Additional Games
Mor Weisz Testa
July 01, 1870 - December 05, 1932
First, Middle and Last Name: Mor Weisz Testa |
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Date of Birth: July 01, 1870 |
Date of Death: December 05, 1932 |
Name of Father: Ekiasz Testa |
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Name of Mother: Catherine Schwartz |
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Birth: Foth, Hungary; Fót is a town in Pest county, Budapest metropolitan area. |
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Education: |
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Military Enlistment: |
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Occupation(s): Teacher; Theatre; Baritone; (1913) Professor at Vienna Conservatory; (1932) Property man; Dramatic |
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Residence(s): Bremen, Germany 1897-1912; Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1913; Fairfax, Marin county, California 1921; Passaic county, Paterson, New Jersey, 1929; (d.) Sea View Hospital, Staten Island, Richmond County, New York (b.) Section M R Ocean View Cemetery |
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Spouse(s): Maria Gerdes Testa August 08, 1910 / Divorced. |
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Siblings: |
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Children: Edith (born March 16, 1897); Wolfgang (born March 19, 1912) Both born in Bremen, Germany |
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Other: M. W. Testa born 1870 in Hungary and entered the U.S. January 1913. married to Maria Gerdes Testa on August 08, 1910 in London, England Maria Gerdes Testa was born on June 9, 1872 in Bremen, Germany. |
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1912
Dr. Carl Hartlaub (white) vs. M W Testa (black) Bremen, Germany, 1912
Formation Attacks, by Joel Johnson
May 03 1913
The Minneapolis Journal, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Saturday, May 03, 1913
Chess Chatter.
The long expected visit of Champion Marshall is liable not to materialize after all. Nothing has been heard from Mr. Marshall since he first wrote, intimating he was coming. He has, since that time, visited both Canada and Chicago, and as his natural route would be Minneapolis and St. Paul from Canada, we have practically given up hope of seeing him this spring.
We learn that Mr. Einer Michaelsen, champion of the state, has closed out his business in Minneapolis and gone to Chicago to live. Our informations are very meager, however and we should be pleased to learn that there was no truth in it, as we dislike very much to see a chess player of the ability of Michelson leave our midst. M. W. Testa, formerly of Budapest, Hungary and more lately of Bremen, Germany (where he was considered one of the very strongest of chess players), is contemplating making Minneapolis his home. We are pleased to state that he has already been introduced to the chess fraternity.
June 15 1913
The Minneapolis Journal, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sunday, June 15, 1913
MME. M. GERDES-TESTA.
In Mme. M. Gerdes-Testa, the Minneapolis musical forces have gained a conquest of the most valuable order. Mme. Gerdes-Testa is a well-known Bremen pianist who has come to live in America and selected our city for her domicile.
Born of a musical family in Bremen, this artist has studied chiefly under Xavier Scharwenka and his associates in Berlin, Philip Scharwenka and Professor Berger, but also under Martha Remmert, one of Liszt's most famous pupils. Concertizing with success for years in her own country, England and the Scandinavian countries, she later more and more gave attention to the pedagogic side of her art, being placed at the head of the Liszt academy in Gotha and later founding a similar school of her own in Bremen. Mme. Gerdes-Testa is also of wide literary interests and is a good writer upon topics of music and literature. As a performer the artist is attracted especial attention as a Chopin interpreter.
Mme. Gerdes-Testa will be heard in public next season.
October 20 1913
The Minneapolis Journal, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Monday, October 20, 1913
Chess Men Play For City Title
E. P. Elliott, With Two Wins, Leads in Race for Minneapolis Championship.
The first round of the Minneapolis chess tournament, played Saturday evening, Oct. 18, produced remarkably even all-around results, indicating that a hard contest is on, and that the first for the city championship this year will be an unusually hard one.
E. P. Elliot was the only player to win both his games, the victims being Dark Barkuloo, the young expert who is well known as one of the strongest players of the northwest, and who thus starts out with a setback which will call forth his best efforts to retrieve. J. L. Harris and Dr. Huxman, who for many years have been among the leaders in this event, were down against each other, and each won one game, as also did C. D. Gould and H. K. McClelland.
M. W. Testa, the Hungarian player, who is playing for the first time, was a little lucky in his first game, as his opponent, W. Bland, had the attack through the game, but lost the key to the combination at a point where he could have forced a win in a few moments. The second game was won by Bland, who, with his opponent, thus also broke even on the play. A similar net result was arrived at by H. Gatscha and G. H. Taylor, who drew both games. Taylor secured what looked like a winning advantage in both games, but could not quite secure victory in either case.
C. H. Erickson lost one game to W. Metzke, the game taking so long that the second game was postponed, and will be played off during the week. The second round will be played next Saturday evening, Oct. 25, commencing at 7:30.
1914
The World Almanac and Books of Facts, 1914
Chess, pg. 390
Minnesota State Championship—Minneapolis, February 23. Won by D. D. Barkuloo, of St. Paul with 3-0; M. W. Testa, second, with 2½-½.
March 29 1914
The Minneapolis Journal, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sunday, March 29, 1914
Testa Concert This Afternoon
W. M. TESTA, Barytone, with Mme. and Miss Gerdes-Testa, pianists.
An interesting concert will be given this afternoon at the Metropolitan operahouse, beginning 3:30, by Mme. Gerdes Testa, pianist; M. W. Testa, tenor barytone, and Miss Edith Gerdes-Testa, pianist. The pleasantly varied program has previously been announced.
July 10 1915
The Reform Advocate, Chicago, Illinois, July 10, 1915
Sinai Social Center.
A simultaneous 25-table chess exhibition will be held at Sinai Social Center next Saturday evening, July 10, at 8 o'clock.
Mr. M. W. Testa, a prominent exponent of the game of chess, who has played with some of the greatest chess players abroad, will play the members of the Sinai Chess Club.
Admission is open to the general public.
1920
Collection Information; New York, U.S. District and Circuit Court Naturalization Records, 1824-1991, Entry for Mor or M W Weisz or Testa and Maria Ana, 1920.
October 10 1920
The San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco, California, Sunday, October 10, 1920
American Dramatic Art A Failure Because It Is Money-Directed, Says Tragedian From Vienna
By Thomas Nunan
He stood at my desk and I knew that I was in the presence of genius. Hamlet, Othello, Shylock, Marc Anthony—all these, and others, had paid me the honor of a visit. In personal appearance he closely resembled Ysaye. Certainly he could play the latter, though not the latter's fiddle.
Presenting his card, the tragedian made known that he was Mor W. Testa, up to six years ago an actor on the Vienna stage. More recently he has been acting in the American movies, handicapped by the screen lack of demand for his vocal powers, and already he has taken out his first naturalization papers to become a citizen of San Francisco. He brought letters from Mayor Rolph and Carl Laemmle, the latter being president of the Universal Film Company.
“I came from the Royal Theater, Vienna, just before the outbreak of the war,” he explained during out conversation, “with the intention of making my home in this country. For some time I resided in Chicago and during the past three years I have been in Los Angeles, doing motion picture work.”
Having improved his acquaintance with the English language, Mr. Testa, who has been playing cave man and doing various such stunts before the camera, as well as directing thereby earning a good salary and Mr. Leammle's highest praise as expressed in the letter of introduction, is now getting back to the stage and already he is in correspondence with New York regarding the proposition to play a role that was written for David Warfield.
“I played leading roles in Vienna and Berlin for fifteen years,” the actor stated, “and now I am not at all satisfied to work merely for the screen. It is not the art for which I was trained. I am one of the three pupils of Adolf Ritter von Sonnenthal, the famous Vienna actor, the greatest actor in the world he was, and I do not wish to continue in motion pictures.”
“Are you acquainted with the present conditions of dramatic art in Vienna and Berlin?” I inquired.
“Only from what people have written and from what others tell me,” Mr. Testa replied. “There can be no art there now. Schildkraut, the celebrated character actor now in New York, says there is demand for only the light, trivial, intoxicating plays with which intoxicating drinks are served. He has come to America recently and this I have from him.
“And it must be so. The unsettled soul cannot enjoy real art. There has been such a serious setback in Austria and Germany. Years will be required to restore the former conditions, but art is so deep in the souls of the people that it cannot be eradicated. It will be five or ten years yet, maybe longer, before the troubled and disheartened peoples really begin to find themselves again.”
“And how do you find the art in this untroubled country?” I asked.
“The people, I think, are ready,” said the actor, “but art in America is not properly directed. It is money-directed and therefore it lacks artistic success. Art should have nothing do do with business if idealism be excluded from the latter. The two are like righteousness and politics—they should go together but they do not. Yet I believed that true art in this country would prove good business. Some time we will have it. And true art is the best foundation for a healthy country. It is the purified soul that is the pillar of society. No lasting society can be constructed without plenty of art in it.”
All the translated roles of the Shakespearean heroes Mr. Testa has played and he hopes now to essay them in English together with the classics of his native language.
The actor's wife Madame Gerdes-Testa, is a well-known pianist, pupil of Teresa Carreno and Xavier Scharwenka. She and her daughter, also cultured in music, are in Chicago but will soon come to make their home here.
August 25 1921
The San Francisco Journal and Daily Journal of Commerce, San Francisco, California, Thursday, August 25, 1921
Movie Man To Lecture
Commercial Club Will Hear Industry Explained
Prof. M. W. Testa, owner and director of the “Testa Photoplayers,” Fairfax, Marin county, and a former director of “Universaal” in Los Angeles, will give a shrot talk on &dlquo;San Francisco and the Moving Picture Industry” at the San Francisco Commercial Club on a special ladies' day, Saturday, August 27. The club announces that it has secured the members of Mr. Testa's company to entertain with music, songs and dances, featuring Miss Margaret Anderson. Luncheon will be at 12:15 p.m.
January 21 1922
San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, California, Saturday, January 21, 1922
Testa Plays Chess With Raleigh Men
M. W. Testa, a prominent member of the Mechanics' Institute chess club, and also well known in local motion pictures circles, was a guest last night on the H. M. S. Raleigh in man-o'-war row, where he played simultaneously against twelve members of the Raleigh's chess club, which numbers over thirty players. The Britishers were captained by W. Farnfield, who has been a frequent visitor at the Mechanics' Institute club since the arrival of the Raleigh here.
January 29 1922
San Francisco Chronicle, Chess, by E. J. Clarke, San Francisco, California, Sunday, January 29, 1922
Another interesting and rather unique simultaneous exhibition took place on board H. M. S. Raleigh on the evening prior to the departure of the British cruiser for Monterey. M. W. Testa of the Mechanics Institute Chess club, accompanied by J. H. Talbott and The Chronicle chess editor, who acted as referee, played a team of ten, including Talbott. Play began at 8 o'clock and lasted until 11. Testa made a clean sweep of the Raleigh players—V. Farnfield, H. Turner, C. Cah, W. Tyndall, C. Rance, J. Tifles, C. Arrigoni, W. Lewis and E. Cook—but lost to the Mechanics' Institute player, Talbott. The games were followed by many of the cruiser's men, some of whom were probably attracted by the novelty of the proceedings.
December 03 1922
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, Sunday, December 03, 1922
Mrs. Maria Gerdes-Testa of 119 East 44th street announces the engagement of her daughter, Edith, to Dr. Togesh Chander Misrow of Calcutta, India.
February 21 1926
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, Sunday, February 21, 1926
Tuesday—At 8:15: Tony Abele and Maria Gerdes-Testa, two-piano recital; Kimball hall.
July 10 1929
Passaic Daily Herald, Passaic, New Jersey, Wednesday, July 10, 1929
Chess Games with Living Pieces at School Stadium
Motion Pictures Will Be Taken Sunday of Unusual Game
Play Starts at Noon
Passaic, Clifton and Paterson people will take part in a unique event, Sunday morning, when for the first time in the history of this State, a motion picture of a chess game, played by experts with human figures, will be filmed at the Passaic School Stadium.
M. W. Testa, former director of Universal Motion Picture Company, Los Angeles, and now a resident of Paterson, will be in charge of the novel attempt. The “live chess game” will be an actual one, involving many complicated chess problems and played by H. G. Gebel, champion of the Paterson Chess Club, who will have B. R. Carley, champion of the Montclair Club, as his opponent.
Mr. Testa said today he will feature Miss Evelyn Wargatsky, four-year-old Wallington girl, who he says is the most beautiful child he has seen in his years of travel throughout the world and his experience on California movie lots.
The little girl will be the “guardian angel” of the two kingdoms, Anna Buckowsky and Lottie Niematha will play the queens while Joseph Miematha and Henry Oleynik will be the kings. Mr. Oleynik is a Clifton resident.
Besides these principals there will be a cast of 80 persons representing kings, queens, “scouts” and the staffs of the two kingdoms. Mr. Testa has designed many beautiful and unique costumes for the event.
The game and filming will start at noon and finish at 2:30, although the gates will be open at 11 o'clock.
Mr. Testa is co-operating with the Board of Education in filming the picture. In case of rain the production will take place the following Sunday. Mr. Testa intends to organize a motion picture company in Passaic County and plans many other productions.
May 26 1930
The News, Paterson, New Jersey, Monday, May 26, 1930
Testimonial for Professor Testa On June 4th
Concert Artists on Program Planned for June 4 at Oakley Hall
Bringing the current concert season to a close, testimonial concert for Professor M. W. Testa, formerly of the Royal Theatre Vienna, will be held at the Oakley Hall, on Market street, on June 4. Personages identified with the concert stage will participate in the event and number of selections from the works of famous composers will be rendered.
Professor Testa will be assisted in the performance of the program by Louis Mariconda, popular local tenor, and the Rev. Joseph Appell, leading bass baritone singer, who will be accompanied by Challopi, renown Russian singer. Professor Testa will himself appear in specialty number and give demonstration between the silent drama and the legitimate stage.
Through the courtesy of Edward Vernon Philport, Mercedes Hughes will put on several exhibitions and offerings in the form of songs and dances will be given by Betty Stompone, Anna Malone, Evelyn Stevenson, Mildred Probert and Carolyn Nolan. A quartet from the Barnert Memorial Temple will also entertain.
Tickets for the new show can be obtained from the Quackenbush Music Store, on 160 Market | street, and from Mrs. Fuld, president of Barnert Memorial Sisterhood.
Professor Testa is a well-known art instructor and also teaches voice culture.
October 11 1932
The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, Tuesday, October 11, 1932
Naturalization Petitions
Maria Gerdes Testa, 311½ North Rampart Boulevard; Germany.
December 05 1932
New York, U.S., Hebrew Burial Records (HFBA), Silver Lake and Mount Richmond Cemeteries, 1899-1991
Testa, Mor Weisz ➦ bio + additional games
July 01, 1870 - December 05, 1932
