A Tale of Two Museums
Ester Rachel Kaminska Theater Museum Collection

The Era of The Big Four of Second Avenue, 1930s and 1940s

photo Secund Skolnik Shor Box94158.jpg

Title

The Era of The Big Four of Second Avenue, 1930s and 1940s

Description

Above is a photo of actor and director Anshel Shor (1871-1942) and his troupe at the Liberty Theater, located in Brooklyn at the corner of Liberty and Stone Avenues. Shor is standing on the right. His wife, actress Dora Weisman, is seated in the middle-right. Next to Shor is the supremely talented performer Pesach Bernstein (1896-1986), and middle-left is Menashe Skulnik (1890-1970)  dubbed the "East Side's Chaplin" by the New York Evening Journal in 1935. Standing at the far left is Sholom Secunda.  Along with Abraham Ellstein (1907-1963), Joseph Rumshinsky, and Alexander Olshanetsky, Sholom Secunda (1894-1974) was one of the "Big Four of Second Avenue." They are most remembered for their hit songs, but were engaged as resident composers in theaters, orchestra conductors, arrangers, and accompanists. 

Seated: Clara Gold, Bertha Gutentag, Annie Toback, Dora Weissman,
Annie Lubin and Sara Skulnik;
Standing: Sholem Secunda, Morris Nasatir, Max Badin, William Schwartz,
Menasha Skulnik, Harry Hochstein, Pesakh Bernstein , Anshel Schorr; 



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Citation

“The Era of The Big Four of Second Avenue, 1930s and 1940s,” YIVO Online Exhibitions, accessed March 28, 2024, https://immigrationusa.yivo.org/items/show/2307.
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