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Serotsky), and
here had the opportunity to develop his acting
abilities. One of his best roles was "John
Kooks" (sp) in "Kean," by Al. Dumas.
In wartime, he
specialized in political monologues (written by
Avi Cohen, Y., M. Neyman and Z. Zylbercweig),
which he used to personify in the living and
thereby had an enormous success. Then he became
a partner in the small arts stage with Solomon
Kustin and Pesach Burstein, with whom he went on
a tour across Poland, Volin and Galicia. Later
by himself he acted in several large cities of
Western Europe, such as Berlin, Leipzig, et al.
Y. also had
participated in Lodz's German theatre (director:
Walter Wasserman) in the play "Yetkhen Gebert,"
acting in the role of "Zayde" in a
Yiddish-German dialect.
In his last years,
Y. had made various, unsuccessful attempts at
acting in the province, however he had no longer
remained as a member of the official Yiddish
troupes in Poland. On 31 October 1931, Y. passed
away in Lodz.
In the necrology
of the "Lodz Tagenblat," it was said about Y.:
"he has influenced by his naturalness, his
simplicity, his popularity. There was a time
when Yedvab was the darling of the Yiddish
theatre world in Lodz."
Reuben Marsalov
wrote about him: "Who hasn't responded to his
sweet, fluttering humor, with equivalency?
...but early on he hears us (the old Yiddish
actor) to exist, even before he gets tired of
his mission [?], he is considered by his own
friends for public service. The environment
around him became cold, not friendly, that when
the Yedvabs wanted them, would they have to
worry about it, which each had suffered in their
martyrdom ways, on the ne-und-veg of a
Yiddish actor."
Zalmen Zylbercweig
characterizes him this way: "For me Yedvab was
more than a stage actor. Not that it was his
specialty. He was, by nature, a clown, a mocker,
a joker, a scoundrel, a modern badkhan,
or in general a human being, who saw the world
through comic glasses. This was Modke Khabad,
Hershele Ostropoler, the entire mountain with
comic stories, clowning, crazy incidents they
tell about. ...the same character carries out
these things, which they recall about Hershl
Yedvab. ...Yedvab, by nature, was an
entertainer. He had always been screaming that
he didn't use it, that he was not it was not
right, that indeed he did not correct. It is
true that with his mouth he did not say it out
loud, but with his wandering eyes these were
said, step by step, in no sense Yankl Shapovich
was so sure [?]. ..Yedvab, who was a knaper Jew
in Hebrew, had so surely felt in his Hebrew role
as "Wasserstein" in Dr. Herzl's "the New
Ghetto," that he had always brought to
resurrect. He suddenly lived in the role of this
broker, again unlucky, not a safe person. Then
came the time when Yedvab joined the
professional Yiddish theatre and was not found.
There he had argued -- due to conflicts -- with
bad actors, not ....there appeared to be
opposition on the upper floor. He remained in
the ensemble. At first the political monologue,
which he had brought forth in the time of the
German-Austrian Occupation, indeed against the
Occupation, they drew him out of the ranks, and
Yedvab for several years was a known thing in
the Yiddish theatre world in Western Europe."
-
Necrology
in "Lodzer tagenblat," 1 November 1931.
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Amelia
Adler -- Dos lebn fun a yidisher akterise,
"Di idishe velt," Cleveland, 7 November
1930.
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Reuben
Marsalov -- Nito mer hershl yedvab?, "Lodzer
tagenblat," 1 November 1931.
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Zalmen
Zylbercweig -- "Der lodzer hershele
ostropoler, "New Folksblat," Lodz, 23, 25
November 1932, "Di prese," Buenos Aires, 23
December 1932.
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