Luther Adler

Luther Adler (born Lutha Adler on May 4, 1903, in New York City; died December 8, 1984) was an American actor and director whose career spanned theatre, film, and television. He was one of six children born to Sara and Jacob P. Adler, Russian-Jewish actors whose father Jacob was regarded as one of the founders of Yiddish theatre in America. The theatrical tradition ran throughout the family: his sister Stella Adler became an actress and drama teacher, and his brother Jay Adler was also an actor.

Adler's stage career began at age five, when his father cast him in the Yiddish play Schmendrick at the Thalia Theatre in Manhattan in 1908. His Broadway debut came in 1921 with The Hand of the Potter, launching a stage career that would continue through 1966. Among his earliest Broadway appearances were Humoresque in 1923, Monkey Talks in 1925, We Americans and Money Business in 1926, John in 1927, and both Red Rust and Street Scene in 1929.

In 1931, Adler became a founding member of the Group Theatre, a New York City collective organized by Cheryl Crawford, Harold Clurman, and Lee Strasberg. The company, whose members tended toward left-wing political views, aimed to produce plays addressing significant social issues. Over its ten-year existence the Group mounted twenty productions and counted among its members Stella and Jay Adler, Elia Kazan, John Garfield, Howard Da Silva, Franchot Tone, Lee J. Cobb, Will Geer, Clifford Odets, and Harry Morgan, then billed as Harry Bratsburg. Kazan considered Adler the finest actor in the company.

Adler's work with the Group Theatre produced some of his most celebrated stage performances. His 1932 portrayal in John Howard Lawson's Success Story earned him strong critical notices. In 1933 he briefly joined the Katharine Cornell Company, appearing opposite Cornell in Alien Corn, before returning to the Group in 1934 to perform alongside his sister Stella in Gold Eagle Guy. Adler had anticipated the production's failure, reportedly remarking before it opened, "Boys, I think we're working on a stiff." The play did close quickly. He went on to appear in the Group productions Awake and Sing! and Paradise Lost, both in 1935, performed with Frances Farmer in Golden Boy in 1937, appeared in Kurt Weill's anti-war musical Johnny Johnson in 1936, and originated the role of Captain Joshua in the 1939 production of Thunder Rock. Financial difficulties and internal disputes over acting method eventually led to the Group's dissolution in 1941.

Adler also took on directorial work during the early 1940s. His first effort, They Should Have Stood in Bed, closed after eleven performances in 1942. His second directorial project, A Flag Is Born in 1946, ran for 120 performances and featured Marlon Brando in one of its major roles. Among his later Broadway credits were A Very Special Baby, The Russian People, The Passion of Josef D., and We Americans. In 1965, when Zero Mostel departed the Broadway cast of Fiddler on the Roof amid a contract dispute, Adler stepped into the role of Tevye.

Beginning in 1937, Adler pursued a parallel film career, though he regarded it as secondary to his stage work. His screen credits included Cornered in 1945, Wake of the Red Witch in 1948, House of Strangers and D.O.A. in 1949, The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel in 1951, in which he portrayed Hitler, and M, also in 1951. Later film appearances included Voyage of the Damned in 1976 and Absence of Malice in 1981. During the 1950s, Adler was among the performers and directors who were blacklisted.

His television work encompassed a wide range of programs, including the anthology series Crossroads, General Electric Theater, Kraft Television Theater, and Robert Montgomery Presents. In 1960 he guest-starred as a pawnbroker in the Twilight Zone episode "The Man in the Bottle," once again playing Hitler. He also appeared in episodes of The Untouchables, Ben Casey, 77 Sunset Strip, Mission: Impossible, Hawaii Five-O, The Streets of San Francisco, Naked City, and Route 66. His role in Hawaii Five-O came in the series' only three-part episode, "'V' for Vashon."

Adler was married to actress Sylvia Sidney from 1938 until 1946. He was the father of Sidney's only child, a son named Jacob, who predeceased her. Adler died at his home in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, and was buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Glendale, New York, alongside his parents and his sister Stella.