Rita Karin

Rita Karin, born Rita Karpinowicz on October 24, 1919, in Wilno, Poland (present-day Vilnius, Lithuania), was a Polish-born American actress whose career spanned theater, film, and television across several decades. She died on September 10, 1993, in New York City at the age of 73, survived by her son, Dr. Michael Horowitz, her daughter, Mrs. Rochelle Axelrod, and five grandchildren.

Karin was the daughter of Moses Karpinowicz and Rachel Levitan. Following World War II, she and her husband, Norbert Horowitz, a graduate of the Moscow State Jewish Theater, established a Yiddish theater company that toured Europe performing for Holocaust survivors. The couple emigrated to the United States in 1948, after which Karin continued her work in Yiddish theater in New York City. Her connection to Jewish cultural life extended beyond the stage: she participated annually in readings of the works of Sholom Aleichem at the home of Bel Kaufman, Aleichem's granddaughter, held each year on the anniversary of the writer's death. Her voice was also recorded singing children's songs from the concentration camps, a recording preserved and presented at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.

Her Broadway career ran from 1960 to 1975 and included appearances in four productions: The Wall, A Call on Kuprin, The Penny Wars, and Yentl. Born in Warsaw, Poland, according to her verified stage records, Karin built a reputation in New York theatrical circles that carried into her screen work.

Among her film roles, Karin appeared in Sophie's Choice as Meryl Streep's Brooklyn landlady in scenes at the opening of the film. On television, she was known to audiences for her recurring role as Jackie Mason's mother in the 1989 series Chicken Soup.