Tenen Holtz
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.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 1.505 |
Birthday | 1887-02-17 |
Place of Birth | Volin - Russia |
Also Known As | Alexander Elihu Tenenholtz, |
1933
Bombshell
6.5/50
A glamorous film star rebels against the studio, her pushy press agent and a family of hangers-on.
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Bombshell
1927
The Demi-Bride
0/0
Trouble begins when Mme. Girard steps out on her husband, Criquette's father, to fool around with rakish Phillippe Levaux. When Monsieur Girard finds...
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The Demi-Bride
1927
Frisco Sally Levy
0/0
Sally Lapidowitz is the daughter of an Orthodox Jewish father and an Irish Catholic mother and the girlfriend of motorcycle cop Patrick Sweeney. Sally...
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Frisco Sally Levy
1933
Dinner at Eight
6.7/99
An ambitious New York socialite plans an extravagant dinner party as her businessman husband, Oliver, contends with financial woes, causing a lot of t...
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Dinner at Eight
1931
Sporting Blood
5.5/8
A horse with great potential is reluctantly sold by the breeder and by chance passes through multiple hands who do not treat him well.
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Sporting Blood
1938
International Crime
5.5/10
The second and final Grand National Pictures film to feature The Shadow, played again by Rod La Rocque. In this version, Lamont Cranston is an amateur...
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International Crime
1928
The Ol' Gray Hoss
6/1
This story revolves around an old man who feels alone in the world aside from the gang who keeps him company and his old horse. He runs a horse and bu...
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The Ol' Gray Hoss
1926
Upstage
6/2
Dolly Havens, a small-town girl with big-town ambitions that are larger than her talents, hooks up with Johnny Storm, a vaudeville performer, whose ta...
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Upstage
1933
Hard to Handle
6.6/13
A hustling public relations man promotes a series of fads.
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Hard to Handle
1931
Laughing Sinners
5.4/12
Ivy Stevens is a cafe entertainer in love with a shifty salesman who deserts her. In attempting to commit suicide, she is saved by Carl, a Salvation A...
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Laughing Sinners
1931
Devotion
6.8/4
A young Londoner disguises herself to become governess of the son of the barrister she loves.
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Devotion
1934
British Agent
5.4/15
In the days leading up to the Russian Revolution, Stephen Locke, a minor British diplomat in St Petersburg, falls in love with a Russian spy.
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British Agent
1931
Gentleman's Fate
5.5/4
A bootlegger falls apart when his wife leaves him.
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Gentleman's Fate
1932
Cock of the Air
0/0
An opera diva sets her sights on a womanizing army officer.
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Cock of the Air
1928
The Cardboard Lover
5.7/3
A ditzy American girl visiting Monte Carlo is hired by a tennis champ to be his "cardboard lover"--to pretend to be in love with him so he can teach h...
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The Cardboard Lover
1934
Money Means Nothing
4/2
At Joe's Roadside, a popular but rundown New York roadhouse where the wealthy and not-so-wealthy hang out, a wealthy Manhattan girl and a struggling B...
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Money Means Nothing
1928
The Garden of Eden
5.6/8
Toni Le Brun, a beautiful Viennese singer, becomes the ward of the wardrobe mistress of a Monte Carlo nightclub. Her benefactor, however, is actually...
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The Garden of Eden
1934
Hollywood Mystery
3.5/1
A PR man for a low-budget movie studio comes up with what he believes is the perfect gimmick--to make a gangster picture with a real mobster in the le...
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Hollywood Mystery
1928
The Law of the Range
2.5/2
Jim Lockhart is out to capture the robbing and murdering "Solitaire Kid".
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The Law of the Range
1930
The Kibitzer
4.7/3
In this comedy, a Yiddish fellow cannot keep from kibitzing into other people's lives. Trouble ensues when he is mistakenly given a huge fortune in st...
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The Kibitzer
1928
Detectives
0/0
Lois, a stenographer at a luxury hotel, is being pursued by the hotel's house detective and a bellhop. When some valuable jewels are stolen, the bellh...
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Detectives
1926
Exit Smiling
7.9/7
The travails of a third-rate traveling theatre company and its wardrobe lady / maid who dreams of stepping in as their melodramatic production's (Fla...
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Exit Smiling
1933
Whistling in the Dark
5.2/4
A mystery writer and his sweetheart are held hostage by a fugitive gangster, who hopes to enlist their help in devising the perfect crime.
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Whistling in the Dark
1933
Broadway to Hollywood
4.6/5
In this through-the-years saga about a show business family, the fame of husband and wife vaudeville headliners of the 1880s is eclipsed by their son.
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Broadway to Hollywood
1939
Let Freedom Ring
6/3
A Harvard man fights a railroad baron with a disguise and the power of the press.
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Let Freedom Ring
1939
Mutiny on the Blackhawk
0/0
Story deals with slave-running between Hawaii and California in 1840, featuring a wild mutiny aboard a slave ship on the high seas, the bartering of n...
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Mutiny on the Blackhawk
1939
Henry Goes Arizona
6/2
A New Yorker moves West when he inherits an Arizona ranch.
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Henry Goes Arizona
1928
The Trail of '98
6.2/13
Fortune hunters from all over the country rushing to the Klondike in 1897 to seek their fortunes in the gold are tested by hardships of the journey.
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The Trail of '98
1928
Bringing Up Father
3/2
The wealthy Jiggs is tired of being left out of the swanky parties thrown by his social-climbing wife Maggie and their daughter. He decides to teach t...
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Bringing Up Father
1939
Bridal Suite
5.1/5
A carefree playboy with an aversion to marriage falls for a lass he meets in the French Alps.
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Bridal Suite
1938
Cipher Bureau
5.3/3
The younger brother of an officer in a secret government code-breaking unit gets involved with a gang of spies and a beautiful double agent.
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Cipher Bureau
1930
All Teed Up
3/2
Thelma invites Charley to play golf at her father's exclusive country club.
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All Teed Up
1928
Show People
7.1/47
Hollywood hopeful Peggy Pepper arrives at a major studio, from Georgia, to become a great dramatic star. Things don't go entirely according to plan.
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Show People
1937
Nothing Sacred
6.2/97
When a small-town girl is incorrectly diagnosed with a rare, deadly disease, an unknowing newspaper columnist turns her into a national heroine.
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Nothing Sacred
1929
The Duke Steps Out
5/1
Millionaire's son Duke wants to be a champion boxer but takes time out to enroll in college when he sees co-ed Susie. The students wonder about his ha...
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The Duke Steps Out
1933
The Chief
0/0
The dim-witted son of a heroic fire chief tries to follow in his late father's footsteps, only to become the unknowing pawn of corrupt politicians.
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The Chief
1929
House of Horror
0/0
House of Horror is a 1929 American comedy-horror mystery film directed by Benjamin Christensen. The film stars Louise Fazenda and Chester Conklin and...
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House of Horror
1928
The Latest from Paris
0/0
The Latest from Paris takes place in New York's garment district, where business rivals Blogg and Littauer have been carrying on a feud for years. In...
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The Latest from Paris
1925
Salome of the Tenements
0/0
A young East Side Jewish reporter gets into a sticky situation when she finds that her new beau is indicting a banker she owes money to.
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Salome of the Tenements
1930
Whispering Whoopee
6.2/5
Charlie hires three "party girls" to help him land a business deal.
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Whispering Whoopee
1932
Faithless
6.8/4
Socialite Carol Morgan romps through the Depression and her wealth while breaking up with Bill Wade and getting back together with him.
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Faithless
1933
Big Executive
0/0
Big Executive
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Big Executive
1930
Lilies of the Field
3.5/2
Mildred Harker loses custody of her child in a messy divorce settlement. Leaving her hometown in disgrace, Mildred heads to New York, where after a cr...
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