Tenen Holtz, Acting - KorPlix:Korean Person Archives

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Tenen Holtz
Acting

Tenen Holtz
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1887-02-17,Volin - Russia
Gender
Male
Biography
Elihu "Elye" Tenenholtz was born in the Russian hamlet of Azran, near the city of Rovne, in 1887 and came to the US at the age of ten. His first appearance in amateur Yiddish theatricals occurred in 1903, in staged readings of the works of Yiddish author Sholom Aleichem, the first person to do that. He augmented his theater appearances by writing for and editing a Yiddish satirical magazine under the pen-name "Moishe McCarthy". In 1916 he made the leap to the professional Yiddish stage and, befriended by the great doyenne Bessie Thomashevsky, helped her pen her memoirs, the first publication documenting a Yiddish actor's life. By 1920 he was appearing on both the Yiddish art stage with Maurice Schwartz and on Broadway, quickly rising to the top leadership of the Hebrew Actors' Union, the first arts union in America. In 1925 he co-founded a theater company with Celia Adler, half-sister of Luther Adler and "Method" teacher Stella Adler. In 1926 he was summoned to Hollywood and given a five-year contract at MGM. Like most Jewish actors, when he arrived in Hollywood he changed his name (choosing to bifurcate it into "Tenen Holtz"). During that time he regularly appeared in films alongside such stars as Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow and Marion Davies and under directors like King Vidor and Victor Fleming. This period would prove to be Tenenholtz's most prolific and would account for the majority of the 50+ films in which he would appear. While in Hollywood he helped jump start its fledgling Yiddish theater, founding a popular Yiddish theater company that included other transplanted Yiddish actors including Muni Weisenfreund (aka Paul Muni, father and son Rudolph Schildkraut and Joseph Schildkraut. When his contract at MGM ended, he moved over to Warner Brothers where he made films with Leslie Howard under the direction of Michael Curtiz. By the late 1930s the only calls he got were from Poverty Row studios, so Tenenholtz moved to nearby Monrovia and opened a chicken ranch. Though he would occasionally go back in front of the camera, he retired from film. By the time TV emerged, he landed a few roles on shows such as Perry Mason (1957) and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955). He died in 1971.

Filmography

6.5

Bombshell
1933-10-13

0

The Demi-Bride
1927-02-19

Frisco Sally Levy

0

Frisco Sally Levy
1927-04-02

Dinner at Eight

6.7

Dinner at Eight
1933-12-22

5.5

Sporting Blood
1931-08-08

International Crime

5.5

International Crime
1938-04-23

The Ol' Gray Hoss

6

The Ol' Gray Hoss
1928-10-19

6

Upstage
1926-11-06

6.6

Hard to Handle
1933-01-28

Laughing Sinners

5.4

Laughing Sinners
1931-05-30

6.8

Devotion
1931-09-25

5.4

British Agent
1934-09-15

Gentleman's Fate

5.5

Gentleman's Fate
1931-03-07

Cock of the Air

0

Cock of the Air
1932-01-23

The Cardboard Lover

5.7

The Cardboard Lover
1928-09-02

Money Means Nothing

4

Money Means Nothing
1934-06-14

The Garden of Eden

5.6

The Garden of Eden
1928-02-04

Hollywood Mystery

3.5

Hollywood Mystery
1934-06-20

The Law of the Range

2.5

The Law of the Range
1928-01-21

4.7

The Kibitzer
1930-01-11

0

Detectives
1928-06-09

7.9

Exit Smiling
1926-11-06

Whistling in the Dark

5.2

Whistling in the Dark
1933-01-21

Broadway to Hollywood

4.6

Broadway to Hollywood
1933-09-15

Let Freedom Ring

6

Let Freedom Ring
1939-02-24

Mutiny on the Blackhawk

0

Mutiny on the Blackhawk
1939-07-31

Henry Goes Arizona

6

Henry Goes Arizona
1939-12-08

The Trail of '98

6.2

The Trail of '98
1928-03-20

Bringing Up Father

3

Bringing Up Father
1928-03-18

5.1

Bridal Suite
1939-05-26

5.3

Cipher Bureau
1938-10-25

3

All Teed Up
1930-04-16

7.1

Show People
1928-11-20

6.2

Nothing Sacred
1937-11-25

The Duke Steps Out

5

The Duke Steps Out
1929-03-19

0

The Chief
1933-11-03

House of Horror

0

House of Horror
1929-04-28

The Latest from Paris

0

The Latest from Paris
1928-02-04

Salome of the Tenements

0

Salome of the Tenements
1925-02-23

Whispering Whoopee

6.2

Whispering Whoopee
1930-03-08

6.8

Faithless
1932-10-15

0

Big Executive
1933-10-19

Lilies of the Field

3.5

Lilies of the Field
1930-01-05

7.6

Perry Mason
1957-09-21

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

7.7

Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955-10-02

6.5

Peter Gunn
1958-09-22

The Barbara Stanwyck Show

6.2

The Barbara Stanwyck Show
1960-09-19

7.6

Perry Mason
1957-09-21