Molly Picon

Most everyone who has seen Molly Picon play on the stage, or on the screen, or television, has grown to love her. Over the many years of her performances, she brought a great deal of joy and laughter to millions of her adoring fans, not only in the United States, but all over the world. 

Not only did she act in dozens of theatre productions, but being multi-talented, she also sang, wrote, created song lyrics, and she even headlined her own theatre in New York City, which was simply named the “Molly Picon Theatre.”

She appeared not only on the stage -- both the Yiddish and American stage -- but she also acted on the screen, such as in the English film version of “Fiddler on the Roof," in which she played Yente the Matchmaker. She also starred in several Yiddish films, and she also performed on the radio, where she had her own program in 1934. 

She also appeared on the television many times, such as in the programs, “Gomer Pyle, USMC,” and “Car 54, Where are You?”  Her most famous appearance in a Yiddish film was in the 1936 production of "Yidl mitn fidl" (“Yiddle With His Fiddle” in English), which is the most successful Yiddish film of all time.

The diminutive Molly was born in 1898 in New York on Broome Street, but she actually made her performance debut in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she would sing for passengers on a trolley car. 

She eventually performed on the stage in Philadelphia in its Arch Street Theatre, where she performed in her first legitimate role.

When she was fourteen, she even appeared in the George M Cohan production of “Broadway Jones.” 

After this, she toured around the country in stock company troupes, and she also appeared in a number of vaudeville productions.

While she was stranded in Boston with a vaudeville troupe, she met her future husband Jacob, who was then the manager of a Yiddish stock company. He convinced her that she could have even greater success as a top Yiddish comedienne, and we all know how well that worked out.

She very successfully followed her path onto the Yiddish stage and found stardom. 

Jacob and Molly fell in love, and they were married in 1919.

Molly was known to have traveled tens of thousands of miles every year to perform in plays and concerts in many countries around the world. 

She also performed in various Yiddish theatre houses in the United States, such as the Second Avenue and the Public Theatres in New York City. 

Some of us, and many of our parents and grandparents, fondly remember attending one of Molly’s performances when they were young, and her playing on the stage made a lasting impression on them.

To the masses around the world, Molly Picon was a darling. She exuded warmth, sincerity and generosity and made millions laugh, and she gave greatly to her profession whenever they needed her. Audiences adored her, and she will be remembered as one of the greatest performers ever to grace the Yiddish stage.

Now you will hear an excerpt from a 1977 interview with Quentin Melson, when she was nearly eighty years of age, where she talks about having a purpose in life, and the sound of laughter.

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