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LEADERSHIP (3)
Stella Adler
Stella Adler (1901-1992), an acclaimed actress since childhood, was the daughter of Sara and Jacob Adler, stars of the early twentieth-century Yiddish theater. In the 1930s, Stella brought the famous Stanislavski Method of acting to America and began working as an acting coach, in addition to her many roles in plays and movies. Eventually Stella would establish one of the most influential acting schools in the United States; her students included such future stars as Warren Beatty, Candice Bergen, Marlon Brando, Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, Melanie Griffith, Bette Midler, John Ritter, Cybill Sheppard, and Henry Winkler. Stella joined the Bergson Group in 1942. She appeared in “We Will Never Die,” groomed Marlon Brando for “A Flag is Born,” and recruited numerous major figures from the world of entertainment to support the Bergson Group.
Adler together with Dean Alfange (L) and Alex Rafaeli (R), in 1943.
Prior to the Bergson Group’s November 1943 “Salute to Sweden and Denmark” rally, Adler is seen signing a petition urging President Roosevelt to follow the example of those countries by taking steps to rescue Jews from the Nazis. Looking on is Mrs. Ruth Bryan Owen Rhode, former U.S. minister to Denmark and chair of the rally.
Harry Selden
Judge Magazine editor Harry Selden (1908-2004) gave up his literary career in 1940 in order to become a full-time “dollar a year” man for the Bergson Group. He wrote and edited many of its publications, organized public events, and personally escorted Sen. Guy Gillette on a highly publicized fact-finding mission to Palestine in 1946. Selden was also later a founder of the National Committee for an Effective Congress, an influential liberal activist group.
Harry Selden in the 1940s. Photo courtesy of Judith Selden.
L to R: Sen. Guy Gillette, New York office staff member Tzipporah Kessel, and Harry Selden, on their visit to Mandatory Palestine in 1946. Photo courtesy of Judith Selden.
Arthur Szyk
Arthur Szyk (1894-1951), the world famous painter and illustrator, became active in the Bergson Group in 1941 His illustrations appeared in the group’s newspaper advertisements, booklets, and brochures. Ben Hecht described him as “our one-man art department.”
Szyk at his studio in New Canaan, Connecticut, in the 1940s.
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