Tenen Holtz

Elihu "Elye" Tenenholtz was born in the Russian hamlet of Azran, near the city of Rovne, in 1887 and came to the US at the age of ten. His first appearance in amateur Yiddish theatricals occurred in 1903, in staged readings of the works of Yiddish author Sholom Aleichem, the first person to do that. He augmented his theater appearances by writing for and editing a Yiddish satirical magazine under the pen-name "Moishe McCarthy". In 1916 he made the leap to the professional Yiddish stage and, befriended by the great doyenne Bessie Thomashevsky, helped her pen her memoirs, the first publication documenting a Yiddish actor's life. By 1920 he was appearing on both the Yiddish art stage with Maurice Schwartz and on Broadway, quickly rising to the top leadership of the Hebrew Actors' Union, the first arts union in America. In 1925 he co-founded a theater company with Celia Adler, half-sister of Luther Adler and "Method" teacher Stella Adler. In 1926 he was summoned to Hollywood and given a five-year contract at MGM. Like most Jewish actors, when he arrived in Hollywood he changed his name (choosing to bifurcate it into "Tenen Holtz"). During that time he regularly appeared in films alongside such stars as Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow and Marion Davies and under directors like King Vidor and Victor Fleming. This period would prove to be Tenenholtz's most prolific and would account for the majority of the 50+ films in which he would appear. While in Hollywood he helped jump start its fledgling Yiddish theater, founding a popular Yiddish theater company that included other transplanted Yiddish actors including Muni Weisenfreund (aka Paul Muni, father and son Rudolph Schildkraut and Joseph Schildkraut. When his contract at MGM ended, he moved over to Warner Brothers where he made films with Leslie Howard under the direction of Michael Curtiz. By the late 1930s the only calls he got were from Poverty Row studios, so Tenenholtz moved to nearby Monrovia and opened a chicken ranch. Though he would occasionally go back in front of the camera, he retired from film. By the time TV emerged, he landed a few roles on shows such as Perry Mason (1957) and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955). He died in 1971.

Known For: Acting

Born: Volin - Russia, 1887-02-17

Died: 1971-07-01

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1925	Salome of the Tenements	Banker Ben (as Elihu Tenenholz)	0
2	1926	Upstage	Sam Davis	60
3	1926	Exit Smiling	Tod Powell	79
4	1927	The Demi-Bride	Gaston	0
5	1927	Frisco Sally Levy	Isaac Solomon Lapidowitz	0
6	1928	The Law of the Range	Cohen	25
7	1928	The Garden of Eden	Headwaiter at Palais de Paris (uncredited)	56
8	1928	The Latest from Paris	Abe Littauer	0
9	1928	Bringing Up Father	Ginsberg Feitelbaum	30
10	1928	The Trail of '98	Mr. Bulkey	62
11	1928	Detectives	Orloff	0
12	1928	The Cardboard Lover	Albine	57
13	1928	The Ol' Gray Hoss	Man with Sooty on Face	60
14	1928	Show People	Casting Director	71
15	1929	The Duke Steps Out	Jake, Duke's manager	50
16	1929	House of Horror	Brown	0
17	1930	Lilies of the Field	Paymaster	35
18	1930	The Kibitzer	Meyer	47
19	1930	Whispering Whoopee	Mr. Holtz	58
20	1930	All Teed Up	Senator Brown	33
21	1931	Gentleman's Fate	Tony	55
22	1931	Laughing Sinners	Poker-Playing Salesman	54
23	1931	Sporting Blood	Gus, Bald Gambling Mobster (uncredited)	55
24	1931	Devotion	Waiter	68
25	1932	Cock of the Air	Tall Waiter	80
26	1932	Faithless	Diner Proprietor	65
27	1933	Whistling in the Dark	Herman	56
28	1933	Hard to Handle	Tailor (uncredited)	69
29	1933	Broadway to Hollywood	Booking Agent	46
30	1933	Bombshell	White - Lola's Agent (uncredited)	65
31	1933	Big Executive	Pawnbroker	0
32	1933	The Chief	Bald Henchman at Cabin	30
33	1933	Dinner at Eight	Butler (uncredited)	67
34	1934	Money Means Nothing	Mr. Silverman	40
35	1934	Hollywood Mystery	Benjamin Vogel	35
36	1934	The Notorious Sophie Lang	Bystander (uncredited)	60
37	1934	British Agent	Lenin	55
38	1937	Nothing Sacred	Tearful Waiter (uncredited)	62
39	1938	International Crime	Starkhov	54
40	1938	Cipher Bureau	Simon Herrick	43
41	1939	Let Freedom Ring	Hunky (uncredited)	60
42	1939	Bridal Suite	Hotel Runner at Train Station	51
43	1939	Mutiny on the Blackhawk		0
44	1939	Henry Goes Arizona	Boris - a Ranch Hand (uncredited)	60

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1955	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Sol Dankers	77
2	1957	Perry Mason	Mr. Gilfain	77
3	1957	Perry Mason	Otto Joseph	77
4	1958	Peter Gunn		65
5	1960	The Barbara Stanwyck Show	Bronsky	62

Tenen Holtz

Film

Television