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.

Fyvush Finkel's Oral History

Fyvush Finkel, z"l, comedian, actor, and singer, was interviewed by Christa Whitney on October 23, 2014 in New York, New York.

This interview was conducted in Yiddish and English.

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

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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

A Great Institution: Fyvush Finkel on Yiddish Theater

2 min 21 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

Artifacts related to this oral history

Portrait of Fyvush Finkel

Fyvush Finkel's Awards

More information about this oral history

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