Funeral services will be held tomorrow for Louis Schnitzel, founder of the Yiddish Art Theatre, who died at his home here at the age of 68. In 1919, after he had succeeded in various business enterprises, he conceived the idea of forming a Yiddish theatrical group for presentation of great classics from literature in many languages. He became interested in the theatre because his wife, Henrietta Schnitzer, who survives him, was a well-known actress.
He founded the Yiddish Art Theatre, attracting such well-known talent as Rudolf Schildkraut, Jacob Ben Ami, and many other young actors and actresses who, later, became famous. Mr. Schnitzer’s theatrical venture was a critical success–but a financial failure. When he dissolved the theatrical group, Maurice Schwartz continued the Art Theatre’s policy, starring in many of the leading productions himself.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
