David Lederman

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Lives in the Yiddish Theatre

SHORT BIOGRAPHIES OF THOSE INVOLVED IN THE YIDDISH THEATRE
AS DESCRIBED IN ZALMEN ZYLBERCWEIG'S "LEXICON OF THE YIDDISH THEATRE"

1931-1969

David Lederman

L. was born in Apt (Opatów), Radom Gubernia, Poland, to religious parents, leather merchants.

He came over with his parents to Lodz. He began, meanwhile, to learn in a school because his parents had forced him out of their home.

After school L. participated in the student productions and he became excited about attention.

Later L. worked in a farm near Lodz and early he learned and "studied" plays.

Coming to Lodz, L. began in "amateur" circles and he debuted in the offering of Chirikov's "Di yidn (The Jews)", under the direction of the Moscow director Baru. On 10 April 1909 L. became a professional actor in Sam Adler's troupe.

From there L. went over to the troupes of Fiszon, Lipovski, Zandberg and Adler-Serotsky.

In the time of the World War, he was the co-founder (together with Michalesko and Charaz) of the modern operetta theatre "Central" in Warsaw, and then he became one of the active collaborators, when the theatre was forced into a drama and comedy theatre.

In May 1924 he was co-founder of "Vik't", in which he had acted in Warsaw and in the province, then he acted in the operetta in Warsaw's Kaminski Theatre, then back in "Vik't", a short time in "Sambatyon", where he also was an co-director, again in Kaminski's theatre (drama under the leadership of M. Lipman), and then in other Yiddish theatres in Poland. In 1932 he was co-founder of the "Yidishe bunde (Yiddish Band)", with whom he went on tour across Poland.

L. also had participated in he films "Tkies khaf" and "In poylishe velder (In the Polish Woods)".

L. was a managing member and cashier of the Yiddish Artists Union in Poland and a member in the Polish publishing committee for the first volume of the "Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre".

Sh. E.

Peretz Markish -- In kaminskis teater, "Literarishe bleter", Warsaw, pp.26?, 114.
David Lederman -- Vi azoy ikh bin gekumen tsu der bine, "Teat'Ts", Warsaw 1, 1928.