He famously lost all of his hair at 19 and quickly became one of the youngest character actors in the business, even playing Shylock at just 24.
Ron Leibman played Shylock in a very fey Venice.
But a big star suddenly becomes available to play Shylock, and Maurice loses the role.
Then the great Jacob Adler, among the few Jewish actors to have played Shylock up to that time.
He plays Shylock in "The Merchant of Venice."
(The actor playing Shylock is also an old lover, but then presumably the honor is not a rare one.)
Later he returned to the Canadian Shakespeare festival to play Shylock.
The following year, he played Shylock in a short film of The Merchant of Venice.
"I saw Olivier, for goodness sake, playing Shylock for 15 pence."
I know Larry's career had its ups and downs ... but playing Shylock for fifteen pence!