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Zero Mostel
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== Early life == Mostel was born in [[Brooklyn|Brooklyn, New York]] to Israel Mostel and Tzina Druchs (also spelled Cina, known as Celia), both [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazi Jewish]] emigrants from [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]]. His father was born in {{ill|Dev'yatnyky|uk|Дев'ятники|lt=Dziewiętniki}},<ref name="imm">''New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820–1957''</ref><ref>''U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007''</ref> then in [[Austria-Hungary]], later in Poland, and now in [[Lviv Oblast]], Ukraine.<ref>''[[1920 United States census]]''</ref><ref name="1930 United States census">''[[1930 United States census]]''</ref> He immigrated to the United States in 1898 with his first wife, Esther Wirklich Mostel, and young daughter, Celia. They would have three more children – Hyman, Sarah (Sadie), and Benjamin – before her death in 1908.<ref>''[[1910 United States census]]''</ref> His mother, Tzina, grew up in [[Vienna|Vienna, Austria]], and immigrated in 1906.<ref name="imm"/> Israel had five more children with Tzina: Morris, Milton, Aaron, Samuel (later known as Zero), and William.<ref name="1930 United States census"/> As a child, he earned the nickname "Zero" from his classmates to match his poor grades.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mostel |first1=Zero |title=My Favorite Jokes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/233423880/?match=1&terms=zero%20mostel%20samuel%20joel |access-date=June 30, 2024 |work=Daily Press |date=September 24, 1967 |page=111 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> He kept the moniker when he went into show business, though his mother hated it.<!-- His mother did not give him the name --><ref>{{cite news |title=That Zero – He's the Most |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/148621986/?match=1&terms=zero%20mostel%20nickname%20samuel |access-date=June 30, 2024 |work=[[The Pittsburgh Press]] |date=April 26, 1967 |page=86 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Initially living in the [[Brownsville, Brooklyn|Brownsville]] section of Brooklyn, the family moved to [[Moodus, Connecticut]], where they bought a farm. The family's income in those days came from a winery and a slaughterhouse. The farm failed, and the family moved back to [[New York City|New York]], where his father obtained work as a wine chemist. Zero was described by his family as outgoing and lively, and with a developed sense of humor. He showed an intelligence and perception which convinced his father he had the makings of a [[rabbi]],<ref name="life1943" /> but Zero preferred painting and drawing, a passion he retained for life. According to Roger Butterfield, Zero's mother sent him to the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] to copy paintings while dressed in a velvet suit. Zero had a favorite painting, [[John White Alexander]]'s ''[[commons:File:Study in Black and Green.JPG|Study in Black and Green]]'', which he copied every day, to the delight of the gallery crowds. One afternoon, while a crowd was watching over his velvet-clad shoulder, he solemnly copied the whole painting upside down, delighting his audience.<ref name="life1943">{{cite magazine |last=Butterfield |first=Roger |date=January 18, 1943 |title=Zero Mostel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mE4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA61 |magazine=[[Life (magazine)|LIFE]] |publisher=[[Henry Luce]] |access-date=July 13, 2017 }}</ref> In addition to English, Zero Mostel spoke [[Yiddish]], Italian, and German.{{citation needed| date= July 2019}} He attended Public School 188, where he was an A student.{{citation needed|date=November 2017}} He also received professional training as a painter through [[The Educational Alliance]]. He completed his high school education at [[Seward Park Campus|Seward Park High School]],<ref name="NYT-Obituary">{{cite news |author-link=Robert D. McFadden |last=McFadden |first=Robert D. |date= September 9, 1977 |title=Zero Mostel Dies of Heart Failure at 62 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1977/09/09/archives/zero-mostel-dies-of-heart-failure-at-62-zero-mostel-is-dead-at-62.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=July 14, 2017 }}</ref> where his yearbook noted: "A future [[Rembrandt]]... or perhaps a comedian?".{{citation needed|date=June 2016}} He attended the [[City College of New York]], a public college that allowed many poor students to pursue higher education. He later claimed that he was on the swimming team and the [[Reserve Officers Training Corps]], though the claim is dubious.<ref>Brown, p. 12</ref> As only beginner classes were available in art, Mostel took them repeatedly to be able to paint and receive professional feedback.<ref name="NYT-Obituary" /> During the time he worked odd jobs. He graduated in 1935 with a bachelor's degree. He then continued studying towards a master's degree at [[New York University]] before leaving after a year to find work.<ref name="NYT-Obituary" /> He then joined the [[Public Works of Art Project]] (PWAP), which paid him a stipend to teach art.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}} In 1939, he married Clara Sverd, and the couple moved to an apartment in Brooklyn. The marriage did not last, however, since Clara could not accept the many hours Mostel spent in his studio with his fellow artists, and he did not seem to be able to provide for her at the level to which she had been accustomed. They separated in 1941 and divorced in 1944, Clara only agreeing to the divorce in return for a percentage of Mostel's earnings for the rest of his life. The arrangement lasted until the mid-1950s.<ref>Brown, p. 50</ref>
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