Fyvush Finkel

Philip "Fyvush" Finkel (Yiddish: פֿײַוויש פֿינקעל; October 9, 1922 – August 14, 2016) was an American actor known as a star of Yiddish theater and for his role as lawyer Douglas Wambaugh on the television series Picket Fences, for which he earned an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1994. He is also known for his portrayal of Harvey Lipschultz, a crotchety history teacher, on the television series Boston Public.

Fyvush Finkel
Finkel on the red carpet at the 1994 Emmys
Born
Philip Finkel

(1922-10-09)October 9, 1922
DiedAugust 14, 2016(2016-08-14) (aged 93)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActor
Years active1931–2016
TelevisionPicket Fences
Boston Public
Spouse(s)
Trudi Lieberman
(m. 19472008)
; her death
Children2
AwardsEmmy Award (1994)

Early life

Philip Finkel was born at home in Brownsville, Brooklyn, the third of four sons of Jewish immigrant parents, Mary ("Miryam"), a housewife from Minsk, Belarus, and Harry ("Cwi Hirsh") Finkel, a tailor from Warsaw.[1][2] He adopted the stage name "Fyvush", a common Yiddish given name.[1]

Career

Finkel first appeared on the stage at age 9, and acted for almost 35 years in the thriving Yiddish theaters of the Yiddish Theater District of Manhattan's Lower East Side, as well as performing as a standup comic in the Catskills' Borscht Belt. In 2008, he recalled:

I played child parts till I was 14, 15, then my voice changed. So I decided to learn a trade and went to a vocational high school in New York. I studied to be a furrier, but I never worked at it. As soon as I graduated high school, I went to a stock company in Pittsburgh, a Jewish theater, and I played there for 38 weeks, and that's where I actually learned my trade a little bit as an adult.[1]

He worked regularly until the ethnic venues began dying out in the early 1960s, then made his Broadway theatre debut in the original 1964 production of the musical Fiddler on the Roof, joining the cast as Mordcha, the innkeeper, in 1965.[1][3] The production ran through July 2, 1972. Finkel then played Lazar Wolf, the butcher, in the limited run 1981 Broadway revival,[4] and eventually played the lead role of Tevye the milkman for years[1] in the national touring company.

Shortly afterward, Finkel succeeded Hy Anzell in the role of Mr. Mushnik in the Off-Broadway musical Little Shop of Horrors.[5] Then in 1988, Finkel's work as "Sam" in the New York Shakespeare Festival revival of the Yiddish classic Cafe Crown earned him an Obie Award[6] and a Drama Desk nomination.[7]

Finkel made his movie debut in the English-subtitled, Yiddish sketch-comedy revue Monticello, Here We Come (1950), then after small parts in an episode of the television series Kojak in 1977 and the miniseries Evergreen in 1985, returned to film in the detective comedy Off Beat (1986). That same year saw a role opposite Robin Williams in a PBS American Playhouse adaptation of Saul Bellow's novel Seize the Day, and a role in the film adaptation of Neil Simon's Broadway comedy Brighton Beach Memoirs. An appearance as a lawyer in director Sidney Lumet's Q & A (1990) led TV producer-writer David E. Kelley to cast Finkel as public defender Douglas Wambaugh in the television series Picket Fences (CBS, 1992–1996). For the role, Finkel earned a 1994 Emmy Award, announcing at the televised ceremonies that he had waited 51 years for that moment.

Following the end of Picket Fences, Finkel had a regular role on the short-lived revival of Fantasy Island (ABC, 1998) and then reteamed with writer-producer Kelley to play history teacher Harvey Lipschultz in Boston Public (Fox; 2000–04).

Through the 1990s and 2000s, Finkel appeared in movies including Nixon and The Crew, guested on TV series including Chicago Hope, Law & Order, Early Edition, and Hollywood Squares, and provided voiceovers for episodes of the animated series The Simpsons ("Lisa's Sax") and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters ("Ickis! You'll Be Snorched!") and the animated direct-to-video feature The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars. In 2009, he appeared in the Coen brothers' film A Serious Man, and in 2013 had a guest appearance in Blue Bloods ("Men In Black")

Finkel continued to appear onstage in productions such as Fyvush Finkel: From Second Avenue to Broadway (1997)[8] and Classic Stage Company's historical drama New Jerusalem (2007), by playwright David Ives.[9]

Personal life

Finkel was married to Trudi Lieberman from March 1947 until her death in 2008. They had two sons: Ian, a musical arranger, and Elliot, a concert pianist.

Finkel died in Manhattan on August 14, 2016, at the age of 93 as a result of heart problems.[2][10]

Awards

  • American Comedy Award for his performance in Picket Fences (1993)
  • Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Dramatic Series, Picket Fences (1993–94)
  • Obie Award for his performance in Cafe Crown (1988–89)

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1950Monticello, Here We Come
1986Off BeatVendor
1986Seize the DayShomier
1986Brighton Beach MemoirsMr. Greenblat
1990Q&APreston Pearlstein
1991MobstersTailor
1993The PickleMr. Shacknoff
1993For Love or MoneyMilton Glickman
1995Aaron's Magic VillageNarratorEnglish version, Voice
1995NixonMurray ChotinerNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1998The Brave Little Toaster Goes to MarsHearing AidVoice
2000The CrewSol Lowenstein
2009A Serious ManDybbukNominated—Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cast
2013The Other Men in BlackMoshe
2015Deli ManHimself
2016Game DayMax[11] (final film role)

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1977KojakSimonEpisode: "Kojak Days: Part 1"
1992–1996Picket FencesDouglas Wambaugh87 episodes
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Nominated—Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Drama Series
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (1995–96)
Nominated—Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Drama Series (1993, 1995)
1995Chicago HopeDouglas WambaughEpisode: "Small Sacrifices"
1995Aaahh!!! Real MonstersJackie Jarr2 episodes
1995Great PerformancesHimselfEpisode: "Itzhak Perlman: In the Fiddler's House"
1996, 1999Early EditionPhil Kazakian2 episodes
1996RugratsShlomoEpisode: "Chanukah"
1997The SimpsonsHimself as Krusty the ClownVoice, Episode: "Lisa's Sax"
1998–1999Fantasy IslandFisher13 episodes
2000–2004Boston PublicHarvey Lipschultz70 episodes
2000–2003Hollywood SquaresHimself10 episodes
2007The Wedding BellsSaul FinkelsteinEpisode: "For Whom the Bells Toll"
2011Harry's LawAbe GoldEpisode: "The Rematch"
2013Blue BloodsMoisheEpisode: "Men in Black"

References

  1. Lovece, Frank (January 6, 2008). "Fast Chat: Fyvush Finkel". Newsday (interview). Archived from the original on March 8, 2008. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  2. Berger, Joseph (August 15, 2016). "Fyvush Finkel, Pillar of Yiddish Theater Who Crossed Into TV, Dies at 93". New York Times. p. D11. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  3. Internet Broadway Database: Fiddler on the Roof Replacements/Transfers
  4. Internet Broadway Database: Fiddler on the Roof (1981 revival)
  5. Internet Theatre Database: Little Shop of Horrors
  6. Infoplease: 1988–1989 Obie Awards
  7. Fyvush Finkel at the Internet Broadway Database
  8. Gates, Anita (December 30, 1997). "Theater Review: Legends of Yiddish Stage Brought to Life". The New York Times.
  9. Press release, "Tony Award-Winner Richard Easton to Star in New Jerusalem", Marc Thibodeau, The Publicity Office, November 19, 2007
  10. "Fyvush Finkel Dies at 93". BroadwayWorld. August 14, 2016. Retrieved 2016-08-14.
  11. Trav, S.D. (March 2, 2016). "Formerly of 'Fiddler,' Finkel, 93, far from final act". The Villager. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
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