Maurice Schwartz, born Avram Moishe Schwartz (June 18, 1890 â€" May
10, 1960), born in the Volhynia province of Ukraine (then part of the
Russian Empire), was a stage and film actor active in the United
States. He founded the Yiddish Art Theatre and its associated school
in 1918 in New York City and was its theatrical producer and director.
He also worked in Hollywood, mostly as an actor in silent films but
also as a film director, producer, and screenwriter.Schwartz was born
Avrom Moishe Schwartz in Sudilkov (Sudylkiv), Ukraine, then in the
Russian Empire, to Isaac, a grain dealer, and his wife Rose (née
Bernholtz) Schwartz, a Jewish family. Moishe was the oldest of three
boys among the six siblings, and had three older sisters. Like many
similar families, the Schwartzes immigrated to the United States in
stages. In 1898 Isaac Schwartz emigrated with his three teen-aged
daughters, so they could all work to get started in New York and earn
money for passage for Rose and their three young sons.The following
year he sent tickets for his wife and the boys. They got as far as
Liverpool, where they were to sail for the U.S., but got separated.
Rose was forced to leave without Moishe. Without any English, he made
his way to London, where he lived for two years, surviving with the
help of strangers. His father located him in 1901, and they traveled
together to New York when Moishe was twelve.
10, 1960), born in the Volhynia province of Ukraine (then part of the
Russian Empire), was a stage and film actor active in the United
States. He founded the Yiddish Art Theatre and its associated school
in 1918 in New York City and was its theatrical producer and director.
He also worked in Hollywood, mostly as an actor in silent films but
also as a film director, producer, and screenwriter.Schwartz was born
Avrom Moishe Schwartz in Sudilkov (Sudylkiv), Ukraine, then in the
Russian Empire, to Isaac, a grain dealer, and his wife Rose (née
Bernholtz) Schwartz, a Jewish family. Moishe was the oldest of three
boys among the six siblings, and had three older sisters. Like many
similar families, the Schwartzes immigrated to the United States in
stages. In 1898 Isaac Schwartz emigrated with his three teen-aged
daughters, so they could all work to get started in New York and earn
money for passage for Rose and their three young sons.The following
year he sent tickets for his wife and the boys. They got as far as
Liverpool, where they were to sail for the U.S., but got separated.
Rose was forced to leave without Moishe. Without any English, he made
his way to London, where he lived for two years, surviving with the
help of strangers. His father located him in 1901, and they traveled
together to New York when Moishe was twelve.
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