© Copyright Harutyunyan 2024

sunfilm-logo
Home/Tenen Holtz
Tenen Holtz‌

Gender

Male

Birthday

calendar1887-02-17

Popularity

star3.2

Tenen Holtz

Volin - Russia

Tenen Holtz

Volin - Russia

Gender

Male

Birthday

calendar1887-02-17

Popularity

star3.2

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.

Movie Credits

Bombshell

Bombshell‌
star6.5
calendar 1933

The Demi-Bride

The Demi-Bride‌
star0.0
calendar 1927

Frisco Sally Levy

Frisco Sally Levy‌
star0.0
calendar 1927

Dinner at Eight

Dinner at Eight‌
star6.7
calendar 1933

Sporting Blood

Sporting Blood‌
star5.5
calendar 1931

International Crime

International Crime‌
star5.5
calendar 1938

Hard to Handle

Hard to Handle‌
star6.6
calendar 1933

The Ol' Gray Hoss

The Ol' Gray Hoss‌
star6.0
calendar 1928

Upstage

Upstage‌
star6.0
calendar 1926

Devotion

Devotion‌
star6.8
calendar 1931

Laughing Sinners

Laughing Sinners‌
star5.4
calendar 1931

British Agent

British Agent‌
star5.4
calendar 1934

Gentleman's Fate

Gentleman's Fate‌
star5.5
calendar 1931

Cock of the Air

Cock of the Air‌
star0.0
calendar 1932

The Cardboard Lover

The Cardboard Lover‌
star5.7
calendar 1928

Money Means Nothing

Money Means Nothing‌
star4.0
calendar 1934

The Garden of Eden

The Garden of Eden‌
star5.6
calendar 1928

Hollywood Mystery

Hollywood Mystery‌
star3.5
calendar 1934

The Law of the Range

The Law of the Range‌
star2.5
calendar 1928

The Kibitzer

The Kibitzer‌
star4.7
calendar 1930

Detectives

Detectives‌
star0.0
calendar 1928

Exit Smiling

Exit Smiling‌
star7.9
calendar 1926

Whistling in the Dark

Whistling in the Dark‌
star5.2
calendar 1933

Broadway to Hollywood

Broadway to Hollywood‌
star4.6
calendar 1933

Let Freedom Ring

Let Freedom Ring‌
star6.0
calendar 1939

Mutiny on the Blackhawk

Mutiny on the Blackhawk‌
star0.0
calendar 1939

Henry Goes Arizona

Henry Goes Arizona‌
star6.0
calendar 1939

The Trail of '98

The Trail of '98‌
star6.2
calendar 1928

Bringing Up Father

Bringing Up Father‌
star3.0
calendar 1928

Bridal Suite

Bridal Suite‌
star5.1
calendar 1939

Cipher Bureau

Cipher Bureau‌
star5.3
calendar 1938

All Teed Up

All Teed Up‌
star3.0
calendar 1930

Show People

Show People‌
star7.1
calendar 1928

Nothing Sacred

Nothing Sacred‌
star6.2
calendar 1937

The Duke Steps Out

The Duke Steps Out‌
star5.0
calendar 1929

The Chief

The Chief‌
star0.0
calendar 1933

House of Horror

House of Horror‌
star0.0
calendar 1929

The Latest from Paris

The Latest from Paris‌
star0.0
calendar 1928

Salome of the Tenements

Salome of the Tenements‌
star0.0
calendar 1925

Whispering Whoopee

Whispering Whoopee‌
star6.2
calendar 1930

Faithless

Faithless‌
star6.8
calendar 1932

Big Executive

Big Executive‌
star0.0
calendar 1933

Lilies of the Field

Lilies of the Field‌
star3.5
calendar 1930

Tv Credits

Perry Mason

Perry Mason‌
star7.6
calendar 1957

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Alfred Hitchcock Presents‌
star7.7
calendar 1955

Peter Gunn

Peter Gunn‌
star6.5
calendar 1958

The Barbara Stanwyck Show

The Barbara Stanwyck Show‌
star6.2
calendar 1960

Perry Mason

Perry Mason‌
star7.6
calendar 1957