Molly Picon: A Gift of Laughter

by Lila Perl

Book Overview

Follows the life and career of the Jewish entertainer, who performed in theater, movies, radio, and television for more than eighty years.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0827603363
• ISBN13: 9780827603363
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Jewish Publication Society of America
• Length: 66 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

A third grader loved reading about Molly Picon's life.

This book is subtitled "A Gift of Laughter". It is written for young readers, which I am, but my mother also enjoyed learning about Molly's life. Molly had a really great spirit. She always went "on with the show", from getting engaged on stage to her manager/director husband to taking up roller skating at age 50 for a musical celebration of her 25 years in Yiddish Theater. Even when things went wrong, she always made people happy. The most important lesson she taught was laughter and excitement. Even when on the small screen, instead of her beloved live theater, she communicated her vivacity and generous spirit. When people had forgotten how to laugh after the rampage of the Holocaust, even children who were born never having heard laughter or experiencing joy, Molly was able to transmit a love of life and hopefulness through her heartfelt performances. She was blessed with a long productive life, still giving live concert performances, doing deep knee-bends and cancan twirls in her mid-seventies. Molly left an indelible impression in the hearts and minds of her audiences, inspiring many to enroll in her concerns for the State of Israel, the Yiddish Language and Yiddish Theatre. Molly Picon made a movie with Barbra Streisand in 1973 called For Pete's Sake. Although the book doesn't say it, and it was published in 1990, I think Barbra stole Molly's famous Yiddish story from her play and later movie, Yiddle with a Fiddle, to use as the basis for Streisand's Yentel character and movie that came out in 1983. I wonder why there is no mention of this in the book, and also why Barbra does not credit Molly's inspiration for her performance. I loved the book because it felt like Molly was really talking about herself to me. I felt many feelings about myself when reading about Molly's life and choices. I like a book when I can relate to the main character and when that character contributes to my life. I recommend this book to anyone that wants to be an actor when they grow up, and to grownups who need a little laughter. I am inspired to read more about Molly and to watch all the films that she made.