Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)

Sometimes, one falls in love with an ancestor.

Probably, only die-hard family historians truly understand this statement.

But it happens.

For me, Max Broida is one of those ancestors.

It started out as one of those quiet relationships. A casual acquaintance, when as a newly married-in, I asked about the family history.

The picture of “The Seven Brothers” was brought out, and there sat John Broida, the patriarch, surrounded by his dashing seven adult sons. They all looked so handsome in their suits, all of them tailored to a “T” since so many of them were in the men’s fine clothing business. They were serious looking- Max too. But his professional demeanor totally belied what I would learn many years later.

Gertrude (Broida) Cooper, the daughter of one of those dashing sons (Philip Edwin Broida), could name all her uncles, and tell about their family life: wives, children, grandchildren, where they lived, and even businesses. She had an astonishing memory, and attention to detail. She too always looked ‘dashing’- if that word can be used for a woman- as she also was in the clothing business, but fine women’s clothes. She always dressed up and put on her makeup and her heels; she colored her hair a bright red until her very later years, when she softened the color but she would always be a beloved carrothead to me.

Gertrude did not know much about her Uncle Max. She told us that he had worked in movies in Hollywood using the name Buster Brodie, and that he was completely hairless- did not even have eyebrows. She didn’t know the names of any films he was in. He was very short, but so were the majority of the family, being Eastern European. He did not marry. That was about all to the story.

Other family members did not know much about Max either- some even thought that their ‘movie star’ relative was a figment of their father’s imagination! (You doubting children know who you are.)

As a good family historian, of course it is important to document collateral relatives, plus sometimes you can find more information about your direct line. So I delved into the history of each of the seven brothers and their families. And when I got to Max, it happened.

Not much came up in the Google search years ago, but that made him more intriguing, a bit mysterious. Of course, that also made him a challenge- you know, hard to get. Others might have backed down, but not me- Max became more attractive, and it became hard to stop running after him. (Yes, my husband does know…)

It was probably about 2 or 3am one research session when I realized what had happened. I was putting together a filmography for Max, and began watching clips or even whole movies where he might have had just a bit part. He was little and cute. He was enthusiastic. He played silly roles with a completely straight face. He had a funny little voice. Sometimes he seemed an underdog. But he was mesmerizing to me. I couldn’t stop watching. It seemed like he wanted his audience to laugh and be happy, and that was happening to me.

I was addicted. I had to know more about him. The passion ramped up.

So I wrote posts, and the blog became cousin bait. Well, actually we didn’t find cousins, but people who had pictures of Max, knowledge of Max, and interest in Max found us. (Putting a portrait on Max’s Find A Grave memorial helped too.) These folks so kindly shared! I felt like we were breathing life back into Max.

I did more research, and wrote more, and was so pleased to hear back from cousins that they were excited to learn that Max was REAL! They were amazed to learn that he had run away to be in the circus as a young boy or man, and did vaudeville after he tried working in business with family. Apparently a settled family business life just didn’t work for him, so he headed west, to Hollywood. The movie studios were becoming a big business in the 1920s, and talkies appeared; Max wanted to be a part of it all. With a bald head, he probably was happy to get to sunny SoCal and leave the miserable Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania winters behind.

Max never had big parts, usually not even big movies. One of his two most memorable movies is the “Wizard of Oz,” where he was a Flying Monkey, so we can’t even tell which one was Max. He also was in what is still a cult movie, Paramount’s 1932 film, “Island of the Lost Souls.” He had an amazing makeup job in that film so again, as ‘The Pig Man,’ Max Broida would be unrecognizable. Part of the reason the film is still popular is because it was the first to use sophisticated ‘monster’ makeup. It is also macabre, and even friends who like scary movies say it was creepy and scary. I could never get through it. In fact, the above portrait found on eBay had another offered by the same seller showing “The Pig Man” in makeup but in a regular shirt. That picture sold as well (but not to me), as did a number of other stills from the movie.

I was really excited to see this delightful portrait show up in my automatic eBay searches, since we really don’t have any decent images of Max as an adult other than the “Seven Brothers” picture. The seller had a ridiculous price on it, but all week Max let me know I needed to procure this for the family.  I was just compelled… and I won it.

I was so thrilled to get the picture, and turn it over. The eBay listing had not included an image of the back, nor even mentioned that there was anything on the reverse. (I hadn’t wanted to ask questions and risk others deciding to bid.) I felt like I had won the lottery! I had Max in my house, and with all the info on the back, I knew a whole lot more about him.

This was likely a publicity photo that Max shopped around, trying to get even bit parts. The handsome man in the picture with the slight smile completely hides the zaniness he could exhibit in some of his acting roles, such as in,”Groovy Movie.” To think of him as Buster Brown (advertising shoes), or a circus clown… well, I just can’t call him ‘Buster’ even though that is how he reported himself to census takers. And I don’t want to think of him as “Pigman” at all.

So thanks, Max, for being a crazy family historian’s passion for a while now, and for surprising me with a treasure every now and then. Happy Valentine’s Day to you, wherever you are. xoxoxo

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Thanks to Steve Cox, who wrote, The Munchkins Remember, EP Dutton, 1988, and documented that Max was a Flying Monkey in “The Wizard of Oz.” Steve also shared what he knew about Max and ‘the little people.’
2. Thanks also to Frank Reighter and his compadres at the Three Stooges Fan Club, who provided some obits and Max’s death certificate.

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Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)

We are not sure just who this Sophie (maiden name unknown) Broida is, nor her husband Max Broida. They are not known to any of the long-time Broida researchers, so if you have any clues, please let us know!

‘Broida’ is a fairly unique name in the United States- if you have it, you are most likely related. The Karklinsky family changed their name when they immigrated to the US, and the lines were very prolific so there are a lot of Broida descendants.

There are some folks who had the name Brode, Brodie, Broido, Broidy, etc., that have sometimes been confused with our Broida name. Not in this case, however, as we have found Sophie’s death certificate, which states her name exactly as in the obituary. It also indicates she was 65 years, 10 months, and 2 days old at her death on 17 February 1940, and she was born in Russia. The names of her parents were unknown but they too were born in Russia.

Sophie’s son Harry Broida of 2164 Dellwood, Jacksonville, FL was the informant on the death certificate. The death certificate also states that she was married to Max Broida- it does not list her as widowed. All this information correlates with the obituary.

Where to look next? A search on Find A Grave brought up a memorial for Sophie, and in the image a headstone for Max was slightly visible to the side. Checking for other Broidas in the cemetery, yes, there was a Max Broida, with his own memorial and stone next to Sophie’s. Sophie’s stone states “Beloved Wife and Mother” so we know she predeceased her husband and had children; the headstone for Max says “Beloved Father.” They were both buried in the Gates of Wisdom section of Shaare Torah Cemetery in Pittsburgh. (Click on the cemetery name in Find A Grave to learn about any old names for the cemetery, exactly where it is located, and contact information. That helped us to know that this was the correct Sophie and Max, even though initially the cemetery name seemed wrong.)

Next step? We now have the date of death- 24 Jan 1948- for this Max Broida, so back to looking for a Pennsylvania Death Certificate. Ancestry.com now has the PA Death Certificates, and here is the pertinent information for Max:

Let’s see what we can learn from the death certificate:

Wife Sophie, and predeceased him? √

Residence 36 Vine in Pittsburgh? √

Birthplace Russia? √

( Lithuania belonged to Russia at various times.)

Informant known to us to have knowledge of the family? √

(Yes, it was their son Jacob Broida, who lived in West Virginia, who we know from Sophie’s obituary.)

And the best thing about this death certificate? It names Max Broida’s father as Abraham. That is a big clue.

Another big clue? The birthplace of Lithuania for both mother and father of Max, and the fact that Max was born there as well- our Broidas came from Lithuania which was also called Russia on many of their documents. There was a famous Rabbi in Lithuania which may be why our ancestors took the Broida name, and this could have been the case with this family as well. Or they could be descendants of the Rabbi, or even related to our Broida lines.

So back to the Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project to find an obituary for this Max Broida:

Again, the obituary corroborates other information we have found, but disappointingly nothing new.

So where do we go from here?

A quick addition of these two persons to Ancestry.com generates some of the famous shaking leaves. In addition to the information already found, there is a 1932 Pittsburgh City Directory entry for them. Maddeningly, it does not list the occupation of Max, but he may have been retired by then. It does list Sophie as his wife, and notes they live at 36 Vine.

The leaves aren’t leading to censuses, so an Ancestry search can help us there. A 1930 census for the family in Pittsburgh shows daughter Florence living with Max and Sophie, but also a 19 year-old son named Albert, who is a salesclerk in a grocery store; Florence is a salesclerk in a department store. Albert is not listed as surviving in either obituary, so he may have died in his 20s. Sophie and Max own their home at 36 Vine which was worth $3,000, and they even had a radio. BUT- they are listed with the last name of “Brodie”- very clearly written, and indexed that way too. Both Sophie and Max spoke Yiddish according to the census, so maybe the two names sounded the same to the census taker, or a neighbor gave the information incorrectly?

So let’s keep on searching- the 1920 census is next as we move back in time. Max and Sophie BRODY are listed in Pittsburgh Ward 3, living at 32 Townsend. Max is listed as a tinner for the electric company, and there are 5 children living with them: Gilbert, Minnie, Harry, Florence, and Abe. (Two- Gilbert and Minnie- that we did not know about. Again, maybe they died as young adults since they are not noted in the obituaries.) The three oldest were born in Russia, with Florence and Abe born in Pennsylvania. Apparently Max immigrated in 1904, and the family followed in 1907; they all became naturalized in 1915.

We can’t find the family in 1910, although they all would have been in the US by then if the 1920 and 1930 censuses are correct.

So where are we with this family? Are they some of the folks who shifted their name from census to census, sometimes using our family name of “Broida,” or sometimes a similar version? Using more census records, city directories, and newspapers would be another way to learn more about this family, and we could possibly even find immigration records.

Focusing on the father of Max would be important- was Abraham related to our Broidas? Did he ever come to the US himself? Maybe following up on the children of Sophie and Max Broida might give us more clues, and maybe cousins. And that is part of the reason this blog was begun: cousin-bait.  Hopefully some of these Broida (we-don’t-think-are-) cousins might find this and help us learn they really are related to us.

Or not– sometimes knowing who is NOT related is important in genealogy too.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Obituary of Sophie Broida who died 23 Februrary 1940 in Pittsburgh, PA used with the kind permission of the American Jewish Outlook, page 13, column 1. Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project, http://digitalcollections.library.cmu.edu/portal/collections/pjn/index.jsp
2. Thanks to Mitch and Ann, as usual, for their thoughts on this family.
3. Intriguingly, there is a partial view of a stone next to that of Max on FAG that has the name of “Max B” showing, and the date of death starts with an “F” (for February?) Only Sophie and Max are noted as Broidas in the cemetery, but it would be interesting to see what the full name is on the adjacent headstone. (Research is like potato chips…)
4. Find A Grave Memorials:
   Max Broida- http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=153070616
   Sophie (__) Broida- http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=153070616

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Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)

Rereading the obituary of Buster Broida/ Max Broida, it is sad to think that he ended up mostly alone, selling pari-mutuel tickets at the racetrack in between acting jobs, just to pay the bills. There was a brighter side of Hollywood, however, and Max likely saw some of that in the movies as he worked to make them. (Can you imagine being on the set of “The Wizard of Oz”?) Most of our other ancestors of the 20th century- those who went to the movies- saw this bright side too, and it definitely helped them get through the challenging years of the Depression and World War II. Mary Helbling McMurray talked of going to the movies with her girlfriends after work, and they loved these types of films.

What would these folks think of today’s music? There are now so many musical genres that they couldn’t have even imagined, with our electronic instruments, a looser moral code, and ‘unique’ combinations. (Christian gangsta rap???) Much of their music was considered risqué or not appropriate for refined young ladies and gentlemen in their time, too.

We also need to consider the context of their times- it was ‘shocking’ back then to see Shirley Temple dancing with a black servant, though made more ‘okay’ since she was a little girl and the darling of America. Glad that most of us are past that today. (Can’t believe it had to be ‘most of us’ instead of just the all-inclusive, “we.”)

Here is an earlier version featuring Fred Astaire, not a mix of many films:

I’ll bet Buster Brodie could ‘cut a rug.’ Take a look at how much rhythm he has in “Groovy Movie” as they dance the jitterbug. (Buster is the piano player.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbaNYWkQYYA

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Slate article- http://www.slate.com/articles/video/video/2015/11/mashup_of_uptown_funk_and_hollywood_golden_era_movie_dancing_video.html
2. 66 Old Movie Dance Scenes- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1F0lBnsnkE
3.  Fred Astaire with “Uptown Funk.”- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb3VTnuuuRI
4. “Groovy Movie”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbaNYWkQYYA

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Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)

One more obituary for Max Broida, published in his hometown religious newspaper. Note that he was listed as Max (Buster) Brodie, not Broida, in the second obituary of the article. His death certificate notes his name as Buster Brodie. (Note: We do not believe that Abraham J. Brodie, listed first in the obituaries, is related.)

Use the “Search” box to view more obituaries for Max and stories and pictures of his life.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. See image caption.
2. Buster would have laughed his infectious laugh to see this website about his net worth- http://richestcelebrities.org/richest-actors/buster-brodie-net-worth-2/
3. “A Doctor’s Diary” from 1937- original Buster post updated with the clip available at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvLWOxyiah0.

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Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Broida Family (Click for Family Tree)

Today is Veteran’s Day, a day to honor and appreciate the sacrifice of our veterans (and their families). Those who put their life on the line in the military allow us to wake up every morning in a free country and with freedoms that much of the world can only dream about. We need to shake the hands of our service members and say “thank you” to them whenever we meet them, and our country needs to take care of them when they come back home. (Today would be a good day to write your representatives in Congress and tell them you want better health care, pay, and benefits like the GI Bill-an improved version- for our military.)

Gerald D. Broida, son of Theodore “Dave” Broida and Lucy M. Shatzke, enlisted 4 November 1941 in the Air Corps, Regular Army at Camp Roberts in California. Jerry Broida had worked at a Skelly gas station as a teen in Colorado, so he worked in a transportation group as a Lieutenant. Jerry was 23 years old when he enlisted, and he may not have been overseas before. World War II was a far-ranging war, and Gerald got to see quite a bit of the world during his tour of duty.

Jerry corresponded with his aunt and uncle, Bess Dorothy Green and Phillip Edwin Broida while he served in World War II.  He travelled to quite a few countries, and wrote about China and Italy in the two surviving V-Mails we are posting today in honor of Jerry’s service.

The notes are an interesting glimpse into life in the 1940s, and during war. Of course, they were censored, so he couldn’t say much about strategic events, but he did manage to tell a bit about his impressions of people and countries to his aunt and uncle who had not travelled out of the country (as far as we know).

A bit of background:

“V-mail” is short for “Victory Mail.” Traditionally, a soldier, sailor, or airman would write a letter, post it via air mail, and it would have to take up valuable military cargo space on an airplane to get back to the US. This process was expensive, ended up taking quite a bit of time, and was therefore not useful for urgent messages. There was also the security risk of a note containing sensitive military information that would put our troops in danger.

Eastman Kodak had developed the British “Airgraph” system in the 1930s to reduce weight and size for mail transported by air. It was realized that the Airgraph was a faster, better way for our military to send letters home. The thumb-nail sized images on light-weight film saved thousands of cubic feet of shipping space, and literally tons of weight. Just one mail bag of microfilm could hold the equivalent of 37 mail bags, or about 150,000 one-page regular letters! The weight went from over 2,500 lbs. down to just 45! That would save fuel as well.

Working with v-mail was one of the many ways that women at home provided support for our military during war.

V-mail stationery was available for the folks back home to use too. It was not used as much by civilians, because, as one writer said, “You can’t smell the perfume…”

Here are the two v-mails we have from Gerald Broida, and transcriptions:

Transcription:

Censored
G D Broida
[1st Lt?] A. C.

To Mr. & Mrs. Phil Broida
405 Morrowfield Apt. 3
Pittsburg -17
Pennsylvania

From
0-562625
Lt. G. D. Broida
1641 Ord. S. & M. Co.
A.P.O. 210 c/o P.M.
N.Y.C.

April 15– ’44
Dear Aunt Bess & Uncle Phil,

I was very happy to receive your v-mail
of Feb. 1 a short time ago. -The main reason
for the delay is that I’ve been on the
move for quite a long time & now at last
I am in China. After a nice long & high
flying trip by air, railroad & ship I am
about to start to work again. This is really
quite the most unusual country I’ve been in
yet. There are millions of people & yet they
don’t seem to be dirty like the people of India
& Egypt. Neither do they seem to be beggars. They
are more like a large group of overgrown
kids, always ready to laugh at anything- be
it their own misfortunes or be it Americans & they
are very friendly & curious.–I’ll probably have more
to tell after I’ve been here awhile- So- until next
time- I’ll say good bye & Hope this finds you in
the best of health. [V-MAIL] Love, Gerald

The following letter does not include a year, but was sent on 4 December; it could have been 1942 or after, as that was when v-mail use began for our troops.

Censored
G D Broida
[2nd Lt ?] A. C.

To
Mrs. Phil Broida
405 Morrowfield Apt. 3
Pittsburg -17
Pennsylvania

From
Lt. G. D. Broida
1641 Ord. S. & M. Co.
A.P.O. 528 c/o P.M. N.Y.C.

Dec 4

Dear Aunt Bess & Uncle Phil,
I received your letter about a week ago &
your package came just a few days ago. I want
you to know that I certainly appreciated them
both. – Both myself & the other 2 officers in
my company Thank you very much for the
candy- we are still nibbling on it. I would
have answered sooner but we have been
on the move again- & that always requires
lot of time & work. Then too when we
aren’t moving we always have lots of work
to do- especially in my line- whihc is keepong
the vehicles in running condition. And now I’m
looking forward to a lovely, muddy & cold Italian
winter- which will probably mean a lot more
trucks etc to fix.- oh well, such is life, I
guess. – at least I’m feeling fine & I hope
to hear the same from you. Good bye for now
Love Gerald

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. “How V-mail Changed War Communication” from the National World War II Museum in New Orleans- http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-students/ww2-history/take-a-closer-look/v-mail.html
2. “Before Email, There Was V-mail” by Jesse Rhodes, 2008- http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/before-email-there-was-v-mail-31784014/?no-ist=
3. “You’ll write, he’ll fight!” Victory mail online exhibit with some interesting sidenotes- http://postalmuseum.si.edu/victorymail/ (Check out “Operating v-mail.”)
4. V-mail from Family Treasure Chest.

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Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.