Dzigan, Shimon

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DZIGAN, SHIMON

DZIGAN, SHIMON (1905–1980), Yiddish satirical actor. Dzigan began his career in Lodz, Poland, where he was born. He became popular in comic dialogues with Israel Schumacher, who played the sedate know-all to Dzigan's quick-witted ignoramus. When World War ii broke out, they escaped to Russia and gave performances for the Polish Jewish refugees. After the war, Dzigan and Schumacher performed in Western Europe and North and South America, before settling in Israel in 1952. When the two parted as a result of personal differences, Dzigan staged his own revues.