SYLVIA KAUDERS
I t’s a clear, cool day in Chelsea. Outside of Murray’s Bagels, a young
man and woman with a stroller sit to rest on a bench next to an
elderly woman.

The pair attempts a private conversation, but the old lady intrudes:
“How old is the baby?” she asks. And: “How long have you two been
married? Did you meet in the city?”
The young man starts making things up — saying the child’s
name is Hampus, and that the pair (who are actually just friends)
met at a Star Trek convention. “We were both dressed as Klingons
… I knew right away she was the one.” The old lady is slightly con-
fused but remains polite. “Well, enjoy,” she says. “You’re perfect to-
gether, it’s very clear.”
And … cut.

The above is a scene from Orange Is the New Black, the phenome-
nally popular Netflix drama about women in prison. The young couple
play recurring characters on the show, but the Jewish buttinski on the
bench — billed in the script as “Old Lady” — is just in that scene, in
which she serves as the clueless elderly foil for the savvy youngsters.

It’s a role that Sylvia Kauders, the actor who plays “Old Lady,”
knows something about.

Over the course of her prolific acting career, she has been billed var-
iously as “elderly woman” (Rescue Me), “Old Jewish lady” (Smash; Amer-
ican Splendor), “Seder guest” (Crimes and Misdemeanors), “Old Woman”
(30 Rock), “Lady at Deli Counter” (The Wrestler), “Tiny Old Lady” (Lip-
stick Jungle), “Grandma” (The Mother) and “Elderly Wife” (The Big
10 MAY 12, 2016
Wedding). At least three times she’s been credited as a lady on a bench
— and, in the case of Orange Is the New Black, filmed outside of the real
Murray’s Bagels, she was clearly intended to be the Old Jewish Lady on
the Bench.

Kauders, who lives in Center City and now blends volunteerism
with acting, isn’t offended when she gets pigeonholed.

For one thing, much of her acting career — from Broadway to
the big screen — has involved major roles. For another, she has had
recurring parts on TV shows like The Sopranos, Spin City, Dream
On and Law & Order. And her characters in her two most recent
films — the Coen brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis and Love the Coopers,
with Steve Martin, Diane Keaton and John Goodman — were people
with names, not just stand-in ciphers.

And then there’s this: “I am, indeed, an old Jewish lady,” Kauders said.

Kauders grew up in South Philadelphia at Sixth and Mifflin streets
and went to Upper Darby High School — “Tina Fey and me!” she
said. She knew from a young age that she wanted to be an actor.

“I was in second grade the time I did my first play,” Kauders said.

“I was an understudy, and the kid who had the part got sick and I
went on — you know, one of these great stories.”
After this All About Eve-style debut, Kauders was hooked, al-
though her mother wasn’t enthused by Sylvia’s plans to be an actor.

“My mother wanted me to be a s choolteacher. My aunt and
uncle were both schoolteachers — my aunt was one of the
founders of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers — and we
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