BOZYK, MAX

BOZYK, MAX (1899–1970), Yiddish comic actor. Born in Lodz, Bozyk was touring in Argentina when Poland was overrun by the Germans in 1939. He and his wife, Rose (Reyzl), reached New York in 1941 and soon became a popular comedy touring team in the U.S. and Canada. They performed together on the American-Yiddish stage for 30 years. Bozyk acted in such films as Castle in the Sky (1936), The Dybbuk (1937), The Jester (1937), Yiddel mit'n Fiddel (1936), Jolly Paupers (1938), A Brievele der Mamen (1938), Little Mother (1938), The Eternal Song (1939), and God, Man, and Devil (1949). With his wife, he appeared in the vintage musical Catskill Honeymoon (1949). Directed by Josef Berne, Catskill Honeymoon tells the story of a Jewish resort hotel that celebrates the 50^th wedding anniversary of a couple who are longtime clients by putting on a rollicking Borscht Belt show, replete with singers, dancers, comedians, and impressionists. The show's grand finale is a powerful musical tribute to the year-old State of Israel. The movie was filmed at Young's Gap Hotel in Parksville, New York. Plays in which Bozyk appeared in New York include Don't Worry, Brother! (1963) and The Travels of Benjamin iii (1969). He was president of the Hebrew Actors' Club. His wife, rose (1914–1993), made her American film debut in 1988 in Crossing Delancey. In the role of Bubbie Kantor, Amy *Irving's grandmother, she is said to have stolen the show.

[Ruth Beloff (2^nd ed.)]