Molly Picon was a famous Yiddish-American actress during the early and mid 1900s. She could be seen on the stage, screen and later on even television. She was an American with Yiddish descent and was the daughter of polish jewish immigrants. Her name was originally Matka Opikun but changed it to Molly Picon in order to further Americanize herself. One can say this need to become more American as ironic because she was an American citizen born and raised in New York. Picon was famous for her roles and often writers would write roles specifically for her and her talent for comedy. She was famous for dressing up in drag, often as a Yeshiva boy. Picon was a star in the Yiddish Theater District and began performing at the young age of six. She began performing in Vaudeville at the age of 16 and then began performing with thomashefskys Yiddish repetory. Some of the plays that took off her career are Yonkele (little Yonkel), Tzkipe, Schmendrike (Loser), Gypsy girl, and Molly Dolly. Picon stopped attending school at the age of 16 and was hired by producer Jacob Kalich whom she later married. Kalich took Picon to Europe to perfect her American Yiddish. She performed for European audiences, the parts that Kalich had written for her and was Molly Picon was a famous Yiddish-American actress during the early and mid 1900s. She could be seen on the stage, screen and later on even television. She was an American with Yiddish descent and was the daughter of polish jewish immigrants. Her name was originally Matka Opikun but changed it to Molly Picon in order to further Americanize herself. One can say this need to become more American as ironic because she was an American citizen born and raised in New York. Picon was famous for her roles and often writers would write roles specifically for her and her talent for comedy. She was famous for dressing up in drag, often as a Yeshiva boy. Picon was a star in the Yiddish Theater District and began performing at the young age of six. She began performing in Vaudeville at the age of 16 and then began performing with thomashefskys Yiddish repetory. Some of the plays that took off her career are Yonkele (little Yonkel), Tzkipe, Schmendrike (Loser), Gypsy girl, and Molly Dolly. Picon stopped attending school at the age of 16 and was hired by producer Jacob Kalich whom she later married. Kalich took Picon to Europe to perfect her American Yiddish. She performed for European audiences, the parts that kalich had written for her and was adored across Europe. Also during this time her first film debuted back in the states, making her a star. When Picon returned to the United States two years later, she kept on performing parts written for her by her husband and went on to star in her most famous roles such as East and West, that made her the iconic actress that she remains today.

Source: Museum of Jewish Heritage (www.mjhnyc.org)

source: http://jwa.org/discover/infocus/comedy/picon