Paul Muni(1895-1967)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Paul Muni was born Sept. 22, 1895, in Lemberg, Austro-Hungarian Empire,
to Salli and Phillip Weisenfreund, who were both professionals. His
family was Jewish, and spoke Yiddish. Paul was educated in New York and
Cleveland public schools. He was described as 5 feet 10 inches, with
black hair and eyes, 165 pounds. He joined the Yiddish Art Theatre in
New York (1908) for 4 years, and then moved to other Yiddish theaters
until 1926, when he "went into an American play" called "We Americans",
his first English-language role. In 1927-28, he appeared in the plays
"Four Walls", "This One Man", "Counsellor-at-Law", and others. He began
with Fox in 1928. He would later alternate between Broadway and
Hollywood for his roles, becoming one of the more distinguished actors
in either venue. Failing eyesight and otherwise poor health forced him
into retirement after his appearance in
La colère du juste (1959).
