Photographers
unknown

Sitter
Lily Liliana, October 23, 1913 - November 27, 1989

Date
unknown

Type
Portrait

Medium
Gelatin silver print

Credit Line
The Museum of the City of New York

Accession Number
66.77.17

Testimony
Lily was born in 1915 in Warsaw, Poland. In 1929 she performed in the chorus of the Skala Theatre, while at the same time learning in a gymnasium.

In 1931 she was engaged in the small-arts theatre "Ararat" by the poet Moshe Broderzon, and later went over to the "Di yidishe bande" at the "Novoshtshi" Theatre and married actor Leon Liebgold, following the same path in the theatre as he did.

In 1937 she went on a world tour with the "Yiddish bande," acting in Lithuania, Lettland (Latvia), Belgium, France and in 1939 she came with the troupe to America, with which she remained due to the outbreak of the Second World War. Here she acted first as a soubrette, and later in prima donna roles in operatic repertoire in the Yiddish theatres of Detroit and Chicago.

In 1943 Lily became a member of the Yiddish Actor's Union and began to act in New York in various theatres until her husband came back from the American army, and then they traveled with various troupes across the Yiddish communities across the land.

In 1954 She went with her husband to guest-star in South America: she acted in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, and from there they went to guest star in the state of Israel in Yiddish, and then came back to America, where she acted in various theatres.

Source of Testimony
Zalmen Zylbercweig -- "Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre," Volume 3, p. 2242, 1959.