Biography
Molly Picon, also credited as Malka Opiekun, was an American actress who began her career in vaudeville and became a star of the Yiddish theatre in New York. She performed in numerous Yiddish stage productions and films, often collaborating with her husband, playwright and actor Jacob Kalich, whom she married in 1919.
As Yiddish theatre declined, Picon took on character roles in English-language stage, film and television productions. She is best known for playing Yente the Matchmaker in the 1971 film adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof. Other film credits include Come Blow Your Horn (1963), The Naked City (1948), For Pete's Sake (1974), The Cannonball Run (1981) and Cannonball Run II (1984). She also appeared in television series such as Car 54, Where Are You? and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C..
