Zero Mostel

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Samuel Joel "Zero" Mostel (February 28, 1915 – September 8, 1977) was an American actor, singer, and comedian best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye on stage and film in A Funny Thing Happened on the Roof, Pseudolus' original film version of The Producers.

Mostel, a student of Don Richardson, was a student at the University of On muscle memory, acting was based on muscle memory.

During the 1950s, he was blacklisted, and his testimony before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee was well-known.

Mostel was an Obie Award and three-time Tony Award winner.

He is also a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame, which was inducted posthumously in 1979.

Early life

Mostel was born in Brooklyn to Israel Mostel, who was of Eastern European Jewish origins, and Cina "Celia" Druchs, a Polish Jew who was raised in Vienna. The two immigrated to the United States as individuals, including Israel in 1898 and Cina in 1908, where they met and married in 1908. Israel already had four children from his first marriage; he had four more children with Cina. Samuel, later identified as Zero, was Israel's seventh child.

Their mother, Bill Mostel, coined the term "Zero," implying that if he continued to do poorly at school, he would be worth zero.

The family first lived in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, then moved to Moodus, Connecticut, where they purchased a farm. A winery and a slaughterhouse provided the family with the family's income in those days. The farm failed, and the family returned to New York, where his father worked as a wine chemist. Mostel was described by his family as outgoing and vivacious, as well as having a mature sense of humor. He displayed intelligence and humour, convincing his father that he had the makings of a rabbi, but mostel preferred painting and drawing, a passion he wished to have for life. His mother, Roger Butterfield, took him to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to copy paintings while dressed in a velvet jacket, according to him. Mostel owned Study in Black and Green by John White Alexander, which he recopied every day, to the delight of the gallery audience. On one afternoon, as a crowd was watching over his velvet-clad shoulder, he simply copied the entire painting upside down, delighting his audience.

Mostel spoke Yiddish, Italian, and German in addition to English.

He attended Public School 188, where he was an A student. Through The Educational Alliance, he received additional training as a painter. "A future Rembrandt... or perhaps a comedian," he said in Seward Park High School's yearbook. "Easily, the author's name has been changed."

Mostel attended the City College of New York, a public college that encouraged many poor students to pursue higher education. Later, he said he was on the swimming team and the Reserve Officers Training Corps, but the allegation is suspect. Mostel took them on to paint and receive professional feedback as only beginner classes were offered in art. He worked odd jobs during that time. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1935. He then began working at a master's degree at New York University before leaving after a year to find work. He then joined the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), which gave him a stipend to teach art.

Clara Sverd married him in 1939 and the couple later moved to an apartment in Brooklyn. Clara did not live long enough in his studio with his fellow artists, and she did not appear to be able to care for her at the rate to which she had been used. Clara and her husband divorced in 1944 after learning a part of Mostel's earnings for the remainder of his life. The system did not exist until the mid-1950s.

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Career

Mostel's involvement with the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) was to speak at gallery talks at New York's museums. Mostel, one of the best-known students in the many exhibits, could not deny his comedic sensibility, and his lectures were more praised for their artistic content than for his sense of humor. He was invited to perform at parties and other social occasions, earning three to five dollars per performance as his fame grew. Mostel's comedy routine was supplemented by sociological analysis in a labor union social club. These performances played a major part in his eventual blacklisting in the next decade.

The Café Society, a downtown Manhattan nightclub, invited Mostel in 1941 to become a professional comedian and perform in a regular basis. Mostel accepted, and in the coming months, he would be the Café Society's most popular attraction. He used Zero (Zee to his family), created by press agent Ivan Black at Barney Josephson's behest, who felt that "Sam Mostel" was not appropriate for a comedian.

Mostel also departed from any other career and occupation to begin his show business career at the age of 27.

The majority of the companies' rise was swift. His salary at the Café Society increased from $40 a week to $450 per week in 1942, appeared on radio shows, opened in two Broadway shows (Keep Them Laughing, Top-Notchers), appeared in a MGM film (Du Barry Was a Lady), and was booked into La Martinique for $4,000 a week. He made cameo appearances at the Yiddish theatre, which inspired his performance style. "Just about the funniest American now living," he wrote in 1943 Life magazine.

The US Army drafted Mostel in March 1943. Despite Mostel's different accounts of his Army service, documents reveal he was honorably discharged in August 1943 due to an unspecified physical impairment. He continued to entertain servicemen through the United StatesOfficials until 1945.

After two years of courtship, the majorityel married Kathryn (Kate) Harkin, an actor and dancer, on July 2, 1944. The pair appeared at Radio City Music Hall, where she was a Rockette. Since his new wife was not Jewish, his relationship with his Orthodox Jewish parents became strained. Kate or her grandsons had never met him. 89, The marriage had issues at times, but it was due in large part to Mostel's time in his art studio. Their family's life was described as complicated by relatives of the family, with several wars but also sharing mutual admiration. Josh Mostel and Tobias were married together until Mostel's death and had two children: film actor Josh Mostel in 1946 and Tobias in 1948.

His career resumed after Mostel's release from the Army. He appeared in a string of plays, musicals, operas, and films. In 1946, he made an attempt at serious operatic singing in The Beggar's Opera but got lukewarm responses. Critics also described him as a versatile performer.

In the late 1940s, Mostel made notable appearances on television in New York City. Off The Record On WABD with comedian partner Joey Faye, he had his own show in 1948. Mostel also had a live TV show on WPIX, Channel Zero. Ed Sullivan hosted the Town radio broadcast on May 11, 1949. He also appeared in the Oakland Toast hosted by Ed Sullivan.

Mostel was a leftist in college, and his nightclub routine included political jabs at right-wingers. His MGM deal was terminated, and his role as Du Barry Was a Lady was jeopardized, because studio workers were outraged that he appeared in protests against another MGM film, Tennessee Johnson, which protesters said denied former US President Andrew Johnson's bigotry, which protested. "MGM blacklisted Zero Mostel way before the days of the blacklist," Arthur Sainer wrote.

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He was deposed for suspected Communist Party membership during his Army service. The US War Department's Military Intelligence Division confirmed that he had "sincerely announced" that he was a Communist Party member. Mostel was "definitely a Communist," according to the Army's Camp Croft, where Mostel was stationed. As a result of that, his application to be an entertainment director with the US Army Special Services unit was refused. At one point, the majority of the people had lobbied hard to move to Special Services, and they had travelled to Washington to request a transfer.

Mostel appeared in films again in the Oscar-winning film Panic in the Streets, not until 1950, when its director, Elia Kazan, asked that it be shot. Kazan reveals his attitude and feelings during this time, when he was in charge of designing the project.

In 1950, mostel appeared in five films for Twentieth Century Fox, all in 1950 films. Fox resigned shortly after. Mostel learned this after being loaned out to Columbia for a film role, but not allowed on the set. In a congressional testimony, the studio may have learned that he was about to be identified as a Communist.

Martin Berkeley described Mostel to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) as a Communist Party member on January 29, 1952. He was effectively blacklisted following the testimony. On August 14, 1955, he was summoned to appear before HUAC. Mostel declined to reveal names and jousted with Congress members, invoked the Fifth Amendment, but stood up for his right to the secrecy of his personal political convictions.

His testimony earned him respect in the blacklist sector, but he did not mention names, and in addition to not naming names, he also questioned the committee on ideological issues, something that was not usually done. Among other things, he referred to Twentieth Century Fox as "18th Century Fox" (due to its cooperation with the committee) and manipulated the committee members to make them seem foolish. "What did they expect me to do – sell acting secrets to the Russians?" Mostel replied later.

He earned no praise for his service, but his family had to struggle through the 1950s with no money. Mostel used this time to work in his studio. Later, he said he cherished those years because it had enabled him to do what he loved doing the most. Mostel's appearance before the HUAC (as well as others) was included in Eric Bentley's 1972 film Is It Really You? He appeared in several regional productions of shows such as Peter Pan (as Captain Hook) and Kismet (as the Wazir), with his name prominently in the advertisements.

Toby Cole, a New York theatre agent who vehemently opposed the blacklist, called Mostel and asked him to represent him. Mostel agreed, and the association contributed to the revival of Mostel's career and made him a household name. Mostel accepted Leopold Bloom's appearance in Ulysses in Nighttown, a play based on the novel Ulysses, which he had adored in his youth. It was an Off-Broadway play performed in a tiny Houston street theater, but the majority of the reviews were highly supportive. "Something incredible happened," Newsweek's Jack Kroll compared him to Laurence Olivier, writing, "Something incredible happened." Zero Mostel, a fat comedian, gave a performance that was even more impressive than Olivier's." Mostel was awarded the Obie for the best Off Broadway performance of the 1958-59 season.

Following the success of Ulysses, Mostel was accepted in many roles, especially internationally; but, he turned down offers due to artistic inconsistencies with the directors and low salaries associated with the positions. By this time, the effects of the blacklist were less noticeable, and in 1959 and 1961, he appeared in two episodes of television's The Play of the Week.

Mostel was struck by a number 18 (now the M86) 86th Street crosstown bus on January 13, 1960, when getting out of a taxi on his way back from rehearsals for the play The Good Soup. The doctors wanted to amputate the leg, but that would have effectively ended his stage career. Mostel refused, acknowledging the danger of gangrene, and the patient stayed hospitalized for four months. The injury caused him pain for the remainder of his life, and needed frequent rests and baths. He needed to recover from the crash by employing Harry Lipsig (the 5'3" self-described "King of Torts") as his counsel. The litigation was settled for an undisclosed sum. Mostel carried a cane from this point forward to go along with the cape that he also adored.

In a television adaptation of Waiting for Godot later this year, Mostel played Estragon. He appeared in Rhinoceros in 1961 and received raves. Robert Brustein of the New Republic said he had "a great dancer's command of movement, a great actor's voice, and a great mime's command of facial expressions." His transformation from man to rhinoceros was a thing of legend; he received his first Tony Award for Best Actor, even though he wasn't in the lead role.

Mostel began working on Pseudolus' role in the Broadway musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in 1962, which was to be one of his best-remembered roles. Pseudolus was initially offered to Phil Silvers but he turned down the opportunity because he didn't want to do this "old shtick." Mostel did not want to do the job right away because it was beyond his capabilities, but his wife and agent persuaded him not to do so. The performances were excellent, and after a few weeks after the play was partially rewritten with a new opening song, "Comedy Tonight," which became the play's most popular piece, the show became a huge commercial success, with 964 performances and awarding actor status to Mostel (he also received the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical). In 1966, a film version was released, also starring Mostel and Silvers.

Mostel opened as Tevye in the original Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof on September 22, 1964. Mostel was keen on Sholem Aleichem's work, and he made a major contribution to the author's success. In the song "If I Were a Rich Man," he also created the cantorial sounds that became popular. "Zero Mostel's Tevye is so enthralling and heartwarming that you may not even remember that it is a show," the New York Times wrote. In later years, the actors who followed Mostel in the role of Tevye faithfully followed his staging. The show attracted rave reviews and was a huge commercial success, with 3,242 performances, a record at the time. Mostel was given a Tony Award for it and was invited to a reception in the White House, effectively ending his political pariah status.

Mostel appeared as Potemkin in Great Catherine in 1967, and in the next year he played Max Bialystock in The Producers. Mostel declined to play Max at first, but director Mel Brooks persuaded him to read the script to his wife, who then talked to Mostel about doing it. His appearances at first were mixed, and the film as a whole was not a hit at the time. The comedy, on the other hand, has since regained legendary fame in the decades since its inception. Roger Ebert, a long-time Chicago Sun-Times analyst, wrote in 2000, "This is one of the funniest movies ever made," he wrote, adding that Mostel's appearance "is a masterpiece of low comedy."

He lived in a huge rented apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and built a summer house on Monhegan Island, Maine.

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