Bob Jacob
Cleveland Jewish News
Dorothy
Silver, who has been described as Cleveland’s first lady of theater and
the grande dame of Cleveland theater, recently passed away. She was 92.
Silver
was an actor and director who was involved in theater for more than 70
years and acted well into her 80s. She performed on small stages and big
screens, appearing in films such as “Love & Other Drugs,” “Old
Fashioned” and “The Shawshank Redemption.”
On
Twitter, the Cleveland Play House wrote: “CPH joins the Northeast Ohio
theatre community and mourns the loss of Dorothy Silver, the grande dame
of Cleveland Theatre. We are eternally grateful for her contributions
to the arts and for sharing her gifts with generations of theatregoers.”
A
winner of the Cleveland Arts Prize, Silver was involved with Karamu
House for 21 years as an actor to an assistant director to a resident
guest director.
Silver
was the cultural arts director at the former Jewish Community Center on
Mayfield Road in Cleveland Heights for 12 years. Halle Theatre operated
out of that building and when she retired, the Halle Theatre’s annual
new play competition was named for her.
Silver
performed readings of Jewish drama throughout the United States,
Israel, Europe and the former Soviet Union, according to the Cleveland
Arts Prize website.
Silver’s
husband, Reuben, died at age 88 in 2014. The Silvers, who were married
in 1949, acted together and collaborated on many plays. They were also
administrators, teachers and mentors, touching all facets of the arts
community since arriving in Cleveland in 1955.
Bob
Abelman, the Cleveland Jewish News’ award-winning critic who has
followed her career, said, "While audience members will remember Dorothy
as one of the most gifted and engaging actors to ever step onto a
Cleveland stage – blessed with abundant talent that gave way to what
appeared to be effortless performance – those of us who were fortunate
enough to share that stage will fondly remember Dorothy as a generous
castmate, an intuitive and giving mentor, and the best prepared and
hardest-working person in the room. Off stage, she became a caring,
invested foster mother to many, which is perhaps her greatest legacy.”
Silver was born Dorothy Greenbaum.
The Silvers lived in the same home in Cleveland Heights for 55 years before moving to Shaker Heights in 2010.
The Silvers have three sons, Paul, Daniel and Joshua.