Lyda Roberti (née Pecjak; May 20, 1906 â€" March 12, 1938) was an
American stage and film actress, and singer.Born in Warsaw, then part
of Imperial Russia, Lyda Roberti was the daughter of a German father
(surnamed Pecjak), a professional clown, and a Polish mother. As a
child she performed in the circus as a trapeze artist, and was a
vaudeville singer.As her family toured Europe and Asia, Roberti's
mother left her husband. To escape the upheaval in Russia after the
Communist revolution in 1917, they settled in Shanghai, China, where
Roberti earned money singing. She had an elder brother named Robert
(1905â€"1996), also born in Poland. Their Kiev-born younger sister,
Mary Pecjak, was briefly an actress, known as Manya Roberti
(1908â€"1983); later Mrs. Louis Schneider, she left show
business.After having appeared in vaudeville, Roberti made her
Broadway debut in You Said It in 1931, and with its success became an
overnight sensation. During her run with the show, she was nicknamed
"Broadway's preferred Polish blonde". Historian Edward Jablonski found
that "much of her appeal to the audiences at the time was due to her
Polish accent" and cited instances where her pronunciation of certain
consonants would "stir audiences to gales of laughter." She also
appeared in the short-lived Gershwin musical Pardon My English in
1933. She moved to Hollywood and during the 1930s played in a string
of films. Her sexy but playful characterizations, along with the
accent she had acquired during her years in Europe and Asia, made her
popular with audiences.
American stage and film actress, and singer.Born in Warsaw, then part
of Imperial Russia, Lyda Roberti was the daughter of a German father
(surnamed Pecjak), a professional clown, and a Polish mother. As a
child she performed in the circus as a trapeze artist, and was a
vaudeville singer.As her family toured Europe and Asia, Roberti's
mother left her husband. To escape the upheaval in Russia after the
Communist revolution in 1917, they settled in Shanghai, China, where
Roberti earned money singing. She had an elder brother named Robert
(1905â€"1996), also born in Poland. Their Kiev-born younger sister,
Mary Pecjak, was briefly an actress, known as Manya Roberti
(1908â€"1983); later Mrs. Louis Schneider, she left show
business.After having appeared in vaudeville, Roberti made her
Broadway debut in You Said It in 1931, and with its success became an
overnight sensation. During her run with the show, she was nicknamed
"Broadway's preferred Polish blonde". Historian Edward Jablonski found
that "much of her appeal to the audiences at the time was due to her
Polish accent" and cited instances where her pronunciation of certain
consonants would "stir audiences to gales of laughter." She also
appeared in the short-lived Gershwin musical Pardon My English in
1933. She moved to Hollywood and during the 1930s played in a string
of films. Her sexy but playful characterizations, along with the
accent she had acquired during her years in Europe and Asia, made her
popular with audiences.
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