Morris Gest

Through his mother he was a member of the middle-class Michliszanski clan which included his cousin, later renamed as Bernard Berenson, the art historian.

He also produced Broadway shows such as Morris Gest's "Midnight Whirl" (1919) with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Buddy DeSylva.

Despite contributions by Michel Fokine (choreography) and Léon Bakst (costumes), it “displayed a gorgeous exterior, but was hollow inside.”[2] In 1922 and 1923, Gest and Comstock presented Nikita Balieff's company "La Chauve-Souris".

They also presented the Moscow Art Theatre directed by Konstantin Stanislavski which reigned over New York drama despite the handicap of Russian dialogue.

[4] All the participants were midgets that Gest had brought from Germany, and the entire project was seen as a tawdry freak show, a sad commentary on the life of the producer who, in the 1920s, had introduced America to European high art.