Re: Thomashevsky

Translates just fine.

A rumor in the Yiddish Theatre was that Thomashevsky had so many illegitimate children that they could form a fan club. Usually his current mistress(and often their child/children) would sit in one of the front row seats of any house he was in.

P.S. Michael Tilson Thomas...the conductor is his grandson.

Trudi

>From: Lori M Simon

>Reply-To: jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org

>To: World music from a Jewish slant

>Subject: Thomashevsky

>Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 15:54:16 -0500

>Friends,

>I thought I'd share this story with you. An older friend of mine, Mabel

>Snyder (nee Fenster), grew up in the Yiddish Theater in Cleveland and

>from time to time tells me stories. Today she shared this gem with me.

>Boris Thomashevsky was in town doing Grine Felder and little Mabel was

>sitting in the prompter's box, where she liked to watch from.

>Thomashevsky played a coal miner and in the opening scene he walked down

>into his basement apartment, covered in coal dust, face black, and

>prepared for himself a glezele tey (glass of tea). Since the glass would

>have been hot, he took a towel and wrapped it around the glass...and

>wrapped it around the glass, and wrapped it around the glass. He was

>making such a big deal about the wrapping. Now Mabel's father had warned

>her.that Thomashevsky was an alcoholic, like Barrymore, and when he was

>drunk he was magnificent onstage, sometimes improvising great things,

>improved in artistry, so everyone watched quietly to see what he would

>do. When nothing was forthcoming but the towel shtik, the house started

>whispering and tittering because he had been sitting for such a long time

>doiing the pantomime with the towel. Quietly, to the prompter he said,

>"Momzer, gib mir a vort!" The first two rows and the orchestra pit heard

>and were hysterical, but the rest of the house had no idea what was going

>on. They just thought here was the great Thomashevsky, hamming it up

>with a shtick, but really it was the drunk Thomashevsky who had forgotten

>his line and said, "Bastard, give me a word!" Dosn't translate as well,

>but there ya go.

>Lorele

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