Joseph Brody

Brody was born on March 12, 1877, according to his gravestone,[citation needed] in Lyakhavichy, Minsk Governorate, in the Russian Empire, although the Lexicon of Yiddish Theatre gives the date as February 12, and in own his naturalization application he stated his birthday was January 22, 1876.

[4] His father emigrated to the United States in 1887, at which point Joseph entered a Yeshiva in Slonim, where he stayed for six years.

During that time he developed an aptitude for music, and was greatly impressed by the military orchestras which regularly played in the park in Slonim during the summers.

[5] It was when he was hired by David Kessler from the Thalia Theatre in New York City that his career as a Jewish American composer began in earnest.

[7] Kessler, Bertha Kalich, and Sigmund Mogulesko starred in Brody's debut play, which garnered significant success.

[7] Among his other contemporaries in the New York Yiddish Theatre world were Rubin Doctor, Arnold Perlmutter, Herman Wohl, Louis Gilrod, and many others.

[17] Census records indicate that they resided with Sadie, Philip, Harry, and Moses, in addition to their own children Bernard and Jannette (born 1914 and 1917 respectively).