LOUIS REINGOLD

LOUIS REINGOLD (late December 1875-August 27, 1944)

            The author of plays and stories, he was born Elozer-Dovid Ozharov in Tshekhanov (Ciechanów), Poland.  He studied in religious elementary school and Russian and Polish with a tutor.  In 1889 he came with his father to New York.  He became a tailor and attended an evening school.  He early on became involved in the Jewish labor movement and a member of the central executive of the Socialist Party.  He lived his last twenty years in Chicago and was active in charitable societies.  From 1899 he wrote sketches drawn from workers’ lives in Nyu-yorker folks-tsaytung (New York people’s newspaper) and Hoyzfraynd (House friend) in Brooklyn; sketches and theater reviews in Chicago’s Idisher kuryer (Jewish courier) and Idishe arbayter velt (Jewish labor world).  For a short time, he was in charge of the labor section of Forverts (Forward).  In 1908 he edited the daily newspaper Der forshteher (The contribution) in St. Louis; years later, he was assistant editor of the weekly Der idisher rekord (The Jewish record).  He also penned two dozen plays, a large number of which were staged in American Yiddish theaters: Hirshl lekert (Hirshl Lekert), Di zindike neshome (The sinful soul), Di naye velt (The new world), Dos milkhome-kind (The war child), Idisher velt khurbn (Jewish world destruction), Tekhter fun ukraine (Daughters from Ukraine), A grus fun der heym (Greetings from home), Di tsukunft (The future), Unzere getter (Our gods), Tserisene keytn (Broken chains), and Di shule fun lebn (The school of life), among others.  Among his play that were not produced: Liebes flamen (Loves burning), Kluge naronim (Smart fools), Ir eyntsike shvester (Her only sister), Der idisher tsigayner (The Jewish gypsy), Zayn vaybs tokhter (His wife’s daughter), Zaynen froyen shuldik? (Are women guilty?), Libe un biznes (Love and business), Tserisene hertser (Shredded hearts), Kunst un libe (Art and love), Der eybike kamf (The eternal battle), and Leynele mentshn (Clumsy people).  He died in Chicago.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 4; Zalmen Zilbertsvayg, Leksikon fun yidishn teater (Handbook of the Yiddish theater), vol. 4 (New York, 1963); autobiographical notes.

Yekhezkl Lifshits