Luther Adler(1903-1984)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
The actor and Broadway director Luther Adler was born into a Yiddish
theatrical dynasty. One of the six children born to Jacob P. and Sara
Adler, he made his debut in the world in New York City,
originally billed as Lutha J. Adler. His full siblings Charles, Jay,
Julia, and Stella (the famous acting teacher) as well as his
half-siblings Celia and Abram Adler all appeared on Broadway, and his
father Jacob, the biggest star of the Yiddish-language theater, was
considered one of the great American actors.
The Yiddish theater was an important cultural venue in the days when
the millions of Jewish immigrants in the greater metropolitan New York
area spoke Yiddish as their first (and sometimes only) language. People
who trained and appeared in the Yiddish theater were instrumental in
the development of the modern American theater and film, and some,
including Sidney Lumet, are still active in the 21st century. It was in this
cultural milieu that Luther and his siblings got their grounding in
acting and the theater.
Jacob Adler owned and operated his own stage in New York's Lower East
Side, and Luther began appearing in the family productions at the age
of five with the Adler production of "Schmendrick." He made his
official debut as an actor at the age of 13 at his father's theater and
his Broadway debut at the the age of 18. Billed as Lutha Adler, he
appeared in the Provincetown Players' production of Theodore Drieser's
"The Hand of the Potter" in December 1921 at the Provincetown
Playhouse,
Adler's first Broadway hit was "Humoresque" in 1923, and he appeared
regularly in top productions throughout the '20s, including "Street
Scene" (1929) and "Red Dust" (1929). Along with his sister 'Stella
Adler", Luther Adler was one of the original members of the Group
Theatre acting company, which was formed in 1931 by Harold Clurman (his future
brother-in-law), Cheryl Crawford, and Lee Strasberg. Others who would make
their bones in the company were Elia Kazan, Julius "John" Garfield,
Howard Da Silva, Franchot Tone, John Randolph, Will Geer, Clifford Odets and Lee J. Cobb.
The Group Theatre was dedicated to bringing realism to the American
stage and was instrumental in introducing the Stanislavsky technique
into American acting. Most members were leftists if not communists, and
the collective wanted to produce plays dealing with social issues. For
the Groupe Theatre, Adler appeared in "Night Over Taos" (1932),
"Success Story" (1933), "Alien Corn" (1933) and two seminal works of
the American stage written by Odets: "Awake and Sing!" (1935) and
"Golden Boy" (1937). He played opposite leading ladies Katharine Cornell in
"Alien Corn" (1933), his sister Stella in "Gold Eagle Guy "(1934),
"Awake and Sing!" and "Paradise Lost" (both 1935), and Frances Farmer in
"Golden Boy" (1937).
His appearance as the urban ethnic boxer Joe Bonaparte in Odets'
"Golden Boy" arguably was his greatest role, but when the film was made
in 1939, he was passed over for the improbably cast Wlliam Holden, a
white-bread WASP. Although Adler appeared in many motion pictures, his
reputation would remain primarily that of a stage actor.
Adler became a director on Broadway in 1942, though his first staging,
"They Should Have Stayed in Bed", was a flop, lasting but 11
performances. He next directed Ben Hecht's pro-Israel propaganda play "A
Flag is Born" in 1946, starring the great Paul Muni, a graduate of the
Yiddish theater, and newcomer Marlon Brando, an Irish-American
born-Protestant who had been trained by his sister Stella. The play,
which raised money for Jewsh refugees from the Holocaust seeking
sanctuary in Palestine, was a hit, running for 120 performances. He
also directed "Angel Street" (1955) and "A View from the Bridge"
(1960). He last appeared on Broadway as a replacement in the long
running "Fiddler on the Roof."
Adler made his movie debut in Lancer Spy (1937), but he never
became a star in that medium. His best roles like "Golden Boy" and
"Humoresque" were taken by other actors, including Group Theatre
alumnus John Garfield. He had memorable supporting turns in the noir classic
D.O.A. (1949), in Joseph Losey's remake of M (1951), in Paul Muni's
last film The Last Angry Man (1959), in the Holocaust drama The Man in the Glass Booth (1975), and as Paul Newman's mobster uncle in
Absence of Malice (1981). He also worked frequently on television.
From 1938 until 1947, Adler was married to the actress Sylvia Sidney.
They had one child, a son, Jacob. Luther Adler died in Kutztown,
Pennsylvania on December 8, 1984. He was 81 years old.
theatrical dynasty. One of the six children born to Jacob P. and Sara
Adler, he made his debut in the world in New York City,
originally billed as Lutha J. Adler. His full siblings Charles, Jay,
Julia, and Stella (the famous acting teacher) as well as his
half-siblings Celia and Abram Adler all appeared on Broadway, and his
father Jacob, the biggest star of the Yiddish-language theater, was
considered one of the great American actors.
The Yiddish theater was an important cultural venue in the days when
the millions of Jewish immigrants in the greater metropolitan New York
area spoke Yiddish as their first (and sometimes only) language. People
who trained and appeared in the Yiddish theater were instrumental in
the development of the modern American theater and film, and some,
including Sidney Lumet, are still active in the 21st century. It was in this
cultural milieu that Luther and his siblings got their grounding in
acting and the theater.
Jacob Adler owned and operated his own stage in New York's Lower East
Side, and Luther began appearing in the family productions at the age
of five with the Adler production of "Schmendrick." He made his
official debut as an actor at the age of 13 at his father's theater and
his Broadway debut at the the age of 18. Billed as Lutha Adler, he
appeared in the Provincetown Players' production of Theodore Drieser's
"The Hand of the Potter" in December 1921 at the Provincetown
Playhouse,
Adler's first Broadway hit was "Humoresque" in 1923, and he appeared
regularly in top productions throughout the '20s, including "Street
Scene" (1929) and "Red Dust" (1929). Along with his sister 'Stella
Adler", Luther Adler was one of the original members of the Group
Theatre acting company, which was formed in 1931 by Harold Clurman (his future
brother-in-law), Cheryl Crawford, and Lee Strasberg. Others who would make
their bones in the company were Elia Kazan, Julius "John" Garfield,
Howard Da Silva, Franchot Tone, John Randolph, Will Geer, Clifford Odets and Lee J. Cobb.
The Group Theatre was dedicated to bringing realism to the American
stage and was instrumental in introducing the Stanislavsky technique
into American acting. Most members were leftists if not communists, and
the collective wanted to produce plays dealing with social issues. For
the Groupe Theatre, Adler appeared in "Night Over Taos" (1932),
"Success Story" (1933), "Alien Corn" (1933) and two seminal works of
the American stage written by Odets: "Awake and Sing!" (1935) and
"Golden Boy" (1937). He played opposite leading ladies Katharine Cornell in
"Alien Corn" (1933), his sister Stella in "Gold Eagle Guy "(1934),
"Awake and Sing!" and "Paradise Lost" (both 1935), and Frances Farmer in
"Golden Boy" (1937).
His appearance as the urban ethnic boxer Joe Bonaparte in Odets'
"Golden Boy" arguably was his greatest role, but when the film was made
in 1939, he was passed over for the improbably cast Wlliam Holden, a
white-bread WASP. Although Adler appeared in many motion pictures, his
reputation would remain primarily that of a stage actor.
Adler became a director on Broadway in 1942, though his first staging,
"They Should Have Stayed in Bed", was a flop, lasting but 11
performances. He next directed Ben Hecht's pro-Israel propaganda play "A
Flag is Born" in 1946, starring the great Paul Muni, a graduate of the
Yiddish theater, and newcomer Marlon Brando, an Irish-American
born-Protestant who had been trained by his sister Stella. The play,
which raised money for Jewsh refugees from the Holocaust seeking
sanctuary in Palestine, was a hit, running for 120 performances. He
also directed "Angel Street" (1955) and "A View from the Bridge"
(1960). He last appeared on Broadway as a replacement in the long
running "Fiddler on the Roof."
Adler made his movie debut in Lancer Spy (1937), but he never
became a star in that medium. His best roles like "Golden Boy" and
"Humoresque" were taken by other actors, including Group Theatre
alumnus John Garfield. He had memorable supporting turns in the noir classic
D.O.A. (1949), in Joseph Losey's remake of M (1951), in Paul Muni's
last film The Last Angry Man (1959), in the Holocaust drama The Man in the Glass Booth (1975), and as Paul Newman's mobster uncle in
Absence of Malice (1981). He also worked frequently on television.
From 1938 until 1947, Adler was married to the actress Sylvia Sidney.
They had one child, a son, Jacob. Luther Adler died in Kutztown,
Pennsylvania on December 8, 1984. He was 81 years old.