Sara Biala

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

Sara Biala in The Ghost Breaker, from a 1913 publication.

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 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.

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References
  1. "Many Compliments over 'War Brides'" Houston Post (April 11, 1916): 7. via Newspapers.com
  2. John L. Shipley, "Plays and Players" Des Moines Tribune (October 31, 1907): 5. via Newspapers.com
  3. "About Sara Biala" Philadelphia Inquirer (December 14, 1913): 51. via Newspapers.com
  4. "Success of a Des Moines Girl on the Stage" Des Moines Register (June 25, 1911): 11. via Newspapers.com
  5. "Noted Impersonator Coming" Willmar Tribune (October 10, 1903): 5. via Newspapers.com
  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. "Orpheum" The Allentown Leader (January 15, 1916): 8. via Newspapers.com
  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. "Des Moines Girl Makes Good on London Stage" Des Moines Register (May 8, 1915): 2. via Newspapers.com
  15. "'Three Spoonfuls' at the Criterion" Illustrated London News (April 17, 1915): 486.
  16. Paul Mavis, The Espionage Filmography: United States Releases, 1898 through 1999 (McFarland ): 137. ISBN 9781476604275
  17. "Our New York Weekly Bulletin" The Reform Advocate (June 18, 1910): 919.
  18. "Sara Biala Cohen Studying in N. Y." Des Moines Tribune (February 28, 1934): 18. via Newspapers.com
  19. "Mrs. Sol Davidson is Hostess to Society" Des Moines Register (July 25, 1926): 55. via Newspapers.com
  20. "Club Will Hear Fantasy Reading" Des Moines Tribune (March 9, 1933): 14. via Newspapers.com
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