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person_profile-Tenen Holtz

Tenen Holtz Died at age: 84

Actor | Producer

Fullname:

Tenen Holtz

Date of Birth:

Feb 17, 1887

Country of birth:

Volin - Russia

Died:

Jul 01, 1971

Biography of

Tenen Holtz

    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.

Photos of

Tenen Holtz

Photos ( 1 Photos

Filmography of

Tenen Holtz

Found 41 Movies in total

Henry Goes Arizona

Boris - a Ranch Hand (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1939

... 1939

Bridal Suite

Hotel Runner at Train Station ( Actor )

... 1939

Let Freedom Ring

Hunky (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1939

Cipher Bureau

Simon Herrick ( Actor )

... 1938

International Crime

Starkhov ( Actor )

... 1938

Nothing Sacred

Tearful Waiter (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1937

British Agent

Lenin ( Actor )

... 1934

The Notorious Sophie Lang

Bystander (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1934

Hollywood Mystery

Benjamin Vogel ( Actor )

... 1934

Money Means Nothing

Mr. Silverman ( Actor )

... 1934

Dinner at Eight

Butler (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1933

The Chief

Bald Henchman at Cabin ( Actor )

... 1933

Big Executive

Pawnbroker ( Actor )

... 1933

Bombshell

White - Lola's Agent (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1933

Broadway to Hollywood

Booking Agent ( Actor )

... 1933

Hard to Handle

Tailor (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1933

Whistling in the Dark

Herman ( Actor )

... 1933

Faithless

Diner Proprietor ( Actor )

... 1932

Cock of the Air

Tall Waiter ( Actor )

... 1932

Devotion

Waiter ( Actor )

... 1931

Sporting Blood

Gus, Bald Gambling Mobster (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1931

Laughing Sinners

Poker-Playing Salesman ( Actor )

... 1931

Gentleman's Fate

Tony ( Actor )

... 1931

The Kibitzer

Meyer ( Actor )

... 1930

Lilies of the Field

Paymaster ( Actor )

... 1930

House of Horror

Brown ( Actor )

... 1929

The Duke Steps Out

Jake, Duke's manager ( Actor )

... 1929

Show People

Casting Director ( Actor )

... 1928

The Cardboard Lover

Albine ( Actor )

... 1928

Detectives

Orloff ( Actor )

... 1928

The Trail of '98

Mr. Bulkey ( Actor )

... 1928

Bringing Up Father

Ginsberg Feitelbaum ( Actor )

... 1928

The Latest from Paris

Abe Littauer ( Actor )

... 1928

The Garden of Eden

Headwaiter at Palais de Paris (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1928

The Law of the Range

Cohen ( Actor )

... 1928

Frisco Sally Levy

Isaac Solomon Lapidowitz ( Actor )

... 1927

The Demi-Bride

Gaston ( Actor )

... 1927

Exit Smiling

Tod Powell ( Actor )

... 1926

Upstage

Sam Davis ( Actor )

... 1926

Salome of the Tenements

Banker Ben (as Elihu Tenenholz) ( Actor )

... 1925