MAX DAVIDSON

Max Davidson was a German-Jewish immigrant to the U.S. who was born in 1875, and he was friends with D.W. Griffith, and he started in movies in 1912. Over the next decade, he appeared in around 200 movies (shorts and features), almost always playing some ethnic Jewish role. He signed with Hal Roach in 1926, and was given his own series of shorts, many directed by Leo McCarey. At the end of the 1920s, there was a backlash against ethnic Jewish stereotypes, and he was reduced to playing uncredited roles in many 1930s movies. He had his final role in 1945, and passed away in 1950.