Newspaper Page Text
The,Southern Israelite
Page 13
/ igh lights and Sidelights
Gossip and News of Jewish Personalities
By MARTIN GOLDE
, V]th ]<v , ne Meyer safely tucked in
Governor of the Federal
Reserve B< ;<rd. it is quite in order to re-
late a jjttk ancient history, in which the
A | characters includes Teutons and
lo-Sax<inv After Cchurman’s exit
nan the p"St of American envoy to the
i the Mitlerites, President
{. M iver tin'US’lit it would be an excellent
t Eugene Meyer at the helm
a>>y in Berlin. But Herb was
, ut ,,f order. He was foolish enough to
ik that a man who is of German an-
otry is < iirmati. He is—unless he hap-
in-i^ to he Jewish.
hrmigh the usual indirect channels by
h such diplomatic amenities are con-
I,ided tin name of Eugene Meyer was
in pc'ted to Hindenburg. But evidently
,,dnr i»t Jewish flesh is not pleasant
the n« *>trils of the Junkers, unless it
inis to he the flesh of Jews burning
,s iodder on some German battlefield,
make a long story short, the name
Meyer was vetoed and Frederick
kett was subsequently named. Red
»e at W ashington is so thick that it
iet*• a' a heavy curtain to muffle all
that might disturb the public.
\nyhow. the Germans know that Meyer
•» a Jew. Perhaps the laugh will be
n the Americans if at the next session
f the Senate, when the Meyer appoint
ing comes up, one of our abundant
yokels hints that Meyer is ineligible be-
ati'e of his Mosaic ancestry.
n wondering about Jewish stars of the
>t the name of Battling Levinsky and
' fate in this cruel, unappreciative
"Hd amused my curiosity. After check
'll up on him I discovered that the fam-
b'.xer, once the light-weight cham-
i of the world, is about to settle down
tter more than two decades of more or
successful fighting, and that he plans
"pen a business men’s gymnasium
1 nivwhere along Broadway.
Levinsky was one of the most popular
’mhters of his time—which began around
l 1 ' 11 " and eonculded last year. It was in
hat Levinsky reached world renown
■ defeated Jack Dillon. But his
lasted for only four years, for in
I '-P Handsome George Carpentier level-
;, 1 Bat to ignominious defeat. Since then
n struggling along. One wonders
II 1m many friends of a well-to-do past
Battling Levinsky as the pro-
r, 'tor of ;i gymnasium.
in>t often that the clergy gets
1 in this column. But when the
t the cloth merit a break they
" in grand style. Take the case
"am Z. Idelsohn, for example.
Jewish name, you would say.
e is Professor of Music and
r courses at the Hebrew' Union
Cincinnati. The other day,
'paper accounts relate, Prof.
1 ame back to Pilsener Town
1 sad tale of woe to the local
1Ce : had been on a jaunt to
' 3 n a w * c ked confidence men
him out of $5,200 on a fake
he asserted. We hope the
man will catch the bad, bad
put them all in a dark, damp
But Dr. Idelsohn—if you’ll
personal mode of address—
die difference as to whether
race was fake or genuine?
a tradition in the family of
Mni, the famous actor, that
as born his mother said: “My
"ever be an actor.’’ In the
nave passed, during which she
her son grow into one of
the country s noted dramatic stars, she
has shown her objection to her son’s
career in only one way: she never conies
to see him in a play in which he has a
dying scene.
Talking of the stage brings me to
Maurice Sshartz, the man who gave birth
to the Yiddish Art Theatre and who is
having more sorrows in keeping it alive
than he had labor pains. Some montths
ago he went to Argentina for several
weeks of repertory. The money he made
down in South America will be used to
maintain Art on East Side’s Broadway.
Recently Schwartz announced he would
go to Philadelphia—and thus punish the
callous theatre-goers of Gotham, who
didn’t know a great artist when they
heard one. But apparently Philadelphia
didn’t particularly appreciate the honor
that had been conferred upon it. So that
Schwartz will play the old stand this sea
son.
But all this living from hand to mouth
could have been avoided if Schwartz
knew a little more about the box office
and just a trifle less about Art. It hap
pened this way :
His nephew is John Wexley, who was
puttering around with a play two years
ago. He came to his uncle and urged
him to put it on in Yiddish, saying that
it was an excellent stage piece. But
Maurice Schwartz, who insisted lie knew
his Drama, pooh- poohed his twenty-
four-year-old nephew. “Gwan, that’s
rubbish—take it away,” he scorned.
Last year that same play was produced
on Broadway and made countless thous
ands for Wexley and even more for the
producer. The play which Maurice
Schwartz had pooh-poohed was’Thc Last
Mile,” that sensational play of prison life.
Joe Weber and Lew Fields, that most
famous of all comedy teams, are about
to stage a comebck. Twenty years ago
they were the wittiest pair in the busi
ness. But old age creeping up on them
knocked them for a row of poorhouses,
except for the money they had laid aside.
Radio, looking around for always new
material to sate the millions of dial-
twisters, decided to give Joe and Lew
another chance. And so it is that they
will be back in their old roles as Mike
and Meyer, telling their stories with their
own inimitable German accent. They
won’t be the same stories, however.
They’ve had to work up new gags, new
situations. The new generation laughs
at a different kind of crack. And show
men who know their business supply the
new kind. Here’s hoping that these two
old Jewish veterans make the grade.
Jascha Heifetz is one of the very few
violin virtuosos who have thus far not
succumbed to the wealth and fame offer
ed by the radio. Nevertheless he has his
own views on the subject. Recently, m
discussing radio broadcasting wi^th
George Engles, chief of the National
Broadcasting artists' bureau. Jascha de
clared that “broadcasts should be a little
more artistic. During the intermission of
an. orchestral concert let the announcer
say that the radio audience may now re
tire for a cigarette or a refreshing chat,
and that the music will soon begin again.
This would carry out the fine tradition
of the concert stage, and • • •
But Engles let him go no further, in
terrupting with a mild sarcasm which
shattered the naive musings of Jascha.
“Only cost several thousand dolars m
wire tolls while nothing is going out over
(Copyright, 1930, by S.A.F.S.
