The Yiddish Book Center's

Wexler Oral History Project

A growing collection of in-depth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, whose stories about the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture offer a rich and complex chronicle of Jewish identity.

A Great Institution: Fyvush Finkel on Yiddish Theater

Watch now:

Fyvush Finkel, z"l—comedian, actor, and singer—shares his thoughts on the institution of Yiddish theater and how it has been a part of his life.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Fyvush Finkel.

This excerpt is in Yiddish.

Fyvush Finkel was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1922. Fyvush died in 2016.

Jump to map

This interview is part of the Yiddish and the Arts: musicians, actors, and artists series.

Other video highlights from this oral history

My Grandfather's Best Joke

3 min 15 sec

Ikh Bin a "Boarder" bay Mayn Vayb: Fyvush Finkel

1 min 41 sec

"For Tragedy, for Comedy, for Everything": Fyvush Finkel on the Yiddish Language

1 min 13 sec

"Now there was an actor!" - Fyvush Finkel on Yiddish comic actor Ludwig Satz

54 sec

Fyvush Finkel Remembers the Yiddish Theaters in Brownsville, Brooklyn

1 min 3 sec

"Overnight, My Name Became Known": Breaking into the Hebrew Actors' Union

4 min 57 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

Themes: