Rita Karin

Rita Karin (born Rita Karpinowicz; October 24, 1919 September 10, 1993) was a Polish-born American actress best known for her role as Jackie Mason's mother on the 1989 TV series Chicken Soup. She also appeared as Meryl Streep's Brooklyn landlady who appears at the beginning of Sophie's Choice. Her voice can be heard singing children's songs from the camps in the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.

Rita Karin
Born
Rita Karpinowicz[1]

(1919-10-24)October 24, 1919
Wilno, Poland (now Vilnius, Lithuania)
DiedSeptember 10, 1993(1993-09-10) (aged 73)
OccupationActress
Spouse(s)Norbert Horowitz; 2 children
Parent(s)Moses Karpinowicz and Rachel Levitan

Born to Moses Karpinowicz and Rachel Levitan in Wilno, Poland (present-day Vilnius, Lithuania), Rita and her husband, Norbert Horowitz, a graduate of the Moscow State Jewish Theater, created a Yiddish theater that performed for Holocaust survivors throughout Europe. The couple emigrated in 1948 to the United States, where she acted in the Yiddish theater in New York City. She and other actors read the works of Sholom Aleichem at the home of Bel Kaufman, Aleichem's granddaughter, each year on the anniversary of the writer's death.[1]

Death

Rita Karin died at 73 from undisclosed causes in New York City. She was survived by her son, Dr. Michael Horowitz, and daughter, Mrs. Rochelle Axelrod, and five grandchildren.[2][3]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1971The Gang That Couldn't Shoot StraightMrs. Goldfarb
1972Up the SandboxMrs. GrossbardUncredited
1978MatildaSpectator
1978The Big FixAunt Sonya
1982Sophie's ChoiceYetta
1989Enemies, A Love StoryMrs. Schreier
1991He Said, She SaidMrs. Spepk
1991Age Isn't Everything
1993The PickleGrandmother
1994Full CycleGram(final film role)

References

  1. Profile, emory.edu; accessed February 12, 2016.
  2. Obituary, nytimes.com; accessed February 10, 2016.
  3. Rita Karin at IMDb


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