Rita Karin (born Rita Karpinowicz; October 24, 1919 – September 10, 1993) was a Polish-born American actress best known for her role as Jackie Mason's mother on the 1989 TV series Chicken Soup. 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. 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.Profile, emory.edu; accessed February 12, 2016.
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.Obituary, nytimes.com; accessed February 10, 2016.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1971 The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight Mrs. Goldfarb 1972 Up the Sandbox Mrs. Grossbard Uncredited1978 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)
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