Molly Picon

Molly Picon (1 June 1898 – 5 April 1992) was a star of stage, screen and television. Her career began at the age of six in the Yiddish Theatre. In 1912, she debuted at the Arch Street Theatre in New York and became a star of the Second Avenue Yiddish stage. She was so popular in the 1920s that many shows had the name 'Molly' in their title. In 1931 she opened the Molly Picon Theatre .

Picon appeared in many films, starting with the silent movies. Her most famous film, Yidl Mit'n Fidl , 1936, was made on location in Poland. She made her English language debut on stage in 1940. On Broadway, she starred in the first staged play of Neil Simon, Come Blow Your Horn, in 1961, and in the musical Milk and Honey , also in 1961. Her first English speaking role in the movies was the film version of Come Blow Your Horn, 1963. She played Yente, the Matchmaker in the film Fiddler on the Roof, 1971.

An entire room is filled with her memorabilia at the Second Avenue Deli in New York.