were traveling back
to Poland in .:Brought to the United States in by Boris Thomashefsky
and signed to a -year recording contract by Columbia Records, he is
well-remembered for singing "Odessa Mama" and the Yiddish version of
"Sonny Boy". There is a common myth that this recording was made same
day, in the same studio and with the same orchestra that Jolson had
just used, but the Burstein waxing was made some time after the
million-selling Jolson recording. In addition, Jolson was an exclusive
Brunswick artist, whilst Burstein recorded for Columbia, on its Green
Label ethnic series. Jolson was accompanied by the Brunswick studio
orchestra, under the direction of Gus Haenschen. The (considerably
smaller) studio orchestra accompanying Burstein was probably a
sub-group of the National Theater pit orchestra, under the baton of
Joseph Rumshinsky. An impressive stage whistler and actor-director of
the popular A Khasene in Shtetl (A Wedding in the Village) act with
his entire family.
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