Meier Tzelniker (1 January 1894 – 8 October 1980)Grave listing at jewishgen.org was a Romanian-British actor. He appeared mainly in Yiddish theatre, but was sometimes a character actor in English-language plays and films.
Biography Tzelniker was born and raised in the city of Hotin, located in the Bessarabia Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukraine), the son of a Romanian Jewish yeast manufacturer. He was a boy chorister in a synagogue when he got his first stage role in Yiddish theatre, and toured eastern Europe with a Yiddish theatre company. He studied at the Odesa Oblast Academic Drama Theater, and spent three years acting in Russia. He emigrated to London in 1927, co-founding the Yiddish National Theater Company.
Tzelniker was a leading figure in London's Yiddish theatre scene, and also appeared as a character actor in English-language productions. He had notable film roles in It Always Rains On Sunday (1947), A Night to Remember (1958), Expresso Bongo (1959), and The Killing of Sister George (1968). His West End credits included Clifford Odets' Awake and Sing! and The Big Knife.
Personal life Tzelniker was married to actress Brana Freit, they had two children including Anna Tzelniker, also an actress.
Death A long-time resident of Stepney in the East End of London, Tzelniker died there on 8 October 1980, aged 86.
Partial filmography
Mr. Emmanuel (1944) - Mr. Silver It Always Rains on Sunday (1947) - Solly, his father Last Holiday (1950) - Baltin Venetian Bird (1952) - Mayor of Mirave The Teckman Mystery (1954) - John Rice Make Me an Offer (1954) - Wendl The Woman for Joe (1955) - Sol Goldstein The Extra Day (1956) - Lou Skeat Stars in Your Eyes (1956) - Maxie Jago The Long Haul (1957) - Nat Fine A Night to Remember (1958) - Mr. Isador Straus Expresso Bongo (1959) - Mayer Jungle Street (1960) - Mr. Rose Let's Get Married (1960) - Schutzberger A Circle of Deception (1960) - Barman His and Hers (1961) - Felix McGregor The 25th Hour (1967) - Abramovici The Sorcerers (1967) - Jewish Baker The Killing of Sister George (1968) - Mr. Katz
References
External links
Meier Tzelniker at Theatricalia