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 summary
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.
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wikidata · Q3937230 · wikipedia · Rita Karin
In this article
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
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
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
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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