{{short description|Polish-American stage actress (1881–1963)}} {{Use American English|date=May 2018}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2018}} {{Infobox person | name = Sarah Biala | image = Stage actress Sara Biala (SAYRE 6494).jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Biala {{circa}}1912 | birth_name = Sarah Bialablotcky | birth_date = {{Birth date|1881|02|05}} | birth_place = Pilviškiai, Lithuania | death_date = {{death date and age|1963|03|15|1881|03|07}} | death_place = Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. | alma_mater = Drake University | occupation = Stage actress | years_active = 1909{{ndash}}1934 | known_for = | spouse = {{marriage|Harry D. Cohen|1920|1963}} | children = }}
'''Sarah Biala''' (born '''Sarah Bialablotcky'''; February 5, 1881 – March 15, 1963) was a Polish-born American actress active on Broadway.
==Early life== Sarah Blotcky was born in Pilvishok, Lithuania, the daughter of Jacob Blotcky and Miriam (Mary) Werblofsky Blotcky. In early childhood, she moved to the United States with her family.<ref name="Houston">[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19787533/sara_biala_1916/ "Many Compliments over 'War Brides'"] ''Houston Post'' (April 11, 1916): 7. via Newspapers.com{{open access}}</ref> She was raised in Iowa,<ref>John L. Shipley, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19793344/sara_biala_1907/ "Plays and Players"] ''Des Moines Tribune'' (October 31, 1907): 5. via Newspapers.com{{open access}}</ref> and studied oratory at Drake University. She also studied music in Chicago.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19791547/sara_biala_1913/ "About Sara Biala"] ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' (December 14, 1913): 51. via Newspapers.com{{open access}}</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19793503/sara_biala_1911/ "Success of a Des Moines Girl on the Stage"] ''Des Moines Register'' (June 25, 1911): 11. via Newspapers.com{{open access}}</ref>
==Career== thumb|left|Sara Biala in ''The Ghost Breaker'', 1913. Sarah Blotcky performed as a "dramatic reciter" in the midwest before going to New York.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19793222/sara_blotcky_biala_1903/ "Noted Impersonator Coming"] ''Willmar Tribune'' (October 10, 1903): 5. via Newspapers.com{{open access}}</ref> Sarah Biala's first Broadway show was ''A Citizen's Home'' (1909). She continued to appear on Broadway, with roles in ''Baby Mine'' (1910), ''The Clouds'' (1911),<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=TXIhAQAAMAAJ&dq=Sara+Biala+actress&pg=PA533 "Little Stories of the New Plays"] ''Green Book Album'' (September 1911): 533.</ref> ''The Ghost Breaker'' (1913), ''Pilate's Daughter'' (1914), ''Some Baby!'' (1915), ''Paganini'' (1916), ''The Torches'' (1917),<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=4JRRAQAAMAAJ&dq=Sara+Biala&pg=PA351 "The Torches"] ''Theatre Magazine'' (December 1917): 351.</ref> and ''The Broken Chain'' (1929).<ref>Dixie Hines, Harry Prescott Hanaford, eds., [https://books.google.com/books?id=qts9AQAAMAAJ&dq=Sara+Biala&pg=PA472 ''Who's who in Music and Drama''] (H. P. Hanaford 1914): 374, 405, 472.</ref><ref>"'The Broken Chain' Written with Fervor" ''New York Times'' (February 21, 1929): 24. {{ProQuest| }}</ref> During World War I she appeared in two topical dramas: ''War Brides'' (1916),<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19790439/sara_biala_1916/ "Orpheum"] ''The Allentown Leader'' (January 15, 1916): 8. via Newspapers.com{{open access}}</ref> and ''The Weaker One'' (1918).<ref>"War Playlet at the Palace" ''New York Times'' (March 5, 1918): 9. {{ProQuest| }}</ref> She also appeared in ''Mary Magdalene'' and ''The Snow Storm'' at the Hackett Theatre in New York,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=6txNAQAAMAAJ&dq=Sara+Biala+actress&pg=RA1-PA44 "Hackett-Mary Magdalene"] ''New York Dramatic Mirror'' (May 28, 1910): 3.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=6txNAQAAMAAJ&dq=Sara+Biala+actress&pg=RA21-PA4 "The Snow Storm"] ''New York Dramatic Mirror'' (June 11, 1910): 4.</ref> and in ''Three Spoonfuls'' in London in 1915.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19793388/sara_biala_1915/ "Des Moines Girl Makes Good on London Stage"] ''Des Moines Register'' (May 8, 1915): 2. via Newspapers.com{{open access}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=6Fk4AQAAMAAJ&dq=Sara+Biala+actress&pg=PA486 "'Three Spoonfuls' at the Criterion"] ''Illustrated London News'' (April 17, 1915): 486.</ref> She appeared in several silent films, including ''The Heart of a Gypsy'' (1919), ''The Fear Market'' (1920), and ''The Law of the Yukon'' (1920).<ref>Paul Mavis, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ehkcZFT8fMoC&dq=Sara+Biala&pg=PA137 ''The Espionage Filmography: United States Releases, 1898 through 1999''] (McFarland ): 137. {{ISBN|9781476604275}}</ref>
Biala was described as having "deep, tragic eyes".<ref name="Houston" /> In 1910, she was refused membership in the Three Arts Club because she was Jewish.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=DUgcAQAAMAAJ&dq=Sara+Biala&pg=PA919 "Our New York Weekly Bulletin"] ''The Reform Advocate'' (June 18, 1910): 919.</ref> In 1934 she returned to New York to study acting with Frances Duff-Robinson.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19790827/sara_biala_cohen_1934/ "Sara Biala Cohen Studying in N. Y."] ''Des Moines Tribune'' (February 28, 1934): 18. via Newspapers.com{{open access}}</ref>
==Personal life== Sarah Biala married Harry D. Cohen in 1920, in Chicago. They lived in Iowa, where she sometimes gave dramatic readings.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19790306/sara_biala_1926/ "Mrs. Sol Davidson is Hostess to Society"] ''Des Moines Register'' (July 25, 1926): 55. via Newspapers.com{{open access}}</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19790736/sara_biala_cohen_1933/ "Club Will Hear Fantasy Reading"] ''Des Moines Tribune'' (March 9, 1933): 14. via Newspapers.com{{open access}}</ref> She died in 1963, aged 82 years. Her remains were buried in the Jewish cemetery in Des Moines, Iowa.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category}} * {{IMDB name|0080513}} * [https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sarah-biala-32037 Sara Biala's listing on IBDB.] * [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/90018436 Sara Biala Cohen's gravesite] on Find a Grave. {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biala, Sara}} Category:1881 births Category:1963 deaths Category:Polish actresses Category:American women in World War I Category:Actresses from Des Moines, Iowa Category:Polish emigrants to the United States