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Morris Kenig
(Chliwner)
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K. was born in 1892 in
Warsaw, Poland, to Orthodox parents.
As a child he sang in
Gozik's school, and from there through Dr. Rozental
(first husband of Paula Prilutski) he was taken in, at
the age of ten, to the chorus of "Shulamis" in Polish
(Yiddish theatre then was forbidden.) He developed a
strong desire for the stage, and when he grew up he
performed together with youths in the home of a friend,
"Jacob with his Son", performing as "Yakov." He took [zeyer
oys] and [dos farshtarkt nokh bey] him more
the will to the stage.
K. participated afterwards
in the various Yiddish children's troupes on the Jewish
street. After he became older, he became an employee in
a bookshop. The desire for the theatre [tlyet]
still took over him, and two years later he became
through actor Adolph Fenigstein aroused as a
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professional in
Tsipkus' provincial troupe, but not as an actor,
but as a prompter. From there he went over to
the Elizeum Theatre in Warsaw as a prompter, and
afterwards toured with Rappel across Russia
(often alone directing the troupe), where he
lived through the pogroms and the Revolution.
In 1920 K. came to
America, where he performed on the stage and
also prompted. In 1927 he made, together with
his wife, the soubrette Betti Kenig, a
tour across Europe, returning again to America,
where he further prompted, wrote over a play,
"edited" plays, and directed the guest
appearances of his wife. On 17 November 1954 K.
passed away in New York [buried in the Yiddish
Theatrical Alliance society plot at Mt. Hebron
Cemetery in Flushing, New York -- ed.].
Sh. E.
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