Maurice Moscovich

Maurice Moscovich
Born	Morris Maaskov (1871-11-23)November 23, 1871 Odessa, Russian Empire
Died	June 18, 1940(1940-06-18) (aged 68) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Years active	1899–1940
Spouse(s)	Rose Moscovich (b.1872 - d. 1944)
Children	Anton Maaskoff, Harry Madison, Noel Madison

Maurice Moscovich (November 23, 1871 – June 18, 1940) was a Russian American actor who was well-known for his roles in Yiddish theatre. His 14 films, which he made at the end of his life, include Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator.

Life and career[]

Maurice Moscovich was born in the former Russian Empire in Odessa. He emigrated to the United States not later than 1897 and performed for decades in the Yiddish theatre in New York and appeared in two 1930 Broadway plays.^[1]

In the last four years of his life, Moscovitch played supporting roles in 14 films. With his distinctive accent, he portrayed mostly wise and friendly old men, often with Jewish background. He played a shopkeeper in the highly praised Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) and the art dealer Maurice Cobert in Love Affair (1939) with Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer. His last film was Charlie Chaplin's Hitler-satire The Great Dictator, in which he played the Barber's friendly Jewish neighbour, Mr. Jaeckel, who flees into exile to his brother.

Maurice Moskovich died at the age of 68, following surgery. At the time of his death, he was playing the role of a dancing master in Dance, Girl, Dance. His role had to be quickly rewritten for actress Maria Ouspenskaya. He is buried with his wife Rose (1872–1944) at the Beth Olam Cemetery in Hollywood.^[2]

Moscovich's son Noel Madison (1897-1975) was also a character actor.

Filmography[]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maurice Moscovitch.

• Maurice Moscovich at IMDb
• Maurice Moscovich at Find a Grave