Borrah Minevitch

b. 5 November 1902, Kiev, Russia, d. 26 June 1955, Paris, France. Minevitch visited America along with his family members around 1913. After learning piano and violin, he find the harmonica. His playing skill allowed him to try out in vaudeville theatres and on the concert system. In 1925 he shaped a harmonica music group, its people dressing officially and playing on the complete range of musical instruments in the harmonica family members, many of that are rarely seen or noticed. The music group, which he called his Harmonica Rascals, captured on and had been popular in vaudeville and in addition appeared in Great Boy (1928), which went for 253 shows, and Nice And Low (1930), which starred Fanny Brice and George Jessell and went for 184 shows. Using the introduction of audio, the music group was popular in Hollywood for brief films and in addition for places in full-length features, including One INSIDE A Mil (1936) Rascals (1938), Strike Parade Of 1941 (1940), Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1942), and Best Guy (1943). In the middle-30s the music group produced a concert tour of European countries and frequented London. Among the 100 roughly musicians who performed in Minevitch’s music group over time had been Ben Burley, Irvin Crane, Ben Dansky, Lou Delin, brothers Abe and Leo Gemstone, Dave Doucette, Louis Feldman, Al Fiore, Carl Ford, Al Furbish, Eddie Gordon, Richard Hayman, Adam Kenneth, Harold Liechtenstein, Hugh MacKaskey, Etto Manieiri, brothers Pat and Frank Marquis, Ernie Morris, Jerry Murad, Alex Novelle, Pete Pedersen, Sammy Ross and Johnny Puleo (a midget who performed a huge harmonica). In old age, two ex-Rascals, Fiore and Murad, continued to create their own music group, the Harmonicats. Along with his music group, Minevitch played well-known songs of your day as well as much light classical parts specially arranged, occasionally by Minevitch himself, because of their uncommon instrumentation. Minevitch also constructed some music, including, with Leo Gemstone, ‘Collection Philharmonica’. In 1947, Minevitch retired to reside in European countries where he sometimes proved helpful in the creation side from the motion picture sector and also made an appearance briefly in Botta E Risposta (1950, English-language name: I’m In The Revue). After his loss of life in June 1955, his wife, Lydia, whom he previously married just a few weeks beforehand, revived the Harmonica Rascals under Novelle’s command, but times got changed as well as the work quickly folded.