Tumarin Boris (1910-1979)

Tumarin Boris (Tumarinson Benno) (04.04.1910, Riga — 28.01.1979) — actor, director, teacher. He completed a Jewish gymnasium. In 1929—31 he studied at the Academy of Arts in Riga, and attended an acting seminar by Mikhail Chekhov. He later studied at the Berlin Academy of Arts and attended the seminar of Max Reinhardt, considered one of the most prestigious acting schools of those years. In 1932 he became the director of the newly founded Jewish Workers' Theater (Jēzusbaznicas Street 3) and staged the first production “Fight Against Schmaltz” (“Der Kampf dem Schund”) based on the play by R. Shtemle, and then other productions as well. After the theater was banned in 1934 he transferred to the Theater of the Jewish Minority (Skolas Street 6) in Riga, where he performed for several seasons in various stagings. In these years he also worked as a theatrical designer and costume designer. T.'s last theatrical work in Riga was participation in an evening devoted to the 80th anniversary of Sholem Aleichem, in May 1939.

He emigrated to the USA in 1939; upon arriving he changed his name to Boris Tumarin. In spring 1943 he performed in a Broadway production based on the play “The Family” by V. Wolfson. He served in the US Army in 1943—45. In subsequent years until the end of his life he performed and directed productions at various New York theaters. In 1948 he staged “Blood Wedding” by F.G. Lorca at the “New Staging” theater in lower Manhattan; in 1951 — “The House of Bernarda Alba” by the same author on the Broadway stage of the National Theater Academy. He appeared as an actor in a number of Broadway and off-Broadway productions, the most significant of which were “The Devil's Advocate” by D. Wassermann, “The Traveler without Luggage” by J. Anouilh, “The Caucasian Chalk Circle” by B. Brecht, “The Man in the Glass Booth” by R. Shaw, “The Arsonists” by M. Frisch, “A Month in the Country” by I.S. Turgenev, “No Exit” by J.-P. Sartre, and others. Critics placed his performance in the role of Shylock in “The Merchant of Venice” by W. Shakespeare on a par with acting work by Laurence Olivier, Dustin Hoffman, and Al Pacino. In 1958 he wrote and published dramatic adaptations “The Brothers Karamazov” and “The Idiot” based on F.M. Dostoevsky, and in the same year staged “The Brothers Karamazov,” thereby returning to directing. He subsequently directed “The Idiot” (1960), “The Merchant of Venice” (1962), “Desire Under the Elms” by Eugene O'Neill (1963), and “A Midsummer Night's Dream” by W. Shakespeare. While already a teacher in the drama division of the Juilliard School as part of the Acting Workshop, he staged productions based on the plays “The Lower Depths” by M. Gorky (1972), “The Bear” by A.P. Chekhov (1973), “The Kitchen” by A. Wesker (1976), and “Three Sisters” by A.P. Chekhov in 1973 and 1975 at different theaters. As actor and screenwriter in 1961—68 he participated in the creation of several film and television productions, of which the best known is the film “The Defenders,” in which he played the role of Goldfarb.

For the production “The Brothers Karamazov” he was awarded the prestigious Obie Award, as well as an award for outstanding achievements in off-Broadway theater.

He founded the Acting Workshop, and taught acting and directing at the “Theater Wings of America” school and at Erwin Piscator's Dramatic Workshop; from 1968 he was a teacher and professor at the Juilliard School.

Brod Ivar