Person Biography:
Molly Picon was born Malka Opiekun on February 28, 1898, in New York to Polish-Jewish parents. She began performing at the age of 5 in song-and-dance routines in Philadelphia, where she grew up. Picon's early career started with a vaudeville act called "The Four Seasons" in 1919, and she soon became known as the "Sweetheart of Second Avenue" in New York's Lower East Side Yiddish Theatre District.
Picon's marriage to Yiddish playwright and stage star Jacob Kalich in 1919 was a fruitful one. He became her mentor, collaborator, co-star, and manager of her career. Together, they toured Europe in 1921 to perfect her Yiddish language skills. After returning to the United States, she starred in over 200 Yiddish productions, performing comic renditions of "The Working Goil" and "The Story of Grandma's Shawl."
In the 1930s, Picon appeared in Yiddish/Jewish films such as Hütet eure Töchter (1922) and Good Luck (1923). She continued to work in film, starring in Yidl mitn fidl (1936) and Mamele (1938),the last Jewish film made in Poland. In 1931, she opened the Molly Picon Theatre in New York and by 1934 had her own radio program.
Picon made her English-speaking Broadway debut in 1940 with the dramatic "Morning Star" and later appeared in "Oy Is Dus a Leben!" and "For Heaven's Sake, Mother" in 1942 and 1948, respectively. She remained a strong stage presence throughout the 1940s and 1950s, including appearances in "Milk and Honey," "How to Be a Jewish Mother," and "The Front Page."
In the 1960s, Picon returned to Broadway with roles in "Milk and Honey," "How to Be a Jewish Mother," and "The Front Page." She also appeared in several films, including Come Blow Your Horn (1963),Fiddler on the Roof (1971),For Pete's Sake (1974),The Cannonball Run (1981),and Cannonball Run II (1984).
Picon slowed down after her husband's death in 1975 and suffered from Alzheimer's disease in her later years. She died at the age of 94 and was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981. Picon wrote her first biography, So Laugh a Little, in 1962 and her autobiography, Hello, Molly!, in 1980.
