Taubie Kushlick

Taubie Kushlick (1910–1991) was a South African actress and producer. She became characterized as the self-styled "First Lady of Theatre".

Personal life and education Kushlick, one of six children, was the daughter of Jewish Lithuanian immigrants from Kovno. She was born in Luckhoff, Orange Free State, grew up in Port Elizabeth and was educated at Wesleyan High School (now Kingswood College), Grahamstown.

Career Kushlick's career as an actress and theatre producer spanned over six decades. She received acclaim for her notable role in South African theatre. Her hand-on approach also became a particular characteristic of her career, she once admitted "My type is dying out of the theatre. I'm a conductor who has to ORCHESTRATE the whole thing." Earlier in 1973 she held a special Jacques Brel performance to raise funds for Israel during the Yom Kippur War.

She was an honorary life member of the South African Association of Theatre Managements and patron of the Theatre Gallery Club. She also became the founder and director Taubie Kushlick Productions (Pty) Ltd.

Legacy

In 1999, she was placed at no.88 in the They shaped our century survey, a top 100 list published about which people had the greatest influence on South Africa during the twentieth century.

In 2024, at the South African Jewish Board of Deputies' 120th anniversary gala dinner, she was honoured among 100 remarkable Jewish South Africans who have contributed to South Africa. The ceremony included speeches from Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, and Kushlick was honoured with the likes of Nadine Gordimer and Helen Suzman.