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Tenen Holtz

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.

Personal information

Birthday

1887-02-17

Birth Place

Volin - Russia

Movies and TV shows :

poster

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

1955

7.7

TV
All Teed Up

All Teed Up

1930

3.3

Movie
Big Executive

Big Executive

1933

0.0

Movie
Bombshell

Bombshell

1933

6.5

Movie
Bridal Suite

Bridal Suite

1939

5.1

Movie
Bringing Up Father

Bringing Up Father

1928

3.0

Movie
British Agent

British Agent

1934

5.6

Movie
Broadway to Hollywood

Broadway to Hollywood

1933

4.6

Movie
Cipher Bureau

Cipher Bureau

1938

5.3

Movie
Cock of the Air

Cock of the Air

1932

0.0

Movie
Detectives

Detectives

1928

0.0

Movie
Devotion

Devotion

1931

6.8

Movie
Dinner at Eight

Dinner at Eight

1933

6.7

Movie
Exit Smiling

Exit Smiling

1926

7.9

Movie
Faithless

Faithless

1932

6.8

Movie
Frisco Sally Levy

Frisco Sally Levy

1927

0.0

Movie
Gentleman's Fate

Gentleman's Fate

1931

5.5

Movie
Hard to Handle

Hard to Handle

1933

6.6

Movie
Henry Goes Arizona

Henry Goes Arizona

1939

6.0

Movie
Hollywood Mystery

Hollywood Mystery

1934

3.5

Movie
House of Horror

House of Horror

1929

0.0

Movie
International Crime

International Crime

1938

5.4

Movie
Laughing Sinners

Laughing Sinners

1931

5.4

Movie
Let Freedom Ring

Let Freedom Ring

1939

6.0

Movie
Lilies of the Field

Lilies of the Field

1930

3.5

Movie
Money Means Nothing

Money Means Nothing

1934

4.0

Movie
Mutiny on the Blackhawk

Mutiny on the Blackhawk

1939

0.0

Movie
Nothing Sacred

Nothing Sacred

1937

6.2

Movie
poster

Perry Mason

1957

7.7

TV
poster

Peter Gunn

1958

6.5

TV
Salome of the Tenements

Salome of the Tenements

1925

0.0

Movie
Show People

Show People

1928

7.1

Movie
Sporting Blood

Sporting Blood

1931

5.5

Movie
poster

The Barbara Stanwyck Show

1960

6.2

TV
The Cardboard Lover

The Cardboard Lover

1928

5.7

Movie
The Chief

The Chief

1933

3.0

Movie
The Demi-Bride

The Demi-Bride

1927

0.0

Movie
The Duke Steps Out

The Duke Steps Out

1929

5.0

Movie
The Garden of Eden

The Garden of Eden

1928

5.6

Movie
The Kibitzer

The Kibitzer

1930

4.7

Movie
The Latest from Paris

The Latest from Paris

1928

0.0

Movie
The Law of the Range

The Law of the Range

1928

2.5

Movie
The Notorious Sophie Lang

The Notorious Sophie Lang

1934

6.0

Movie
The Ol' Gray Hoss

The Ol' Gray Hoss

1928

6.0

Movie
The Trail of '98

The Trail of '98

1928

6.2

Movie
Upstage

Upstage

1926

6.0

Movie
Whispering Whoopee

Whispering Whoopee

1930

6.2

Movie
Whistling in the Dark

Whistling in the Dark

1933

5.6

Movie