Sara Biala Explained

Sara Biala
Birth Name:Sara D. Blotcky
Birth Date:7 March 1881
Birth Place:Poland
Death Place:Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Alma Mater:Drake University
Occupation:Stage actress
Years Active:19091934

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

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". 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.

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19787533/sara_biala_1916/ "Many Compliments over 'War Brides'"
  2. John L. Shipley, "Plays and Players" Des Moines Tribune (October 31, 1907): 5. via Newspapers.com
  3. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19791547/sara_biala_1913/ "About Sara Biala"
  4. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19793503/sara_biala_1911/ "Success of a Des Moines Girl on the Stage"
  5. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19793222/sara_blotcky_biala_1903/ "Noted Impersonator Coming"
  6. https://books.google.com/books?id=TXIhAQAAMAAJ&dq=Sara+Biala+actress&pg=PA533 "Little Stories of the New Plays"
  7. https://books.google.com/books?id=4JRRAQAAMAAJ&dq=Sara+Biala&pg=PA351 "The Torches"
  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. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19790439/sara_biala_1916/ "Orpheum"
  11. "War Playlet at the Palace" New York Times (March 5, 1918): 9. via ProQuest
  12. https://books.google.com/books?id=6txNAQAAMAAJ&dq=Sara+Biala+actress&pg=RA1-PA44 "Hackett-Mary Magdalene"
  13. https://books.google.com/books?id=6txNAQAAMAAJ&dq=Sara+Biala+actress&pg=RA21-PA4 "The Snow Storm"
  14. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19793388/sara_biala_1915/ "Des Moines Girl Makes Good on London Stage"
  15. https://books.google.com/books?id=6Fk4AQAAMAAJ&dq=Sara+Biala+actress&pg=PA486 "'Three Spoonfuls' at the Criterion"
  16. Paul Mavis, The Espionage Filmography: United States Releases, 1898 through 1999 (McFarland): 137.
  17. https://books.google.com/books?id=DUgcAQAAMAAJ&dq=Sara+Biala&pg=PA919 "Our New York Weekly Bulletin"
  18. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19790827/sara_biala_cohen_1934/ "Sara Biala Cohen Studying in N. Y."
  19. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19790306/sara_biala_1926/ "Mrs. Sol Davidson is Hostess to Society"
  20. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19790736/sara_biala_cohen_1933/ "Club Will Hear Fantasy Reading"