Bernard Sauer

Who was Bernard Sauer?

Bernard Sauer was an American stage actor, most prominently starring in Yiddish theater during the 1960s, whose credits included the Broadway shows "Let's Sing Yiddish", "Light, Lively and Yiddish" and "Sing Israel Sing".

Born into a family of six in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sauer studied acting there before making his theatrical debut in the 1945 play, "Yoshke, the Musician" directed by Joseph Buloff. By the mid-1960s, Sauer had begun appearing on Broadway where he co-starred with Ben Bonus in the 1966 play "Let's Sing Yiddish". He went on to appear in "Light, Lively and Yiddish" and "Sing Israel Sing".

In 1971, he toured with a Yiddish repertory company performing at the Anderson Theater in Manhattan. Sauer went into semi-retirement during the 1980s, although he worked behind the scenes on the 1985 musical "A Match Made in Heaven". He served as a board member of the Yiddish Theatrical Alliance as well as the president of the Hebrew Actors' Union from 1986 until his death from a heart attack on February 13, 1991.