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about-sam.qmd
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---
lightbox: true
title: About Sam Kestin
---
Start by read his [entry in the {{< var leks >}}](https://www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/yt/lex/K/kasten-sam.htm)! Note that a good amount of the information in his entry was obtained from his [memoirs](./memoirs.qmd).
## Entry in the [_Jewish World Almanac_ (1926)](https://archive.org/details/nybc205590/page/n349/mode/2up?view=theater)
> Sam is today both the youngest and oldest Yiddish comedian on the stage[^oldyoung]. In his time, Mogulesko was the comedian among comedians, and {{< var kestin >}} is in his time the comedian among comedians. {{< var kestin >}} is a true Yiddish-American comedian. He was born in a European shtetl, but he was brought up in the true American-Yiddish atmosphere.
>
> When {{< var kestin >}} goes up onto the stage, he is a _yidele_^[Affectionate term for a fellow Jew; literally "little Jew"], a _voyler_^[good], _tayere_^[dear] _yidele_ down to the last detail. The _yidele_ who {{< var kestin >}} represents is a "jumper"^[איז אויף ספּרוזשינעס]. He is nimble and animated, and you have no choice but to love him regardless of whether he is the schemer in the play, or the lover in the play. There are many comedians on the Yiddish stage who want to be like {{< var kestin >}}.
>
> There are comedians who make you laugh by smearing themselves with soot, or by dressing up dirty pants, or by sticking out their tongues, or by prancing around the stage in their drawers. There are comedians who make you laugh by behaving like _schlimazls_ who get hit or whose wife gives them a black eye.
>
> {{< var kestin >}} is not one of those comedians. {{< var kestin >}} makes you laugh simply because he is on the stage^[In other words, {{< var kestin >}} does not need to resort to gimmicks to get a laugh]. When he is up on the stage, you feel good with joy in your heart, and you don't want him to ever leave the stage. He is so dear, so "cute"^[’קיוט’].
>
> A bad actor won't help a good play with a good role. A good actor is pleasant to see even without a play and without a role. {{< var kestin >}} is that sort of talent, who will amuse you even without being in a play or performing in a role.
>
> {{< var kestin >}} is a play unto himself. When you meet {{< var kestin >}} in private and spend an hour with him, you come away feeling like you have just seen an interesting play. He is a comedian who takes his comic roles seriously, but still with liveliness and joy. {{< var kestin >}} is a deeply serious {{< var mentsh >}} who appreciates art and the Yiddish stage in general.
>
> {{< var sam-full >}} is an institution in the Yiddish theater world.
>
> In whichever city {{< var kestin >}} performs, he brings happiness to the lives of the Jewish youth. This season, {{< var kestin >}} plays in the People's Theater^[The 1925/26 season].
## Songs
Listen to Sam sing!
Click on the album images below to be directed to the song information and recording.
:::: {layout-ncol=4}
**_Shtetl Amerike_**
<a href="https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/AILNOPUGHMBRRB8P/A4AOYJB4PVKJLQ8D">
<img src="img/about-sam/shtetl-amerike.jpeg" width=275" alt = "_Shtetl Amerike_">
</a>
**_Ikh bin sherif_**
<a href="https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/A3VCRAVLPKFPYC8M/A6AKXQVAVCNIA48Q">
<img src="img/about-sam/ich-bin-sherif.jpeg" width=275" alt = "_Ikh bin sherif_">
</a>
**_Kolombus's medine_**
<a href="https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/ALAZFBGS6T7AYM9A/AJFTAEKRURVFXA8T">
<img src="img/about-sam/kolombuses-medine.jpeg" width=275" alt = "_Kolombus's medine_">
</a>
**_Ikh beink zurik kein New York_**
<a href="https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/AQIQK5TNE3CH6H9D/AAPIWWXRMFVGB78J">
<img src="img/about-sam/ich-beink.jpeg" width=275" alt = "_Ikh beink zurik kein New York_">
</a>
::::
<!--
### Songs Sam originated
These are songs which Sam did not record, but he _did_ originate!
-->
## Photo Gallery
Click on any picture below to scroll through them as a photo gallery.
<br><br>
::: {layout-ncol=4}
{group="sam"}
{group="sam"}
{group="sam"}
{group="sam"}
 in the play _Khantshe in Amerike_](img/about-sam/ich-hob.png){group="sam"}
{group="sam"}
{group="sam"}
)](img/about-sam/sam-almanac.png){group="sam"}
{group="sam"}
{group="sam"}
{group="sam"}
](img/about-sam/sam-griner-millionaire.jpg){group="sam"}
](img/about-sam/sam-broken-violin-1.png){group="sam"}
](img/about-sam/sam-broken-violin-2.jpg){group="sam"}
{group="sam"}
 (middle) in _Hello, Molly_ during the 1928/29 season, Second Avenue Theater. According to the caption, Sam and Molly play father and son, and in this scene they confess their love for the Russian princess (played by Betty) as she sings Romanian songs.](img/about-sam/sam-molly-betty.png){group="sam"}
{group="sam"}
{group="sam"}
 (one of {{< var boris >}}'s sisters) in _The Happy Village_ in 1937, Second Avenue Theater.](img/about-sam/happy-village.jpeg){group="sam"}
{group="sam"}
 of the cast of _Earth, Heaven, and Trickery_, with Sam on the bottom right. [(Source)](https://archive.nyu.edu/handle/2451/54974?mode=full)](img/about-sam/earth-heaven.png){group="sam"}
 of the cast of _The Doctor's Wife_ by {{< var kobrin-full >}}, with Sam second from the left.](img/about-sam/doctors-wife.jpeg){group="sam"}
{group="sam"}
:::
[^oldyoung]:
Sam was 57 years old, with a shock of white hair, when this entry was written, yet he had a youthful exuberance in his dancing, acting, and general demeanor/way of life.