Max Bozyk

Biography

Max Bozyk was born in Lodz (pronounced Wooj - but often Anglicized to sound like Ludz), Poland, in 1888, where he first performed in Yiddish theater and films. It was also there that he met his wife Reizl Bozyk, who accompanied him on stage as the second half of a comedy team. Touring in 1939 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he and his wife elected not to return to Poland after Hitler's invasion of their home country. Instead, they with their only daughter (their only son had remained in Poland and subsequently died in the holocaust) emigrated to the U.S. in 1941 and quickly established themselves as regulars in Yiddish productions on stage, as well as in Yiddish films. He was often likened to the French comedian [link-nm0272794] for his ability to evoke laughter and tears, almost simultaneously, and for the way in which he moved with subtle, abject gestures of the shoulders and head to enhance the comedic effect. His involvement with the Yiddish theater extended to a stint as president of the now-defunct Hebrew Actors Union, an organization for which he also served many years on the executive board. He was also a member of the Yiddish Theatrical Alliance and the Yiddish Artists & Friends. A performer to the last, he collapsed in his wife's arms after completing a monologue from the writings of Sholom Aleichem. Unable to revive him, he was pronounced dead at New York's Roosevelt Hospital.