Rita Karin
She also appeared as Meryl Streep's Brooklyn landlady who appears at the beginning of Sophie's Choice. Her voice can be heard singing children's songs from the camps in the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. Born to Moses Karpinowicz and Rachel Levitan in Wilno, Poland (present-day Vilnius, Lithuania), Rita and her husband, Norbert Horowitz, a graduate of the Moscow State Jewish Theater, created a Yiddish theater that performed for Holocaust survivors throughout Europe. The couple emigrated in 1948 to the United States, where she acted in the Yiddish theater in New York City.
Also recorded as Rita Karpinowicz
Rita Karin
- Birth Name
- Rita Karpinowicz
- Born
- 24 October 1919
- Birthplace
- Wilno, Poland (now Vilnius, Lithuania)
- Died
- 10 September 1993
- Place of death
- New York City, United States
- Occupation
- Actress
- Spouse
- Norbert Horowitz; 2 children
- Nationality
- Poland · United States
- Languages
- Polish · English
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q3937230 · wikipedia · Rita Karin
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The documentary record
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Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
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Biography
Biography
She and other actors read the works of Sholom Aleichem at the home of Bel Kaufman, Aleichem's granddaughter, each year on the anniversary of the writer's death.
Key facts
Key facts
• Birth Name — Rita Karpinowicz • Born — 24 October 1919 • Birthplace — Wilno, Poland (now Vilnius, Lithuania) • Died — 10 September 1993 • Place of death — New York City, United States • Occupation — Actress • Spouse — Norbert Horowitz; 2 children • Parents — Moses Karpinowicz and Rachel Levitan
Documentary record
Rita Karin appears in the authority records of the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek as an actress and narrator (24 October 1919 – 10 September 1993). Rita Karin was born on 24 October 1919 in Wilna and died on 10 September 1993 in New York, NY.
Death
Death
Rita Karin died at 73 from undisclosed causes in New York City. She was survived by her son, Dr. Michael Horowitz, and daughter, Mrs. Rochelle Axelrod, and five grandchildren.
Filmography
Filmography
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1971 — The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight — Mrs. Goldfarb • 1972 — Up the Sandbox — Mrs. Grossbard — Uncredited • 1978 — Matilda — Spectator • 1978 — The Big Fix — Aunt Sonya • 1982 — Sophie's Choice — Yetta • 1989 — Enemies, A Love Story — Mrs. Schreier • 1991 — He Said, She Said — Mrs. Spepk • 1991 — Age Isn't Everything • 1993 — The Pickle — Grandmother • 1994 — Full Cycle — Gram — (final film role)
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Vilnius.
Birth place
New York City.
Death place
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Rita Karin, revision 1355492038 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 25 August 2026.
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