HYMAN (KHAYIM) MAYZEL (MYSEL)

HYMAN (KHAYIM) MAYZEL (MYSEL) (March 1866-February 18, 1935)

            He was born in Ukraine, southern Russia.  He studied in religious elementary school and later graduated from a state Russian school.  He was a Yiddish actor, appearing in various theaters, at times also performing in Russian.  In the United States, he worked as an operator in a sweatshop.  In April 1923 he was acting in the play Yizker (Remembrance) and became paralyzed on the stage.  He would often write numbers—declamations for his performances on stage.  He collected the better of them and published them in a book entitled Deklamatsyonen (Declamations), “by the celebrated Yiddish playwright Hyman Mayzel” (New York, 1919), 114 pp.  He was also the author of: a play, Zayn vaybs man, a komishe opereta (His wife’s husband, a comical operetta) (Warsaw: Kultur, 1912), 74 pp.; and Kegn der natur (Against nature), a drama in four acts, music by Joseph Rumshinsky; Ruvele sholtik (Ruvele the scoundrel) and Gekoyfte libe (Purchased love).  He died in Los Angeles.

Source: Zalmen Zilbertsvayg, Leksikon fun yidishn teater (Handbook of the Yiddish theater), vol. 2 (New York, 1934), with a bibliography.

Yankev Kahan