Bertha Kalich

Bertha Kalich, was a Jewish actress, born in Lemberg, Galicia . Though she was wellestablished as an entertainer in Eastern Europe, she is best remembered as one of the several largerthanlife figures that dominated New York stages during the Golden Age of American Yiddish Theatre during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Historians estimate that, during her career, Kalich performed more than 125 different roles in seven different languages.

Kalich was born Beylke Kalakh in what was then AustriaHungary, the only child of Solomon Kalakh, a poor brush manufacturer and amateur violinist. Her mother was Babette Halber Kalakh, a seamstress who often made costumes for local theaters. Babette was an active opera fan and her devotion inspired a love for the stage in her daughter. They often attended performances together and when young Bertha came of age, her parents scraped together their meager funds to send her to private music and drama schools. At age thirteen, she joined the chorus of the local Polish theater and later attended the prestigious Lemberg Conservatory.

Source: Wikipedia