Konrad Tom
Title
Konrad Tom
Birth Date
1887-04-09
Birthplace
Warsaw
Death Date
1957-08-13
Occupation
actor, lyricist and screenwriter
Biographical Text
He wrote for the press, for the stage, for Polish film, for Yiddish film—there was genre of entertainment that has not benefited from the energy, wit and elegance of Tom’s pen. He wrote song lyrics and skits for such cabarets as Momus and the legendary Qui pro Quo; he wrote vaudeville texts and operetta librettos; and when writing was not enough, he would step on the stage as actor or MC. Before World War I, Tom wrote for several newspapers in Łódź, and performed in the cabaret Bi-Ba-Bo; after the war, he directed and managed some of the most interesting cabarets in Warsaw. The breadth and depth of Tom’s understanding of his métier was such that he was invited to teach at the newly formed State Institute for Theater Arts. Tom became involved with film early on, in 1916. Throughout the 1930s, he wrote texts for some 40 Polish films. Cross-Atlantic film ventures also gave him the opportunity to address Yiddish-speaking audiences: his novella served as a model for Joseph Green’s screenplay for Yidl mitn Fidl; soon after, he wrote the screenplay for Green’s Mamele (1938). At the start of World War II, Tom found himself in Soviet Union. When the opportunity presented itself he joined the theatrical ensemble associated with the Polish Army in the USSR; and after 1942 he traveled in the Polish Army of General Anders, from the Middle East to Monte Cassino. After the war he settled in Los Angeles, where he took menial jobs in the film industry.
Bibliography
Lerski, Tomasz. Syrena Record: pierwsza polska wytwórnia fonograficzna; Poland’s first recording company, 1904-1939. New York; Warsaw: Editions Karin, 2004.
Associations
Qui pro Quo
Bi-Ba-Bo
Deathplace
Los Angeles
Birthname
Konrad Runowiecki
AKA
TIM-TOM
Collection
Citation
“Konrad Tom,” Jewish Life in Interwar Łódź , accessed December 14, 2024, https://jewish-lodz.iu.edu/items/show/70.