DISORDER IN THE COURT

Title by Felix Adler
Biography by Peter Vuono

Dedicated to Joel, Rosalie and all die-hard Stooge fans

   Sophie Kischnerman was born in Brooklyn on March 21, 1912. Sophie was educated at Hunter College which is part of NYU. She was a natural born athlete and won a high jump contest in NYC. However her parents frowned upon her making athletics her source of bread and butter and Sophie was denied the chance to compete in the Olympics. Fortunately for Sophie, she had many other talents She was a superb dancer which didn't surprise anyone. Sophie became one of the very first Rockettes. She danced at the Radio city Music Hall on the first night that the Rockettes opened.
   Sophie continued to both model and train as an actress in Philadelphia. She went to Hollywood and worked for Monogram,. Republic, Metro and Columbia. She would change her name to Suzanne Kaaren. Kaaren was brought to this author's attention by playing in three 3 Stooges shorts; :What's the Matador" as Dolores Sanchez, as dancer Gail Tempest in "Disorder in the Court" and in "Yes We Have No Bonanza" as a saloon singer.
   Kaaren married actor Sidney Blackmer in 1946 . Attending the wedding was Raquel Torres who played a major part with the Marx Brothers in "Duck Soup". Unfortunately, Kaaren and Blackmer separated only a few months after their marriage but decided to remain together until Blackmer passed in 1973.
   Kaaren lived in North Carolina until a fire destroyed her home. She and Blackmer had been renting an apartment for $203.59 a month  at 100 Central Park South in NYC. Kaaren, at this time was a senior citizen and was making less than 10,000 per year. She had no choice but to move in; plus the property was rent controlled. Shortly after, a new real estate developer bought the property and tried to evict Kaaren and any other rent controlled tenants. The developer was a fellow named Donald John Trump. Kaaren and her fellow renters took Donald John to court in the 80's and won. She was allowed to remain there until her failing health warranted more care. Upon her death in 2004, she was laid to rest next to her husband in North Carolina. According to the Three Stooges Journal, the Associated Press headline read,"Actress Who Stood Up to Trump Dead at 92".
   Prior to my writing this, I had no knowledge of Kaaren's feistiness and chutspah. I loved her characters but from now on I'll  watch the hilarity of "What's the Matador" and not just laugh but admire a brave woman, who like David stood up to a Goliath for what she thought was right.


REFERENCES: Three Stooges Journal Winter 2019

WIKIPEDIA