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FYVUSH FINKEL
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe
Syosset, New York
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Fyvush Finkel is an American "aktor" known as a star of Yiddish theater and for his role as lawyer/public defender Douglas Wambaugh, on the TV show, Picket Fences (1992-1996)
Shown below is a Yiddish guide to this "vunderlekh dzhentlman" (wonderful gentleman) and "talantirt" (talented) actor.
"aktor" (actor)
Finkel played the role of Mr. Mushnik in the
Off-B'way musical, "Little Shop of Horrors."
In 1988, Finkel's work as "Sam" in the New
York Shakespeare Festival revival of the
Yiddish classic, "Cafe Crown" earned him an
Obie award.
"bekeray" (bakery)
(Re: Moishe's Bakery, 115 Second Avenue)
Finkel said, "It's still there, thank God.
Whenever I want a kikhl--a surgar-coated cookie that melts in your
mouth--I go there. Ok, now you're getting me hungry!"
"blaybin lebn" (to survive)
[re: Ben Gurion--first Prime Minister of
Israel]
Finkel said, "Though Ben Gurion tried to
murder Yiddish, he lost. We will survive and
continue, with bells on."
"farbetung" (invitation)
During the show, "Fyvush Finkel Live!" Mr.
Finkel invites everyone to his 98th-birthday
celebration.
"farvaylung" (entertainment)
"When the immigrants came, that [the
Yiddish theatre] was their only entertainment. People worked 12
hours a
day, went home and then ran to the theater
to see their favorite plays and actors."
Quotation
Fiddler on "der dakh" (the roof)
Finkel made his B'way theatre debut in the
original 1964 production of "Fiddler on the
Roof." He played Mordcha, the innkeeper.
Later he played Lazar Wolfe, "der katsev"
(the butcher) in the 1981 B'way revival, and
eventually played the lead role of Tevye
the milkman for years in the national
touring company.
"gast" (guest) appearances
Finkel has made "gast" appearances on
Hollywood Squares, The Simpsons, and
Chicago Hope.
"gebentsh mit kinder"
(blessed with children)
Finkel, and his wife, Trudy Lieberman, have
two sons: Elliot and Ian. Some people have
said that his family is like the Von Trapps--
from The Sound of Music--loaded with
"talant" (talent).
"geboyrn-tog" (born)
Finkel was born on Oct. 9, 1922 in B'klyn,
New York.
"Klezmer" (musician)
Fyvush Finkel sings a Klezmer number, "I Am a Boarder by My
Wife."
"komiker" (comic) Finkel was a standup comic in the Catskills Borscht Belt.
"lip" (lip)-synch act
In the 1950s, Jerry Lewis always ended his
lip-synch act with "Feibish Finkel." Perhaps
he thought the name was funny.'
"makhn khoyzek fun" (to mock)
Finkel portrayed Harvey Lipschultz, a
crotchety U. S. History teacher on "Boston
Public" from 2000-2004. He teaches the ideals and morals of
ages past and is mocked by students. While being very
knowledgeable, he is not always "in tune"
with what's going on around him.
"mishpokhe" (family)
Finkel was the third of four sons of Jewish
immigrant "shnayder" (tailor), Harry Finkel, from Warsaw,
Poland, and "bale-boste" (housewife), Mary, from Minsk
(then part of Russia).
"nomen" (name)
[In 1994] Finkel said tht he would never
have changed his name--even if he had been asked to, nor would
he have altered
his "noz" (nose).
"shif" (ship)
Finkel and sons have appeared in concert
aboard cruise ships, highlighted by a
'round-the-world cruise on the QE2.
"shul(e)" (school)
Finkel attended a vocational high school in
New York. He studied to be a furrier, but
never worked at it.
"teater' (theater)
[Re: The Second Avenue Theater, between
Third and Fourth Streets]
Finkel said, "I used to call it 'the house of
Menasha Skulnik,' and was a big success
there, too. Molly Picon played there in the
early '20s. I started with her at the National
Theater. In her later years, we toured in a
revue, "Those Were the Days.
"tsuriktsien zikh" (retire/stop working)
Tablet reports ("A Serious Mensch") that
Fyvush Finkel's career, rooted in the Yiddish
theater, has lasted nearly eight decades.
And he's not planning on retirement anytime soon.
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