Paul Muni
Birthday:
September 22, 1895 in Lemberg, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Lviv, Ukraine]
Birth Name:
Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund
Height:
175 cm
Paul Muni was born Sept. 22, 1895, in Lemberg, Austro-Hungarian Empire, to Salli and Phillip Weisenfreund, who were both professionals. His family was Jewish, and spoke Yiddish. Paul was educated in New York and Cleveland public schools. He was described as 5 feet 10 inches, with black hair and eyes, 165 pounds. He joined the Yiddish Art Theatre in...
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Paul Muni was born Sept. 22, 1895, in Lemberg, Austro-Hungarian Empire, to Salli and Phillip Weisenfreund, who were both professionals. His family was Jewish, and spoke Yiddish. Paul was educated in New York and Cleveland public schools. He was described as 5 feet 10 inches, with black hair and eyes, 165 pounds. He joined the Yiddish Art Theatre in New York (1908) for 4 years, and then moved to other Yiddish theaters until 1926, when he "went into an American play" called "We Americans", his first English-language role. In 1927-28, he appeared in the plays "Four Walls", "This One Man", "Counsellor-at-Law", and others. He began with Fox in 1928. He would later alternate between Broadway and Hollywood for his roles, becoming one of the more distinguished actors in either venue. Failing eyesight and otherwise poor health forced him into retirement after his appearance in La colère du juste (1959). Show less «
I don't want to be a star. If you have to label me anything, I'm an actor - I guess. A journeyman actor. I think "star" is what you call act...Show more »
I don't want to be a star. If you have to label me anything, I'm an actor - I guess. A journeyman actor. I think "star" is what you call actors who can't act. Show less «
A writer can write in an attic, or on top of a bus. Or with a sharp stick in some wet cement. To act, an actor has to have words. A stage. a...Show more »
A writer can write in an attic, or on top of a bus. Or with a sharp stick in some wet cement. To act, an actor has to have words. A stage. a camera turning. I can't go into the middle of Times Square, stop traffic and start acting. Show less «
I won't go up in a plane, but if a play crashes, I'll jump into the next one that comes along and take it up for a spin.
I won't go up in a plane, but if a play crashes, I'll jump into the next one that comes along and take it up for a spin.
I've never tried to learn the art of acting. I have been in the business for years but I still can't tell what acting is or how it's done.
I've never tried to learn the art of acting. I have been in the business for years but I still can't tell what acting is or how it's done.
[to Irving Thalberg, on the MGM producer's desire to cast him as Wang Lung in La terre chinoise (1937)] I'm about as Chinese as Herbert Hoov...Show more »
[to Irving Thalberg, on the MGM producer's desire to cast him as Wang Lung in La terre chinoise (1937)] I'm about as Chinese as Herbert Hoover. Show less «
[on Robert Donat's performance in Au revoir Mr. Chips! (1939)] The most magnificent performance I've ever seen on any screen. Not a false mo...Show more »
[on Robert Donat's performance in Au revoir Mr. Chips! (1939)] The most magnificent performance I've ever seen on any screen. Not a false motion - not a wasted gesture. He is the greatest actor we have today. Show less «
