Jacob Ben-Ami was born in 1890 in Minsk, Belarus. His early education took place in a heder, followed by private schooling. From a young age, Ben-Ami had a profound interest in theatre. As a child, he sang with various cantors and performed behind the curtains in Russian theatre.
At seventeen, Ben-Ami began acting with the Russian State Theatre. Starting with walk-on roles, he eventually led the walk-on actors. Over time, more prominent roles, including speaking parts, were given to him. In the summer of 1908, Ben-Ami traveled with the Sam Adler-Meerson troupe as an understudy. After five months, minor roles came his way, but Adler dismissed him, stating he would never become an actor. Undeterred, Ben-Ami joined Mitleman's troupe and received more substantial roles. In Odessa, a meeting with Peretz Hirshbein led to founding the first Yiddish Dramatic Theatre, which Ben-Ami both acted and directed.
Ben-Ami moved to London in 1912 to become the director and leading actor at Feinman's Artistic Temple. However, the theatre closed after four months. Subsequently, an invitation to America brought him to join Sarah Adler's troupe, where The Green Maiden was performed. After this theatre closed mid-season, Ben-Ami joined the actor's union and contracted with Thomashefky's troupe, acting in Dymow's "Eternal Wanderer."
In 1914, Ben-Ami's tour with Keni Lipzin included an appearance at the Neighborhood Playhouse in the spring. In 1917, Ben-Ami signed with Schwartz's Irving Place Theatre, presenting Pinski's Love's Strange Ways and Hirshbein's Faraway Corner. From 1919 to 1920, the Jewish Art Theatre was founded under Ben-Ami's leadership and with financial support from Louis Schnitzer and direction by Emanuel Reicher. Known as "The New Yiddish Theatre" in Yiddish, it featured works by Hirshbein, Sholem Asch, Sholem Aleichem, Pinski, Dymow, Hauptmann, Tolstoy, and Lang.
Transitioning to the English-language stage in 1920, Ben-Ami starred in Arthur Hopkins' Broadway production of Samson and Delilah. On March 9, 1943, Ben-Ami starred in We Will Never Die, a memorial service at Madison Square Garden for the Jews murdered by the Nazis, attended by 40,000 people. His last Broadway play, The Tenth Man by Paddy Chayefsky, ran for 623 performances from November 1959, to May 1961. Additionally, Ben-Ami co-directed the film Green Fields (1937) and appeared in The Wandering Jew (1933), Esperanza (1949), and on television.
Jacob Ben-Ami's remarkable career spanned continents and languages, and until he died in 1977, he left a lasting legacy in Yiddish and English theatre. His niece, Jennifer Warren, is an actress and film director.
(* The image is taken from Wikipedia: Jacob Ben-Ami, Shadowland, p. 42. February, 1923)
Sources
"Jacob Ben-Ami" on Wikipedia.
"Jacob Ben-Ami" on the Museum of Family History.
Quindlen, Anna. "Jacob Ben‐Ami, Actor, Dies at 86; A Founder of Jewish Art Theater." The New York Times, July 23, 1977.
"Jacob Ben-ami Dead at 86". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. July 26, 1977.
