Tenen Holtz | WatchedThis
Tenen Holtz
Acting
Biography
Elihu "Elye" Tenenholtz was born in the Russian hamlet of Azran, near the city of Rovne, in 1887 and came to the US at the age of ten. His first appearance in amateur Yiddish theatricals occurred in 1903, in staged readings of the works of Yiddish author Sholom Aleichem, the first person to do that. He augmented his theater appearances by writing for and editing a Yiddish satirical magazine under the pen-name "Moishe McCarthy". In 1916 he made the leap to the professional Yiddish stage and, befriended by the great doyenne Bessie Thomashevsky, helped her pen her memoirs, the first publication documenting a Yiddish actor's life. By 1920 he was appearing on both the Yiddish art stage with Maurice Schwartz and on Broadway, quickly rising to the top leadership of the Hebrew Actors' Union, the first arts union in America. In 1925 he co-founded a theater company with Celia Adler, half-sister of Luther Adler and "Method" teacher Stella Adler. In 1926 he was summoned to Hollywood and given a five-year contract at MGM. Like most Jewish actors, when he arrived in Hollywood he changed his name (choosing to bifurcate it into "Tenen Holtz"). During that time he regularly appeared in films alongside such stars as Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow and Marion Davies and under directors like King Vidor and Victor Fleming. This period would prove to be Tenenholtz's most prolific and would account for the majority of the 50+ films in which he would appear. While in Hollywood he helped jump start its fledgling Yiddish theater, founding a popular Yiddish theater company that included other transplanted Yiddish actors including Muni Weisenfreund (aka Paul Muni, father and son Rudolph Schildkraut and Joseph Schildkraut. When his contract at MGM ended, he moved over to Warner Brothers where he made films with Leslie Howard under the direction of Michael Curtiz. By the late 1930s the only calls he got were from Poverty Row studios, so Tenenholtz moved to nearby Monrovia and opened a chicken ranch. Though he would occasionally go back in front of the camera, he retired from film. By the time TV emerged, he landed a few roles on shows such as Perry Mason (1957) and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955). He died in 1971.
Filmography Movies
Acting
Bombshell
A glamorous film star rebels against the studio, her pushy press agent and a family of hangers-on.
The Demi-Bride
Trouble begins when Madame Girard steps out on her husband, Criquette's father, to fool around with rakish Phillippe Levaux. When Monsieur Girard finds out, Criquette saves her stepmother from scandal by tricking Levaux into a hasty marriage.
Frisco Sally Levy
Sally Lapidowitz is the daughter of an Orthodox Jewish father and an Irish Catholic mother and the girlfriend of motorcycle cop Patrick Sweeney. Sally finds herself attracted to the fancy Stuart Gold, a young Jewish boy who charms her father but raises Patrick's suspicions, which are soon justified.
Dinner at Eight
An ambitious New York socialite plans an extravagant dinner party as her businessman husband, Oliver, contends with financial woes, causing a lot of tension between the couple. Meanwhile, their high-society friends and associates, including the gruff Dan Packard and his sultry spouse, Kitty, contend with their own entanglements, leading to revelations at the much-anticipated dinner.
Sporting Blood
A horse with great potential is reluctantly sold by the breeder and by chance passes through multiple hands who do not treat him well.
Hard to Handle
A hustling public relations man promotes a series of fads.
The Ol' Gray Hoss
This story revolves around an old man who feels alone in the world aside from the gang who keeps him company and his old horse. He runs a horse and buggy business, but he has new competition: an auto taxi. The gang helps him to maintain his job by sabotaging the other man's.
International Crime
The second and final Grand National Pictures film to feature The Shadow, played again by Rod La Rocque. In this version, Lamont Cranston is an amateur detective and host of a radio show with his assistant Phoebe (not Margo) Lane. Cabbie Moe Shrevnitz and Commissioner Weston also appear.
Upstage
Dolly Havens, a small-town girl with big-town ambitions that are larger than her talents, hooks up with Johnny Storm, a vaudeville performer, whose talents make the act a success. Dolly, thinking she is the reason, meets a handsome leading man and joins up with him but, before long, he discovers 'she ain't a trouper' and she is soon performing with 4th-class acts in Tank Town America.
Devotion
A young Londoner disguises herself to become governess of the son of the barrister she loves.
Gallery
