She said, Lets read,' he recalled in a 2008 interview forFilmsof the Golden Age. Some Like It Hot. Nehemiah Persoff on 'Gilligan's Island' / CBS Persoff starred in a 1965 episode of the show called "The Little Dictator." He was born on August 2nd, 1919, and sadly, his appearanceon Gilligan's Islandwas only a one-off thing. August 22, 1951 - 2021 (her death, 4 children), An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster, An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island, Jerusalem, British Mandate of Palestine [now Jerusalem, Israel]. Hollywood film veteran Walter Mirisch has died at 101 years old. Persoff was born in Jerusalem, British mandate Palestine on 2 August 1919. Its a lot of fun and he looks to be a hoot himself. All my life I promised myself that if Israel were to fight for its existence, I would be fighting alongside my brothers and sisters, he said. In California, he starred as a cantankerous socialist in his 80s in the Herb Gardner comedy Im Not Rappaport and as the milkman Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. And for almost two decades he appeared as Tevyes creator, the Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem, in a one-man show for which Mr. Persoff adapted five of the writers fables. His father, a silversmith and painter, brought the family to the U.S. in 1929, and Persoff served in the U.S. Army and worked as an electrician for the New York subway system. 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He appeared in more than 200 television series, films, and theatre productions and also performed as a voice artist in a career spanning 55 years, beginning after his service in the United States Army during World War II. Performer: Nehemiah Persoff [Ingrid's Father, The Troll King] PlayRevival. During World War II, he served in the United States Army. In Barbra Streisands Yentl (1983), Mr. Persoff played the father of an Orthodox Jewish girl (Ms. Streisand) who poses as a boy so that she can study in a yeshiva. After six years he brought over his wife, Puah (Holman) Persoff, a homemaker, and his three sons and two daughters. He coolly tells a furious Bogart that out of the $1 million gate for a championship fight, the storys overmatched boxer will receive $49.07. His final screen role to date was in HBOs 2003 adaptation of Angels in America, playing a rabbi. It took me quite some time to realize that acting was not living its an art, he noted. I guess I was born an actor.. Currently, Nehemiah Persoff is 103 years, 6 months and 23 days old. His father, Shmuel, a silversmith, jeweler and art teacher, decided that his prospects would improve in America and emigrated on his own. As he related in a memoir even as a three year old in Jerusalem, he realized that . (TV star Suzanne Somers appeared on the last page of the story.) He appeared with Danny DeVito in the 1988 movie Twins. Nehemiah Persoff, Jewish character actor, dies at 102 The Israeli-born performer, who died Tuesday from heart failure in his home of San Luis Obispo, California, at the age of 102, appeared in . He was 102 years old. Nehemiah Persoff, a prolific character actor known for his roles in The Twilight Zone, Yentl and countless others, died Tuesday at 102. . " ( divorced). That same year he played another gangster, the small role of Little Bonaparte, in Some Like It Hot (1959).He was a durable performer during TV's "Golden Age" (Gunsmoke (1955), The Twilight Zone (1959)) and well beyond (Chicago Hope (1994), Law & Order (1990)), playing hundreds of intense, volatile and dominating characters.In later years, his characters grew a bit softer as Barbra Streisand's Jewish father in Yentl (1983) and the voice of Papa Mousekewitz in the An American Tail (1986) will attest. The difference between film and stage acting is clearly a matter of reaching the audience. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for twilight zone THE UNTOUCHABLES star trek NEHEMIAH PERSOFF signed AUTOGRAPH 2455 at the best online prices at eBay! 10/23/56), New York City. Update Soon. Appeared in two films revolving around the life of Christ: The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) and The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). Jerusalem, British Mandate of Palestine [now Jerusalem, Israel], View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro. 10/23/56), New York City. Below we countdown to Nehemiah Persoff upcoming birthday. Persoff is not religious but, he declared, I am part of the whole Jewish experience Its great to be a Jew.. Yes, there were hardships, but there were also moments that were nothing short of heavenly Thanks for reading my book. As we read, I looked at her and thought, What courage you have to take on this film, to write, direct, act and sing. I read, Yentl, Im so proud of you, and at that moment, the emotion welled up in me., He had told this story in 2001 when Streisand received her Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Persoff also had various television credits, including The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Gunsmoke, Little House on the Prairie, Hawaii Five-0, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Mission: Impossible and Chicago Hope. . Anyone can read what you share. Discovered by Charles Laughton and cast in his production of "Galileo" in 1947, Persoff made his film debut a year later with an uncredited bit in The Naked City (1948). 5/18/55), New York City. . He was born in Jerusalem, Palestine Mandate. His fellow students included Julie Harris, Martin Balsam, Cloris Leachman and Kim Hunter. Following schooling at the Hebrew Technical Institute of New York, he found a job as a subway electrician doing signal maintenance until an interest in the theater altered the direction of his life. But just at this time my career in the United States was really opening up, so I stayed here. We have estimated His road to stardom began in 1947 when Persoff was discovered byCharles Laughtonand cast in his production of Galileo. A year later, Persoff made his film debut inThe Naked City(1948), following it up with an uncredited role as a silent cabbie in the seminal film On The Waterfront (1954). The Stars of That '70s Show: Where Are They Now? Born in Jerusalem, Persoff emigrated with his family to the United States in 1929. His most memorable supporting role may have been his outsize parody of a mobster, Little Bonaparte, in the classic Billy Wilder comedy Some Like It Hot (1959). 10:00 AM. In one, addressing a mob gathering disguised as an opera lovers convention, he says: In the last fiscal year we made a hundred an twelve million dollars before taxes only we didnt pay no taxes!, And after a hit man pops out of a huge birthday cake and machine-guns another mobster, played by George Raft, and his entourage, Mr. Persoff tells an inquiring detective, There was something in that cake that didnt agree with em.. Richard Dean Anderson, Dana Elcar, Nehemiah Persoff, Barbara Stock, Gretchen Wyler, Garry Chalk, John Novak, Barry Mickelson, Ron Halder, Darcia Carnie Pete Thornton Nehemiah Persoff Renowned TV and film actor Nehemiah Persoff, known for "The Twilight Zone," "Gunsmoke," and more, is dead at 102 years old. Also, in 1948, he fleetingly showed up in Jules Dassins film noir classic The Naked City. 2023 jewish telegraphic agency all rights reserved. Later stage work included well-received productions of "I'm Not Rappaport" and his biographical one-man show "Sholem Aleichem".After declining health and high blood pressure forced him to slow down, Persoff took up painting in 1985, studying sketching in Los Angeles. Persoff's son. (His character bears a striking resemblance to Benito Mussolini and comes with a name that references Edward G. Robinson inLittle Caesar.). (Nehemiah Persoff). This alone makes the acting theatrical and unnatural . He was awarded the 1975 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Distinguished Performance in a Supporting Role for "The Dybbuk" at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The cause was heart failure, his grandson, Joey Persoff, said. Yet there is a price to pay for everything My understanding at this point is that the actor should not have to live the part Acting is a distillation of certain moments in life, but its not life itself., But looking back, I am so happy that I became an actor. DK. FamousBirthdays.com - use subject to the practices disclosed in our privacy policy. His name is Nehemiah Persoff, who is 102 years old. Nehemiah Persoff is a character actor whose prolific career in film and television spanned 50 years, from the late 1940s to the end of the '90s. I took my seat on a bench and slowly looked around, he recalled in a 2010 interview with Herb Shadrak for Cinema Retro. According to his IMDb, he had begun acting in 1948 all the way through 2003. Joey Persoff, his grandson, stated the cause was heart failure. Yet there is a price to pay for everything My understanding at this point is that the actor should not have to live the part Acting is a distillation of certain moments in life, but its not life itself., But looking back, I am so happy that I became an actor. A Word on Westerns 131K subscribers 247K views 11 months ago REMEMBERING NEHEMIAH. Before his rise to fame, he served in the army in WWII and as a subway technician afterwards. Over five decades in the industry, Persoff appeared in a variety of films including Humphrey Bogart's final film The Harder They Fall (1956), Some Like It Hot (1959), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), The People Next Door (1970), Psychic Killer (1975), Yentl with Barbra Streisand (1983) Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Twins (1988) and 4 Faces (1999). His first role was as a walk-on as Karl Marx, for a show attended mainly by Communist party members. The positive result of that life change was that Persoff lost his heavy load of anxieties and tensions. Nehemiah Persoff, a ubiquitous character actor whose gravelly voice and knack for conveying an air of menace magnified his portrayals of a bevy of sinister types, most notably a half-dozen Prohibition-era gangsters, died on Tuesday in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Birthday: August 2, 1919. Peter Pan (Apr 24, 1950 - Jan 27, 1951) Performer: Nehemiah Persoff [Cecco . Persoff got his first part as an extra in The Naked City (1948). - IMDb Mini Biography By: In his early years he posed for painters who worked out of studios in Manhattan's Union Square. While he may have not been the true star of the show, he still appeared in more than 200 television series, films, and plays in a career spanning over 50 years. He made his official New York debut in a production of "The Emperor's New Clothes" in 1940. It took me quite some time to realize that acting was not living its an art, he noted. The New York Times has reported that stage and screen actor Nehemiah Persoff has passed away at 102 years old. Persoff has popped up with guest roles in countless iconic TV shows like The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Mission: Impossible and Gunsmoke. He has also voiced Papa Mouskewitz, the patriarch of beloved cartoon mouse immigrant Fievel, across the American Tail franchise, spanning four films and multiple video games. Mr. Persoff was among the first students at the Actors Studio, where his teachers were Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg, proponents of method acting. Very few actors, living or dead, could claim to have the career of Nehemiah Persoff. 5/4/60), Los Angeles. His acting career was beginning to take off when, shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, he was drafted by the U.S. Army for a three-year engagement. Thia Persov and Nehemiah Persoff are married. 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