1. Luther Adler's father was considered to be one of the founders of the Yiddish theatre in America.
18 Facts About Luther Adler
1. 2.
Luther Adler's siblings worked in theatre; his sister Stella Adler was an actress and drama teacher.
3.
Adler's father gave him his first acting job in the Yiddish play, Schmendrick, at the Thalia Theatre in Manhattan in 1908; Adler was then 5 years old.
4.
In 1931, Luther Adler became one of the original members of the Group Theatre, a New York City theatre collective formed by Cheryl Crawford, Harold Clurman and Lee Strasberg.
5.
Elia Kazan considered Luther Adler to be the best actor working in the company.
6.
In 1932, Luther Adler starred in John Howard Lawson's, Success Story and garnered rave reviews for his performance.
7.
In 1933 Luther Adler briefly joined the Katherine Cornell Company, playing opposite Cornell in Alien Corn, but in 1934 he returned to the Group and played alongside his sister Stella in Gold Eagle Guy.
8.
Luther Adler appeared in Kurt Weill's anti-war musical Johnny Johnson and originated the role of Captain Joshua in the 1939 Group Theater production of Thunder Rock.
9.
Luther Adler's next directorial venture, A Flag Is Born, ran for 120 performances in 1946 and featured newcomer Marlon Brando in one of the major roles.
10.
In 1965, when Zero Mostel left the Broadway cast of Fiddler on the Roof during a contract dispute, Luther Adler took over the role of Tevye.
11.
In 1937, Luther Adler began to appear in films, although they were never his highest priority.
12.
Luther Adler later appeared in Voyage of the Damned and Absence of Malice.
13.
Luther Adler acted on various television programs, including the anthology series, Crossroads, General Electric Theater, Kraft Television Theater, and Robert Montgomery Presents.
14.
Luther Adler guest-starred in 1960 in the science fiction fantasy series, The Twilight Zone as the poor pawnbroker Arthur Castle, with Vivi Janiss as his wife Edna, in the episode entitled "The Man in the Bottle".
15.
Luther Adler was cast in episodes of The Untouchables, Ben Casey, 77 Sunset Strip, Mission: Impossible, Hawaii Five-O, most notably in the series' only three-part episode "'V' for Vashon", The Streets of San Francisco, Naked City and Route 66.
16.
Luther Adler was married to actress Sylvia Sidney from 1938 until 1946 and was the father of Sidney's only child, her son Jacob, who predeceased her.
17.
Luther Adler is a character in Names, Mark Kemble's play about former Group Theatre members' struggles with the House Un-American Activities Committee.
18.
Luther Adler died at his Kutztown, Pennsylvania home, and was buried in Mount Carmel Cemetery, Glendale, New York, next to several of his relatives, including his parents and older sister Stella.