Sara Biala

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Sara Biala
Biala c.1912
Born
Sara D. Blotcky

(1881-03-07)March 7, 1881
Poland
Died1963(1963-00-00) (aged 81–82)
Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Alma materDrake University
OccupationStage actress
Years active1909–1934
Spouse
Harry D. Cohen
​
(m. 1920⁠–⁠1963)​

Sara Biala (born Sara D. Blotcky; March 7, 1881 – 1963) was a Polish-born American actress active on Broadway.

Early life

Sara D. Blotcky was born in Poland, the daughter of Jacob Blotcky and Miriam (Mary) Werblofsky Blotcky. In early childhood, she moved to the United States with her family.[1] She was raised in Iowa,[2] and studied oratory at Drake University. She also studied music in Chicago.[3][4]

Career

Sara Biala in The Ghost Breaker, 1913.

Sara Blotcky performed as a "dramatic reciter" in the midwest before going to New York.[5] Sara Biala's first Broadway show was A Citizen's Home (1909). She continued to appear on Broadway, with roles in Baby Mine (1910), The Clouds (1911),[6] The Ghost Breaker (1913), Pilate's Daughter (1914), Some Baby! (1915), Paganini (1916), The Torches (1917),[7] and The Broken Chain (1929).[8][9] During World War I she appeared in two topical dramas: War Brides (1916),[10] and The Weaker One (1918).[11] She also appeared in Mary Magdalene and The Snow Storm at the Hackett Theatre in New York,[12][13] and in Three Spoonfuls in London in 1915.[14][15] She appeared in several silent films, including The Heart of a Gypsy (1919), The Fear Market (1920), and The Law of the Yukon (1920).[16]

Biala was described as having "deep, tragic eyes".[1] In 1910, she was refused membership in the Three Arts Club because she was Jewish.[17] In 1934 she returned to New York to study acting with Frances Duff-Robinson.[18]

Personal life

Sara Biala married Harry D. Cohen in 1920, in Chicago. They lived in Iowa, where she sometimes gave dramatic readings.[19][20] She died in 1963, aged 82 years. Her remains were buried in the Jewish cemetery in Des Moines, Iowa.

References

  1. ^
    Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  2. Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  3. Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  4. Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  5. Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  6. ^ "Little Stories of the New Plays" Green Book Album (September 1911): 533.
  7. ^ "The Torches" Theatre Magazine (December 1917): 351.
  8. ^ Dixie Hines, Harry Prescott Hanaford, eds., Who's who in Music and Drama (H. P. Hanaford 1914): 374, 405, 472.
  9. ^ "'The Broken Chain' Written with Fervor" New York Times (February 21, 1929): 24. via ProQuest
  10. Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  11. ^ "War Playlet at the Palace" New York Times (March 5, 1918): 9. via ProQuest
  12. ^ "Hackett-Mary Magdalene" New York Dramatic Mirror (May 28, 1910): 3.
  13. ^ "The Snow Storm" New York Dramatic Mirror (June 11, 1910): 4.
  14. Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  15. ^ "'Three Spoonfuls' at the Criterion" Illustrated London News (April 17, 1915): 486.
  16. ISBN 9781476604275
  17. ^ "Our New York Weekly Bulletin" The Reform Advocate (June 18, 1910): 919.
  18. Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  19. Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  20. Newspapers.comOpen access icon

External links

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