Nehemiah Persoff
Nehemiah Persoff (born August 2, 1919) was a former American film and television character actor. He was born in Jerusalem, Palestine Mandate. Born in what is now part of Israel, Persoff emigrated with his family to the United States in 1929. He began to take an interest in acting in the 1940s, and after serving in the Army during World War II, he began to pursue his acting career in the New York Theater. In 1947, he was accepted into the Actor's Studio and eventually began appearing in films. His film credits include: On the Waterfront, Some Like It Hot, Al Capone, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Voyage of the Damned, The Comancheros, Yentl (portraying Barbra Streisand's character's father), Twins and the American Tail (animated-film series) (voiced, "Papa Mousekewitz"). Persoff appeared in such television series as, Five Fingers ("The Moment of Truth"), The Big Valley ("Legend of a General", Parts I & II, episode), The Twilight Zone ("Judgment Night" episode), Alfred Hitchcock Presents ("Heart of Gold" episode), The Untouchables, Naked City, The Legend of Jesse James, Gunsmoke, The Wild Wild West, Hawaii Five-O, Ellery Queen ("The Adventure of the Pharaoh's Curse" episode), Mission: Impossible (3 episodes), Adam-12 ("Vendetta" episode), Charlie's Angels, Hunter, Columbo, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Magnum, P.I., Law & Order and Chicago Hope. In the mid-1980s, Persoff began to pursue painting, specializing in watercolour. This was at a time when health problems forced him to decrease his acting workload. Description above from the Wikipedia article Nehemiah Persoff, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for
ActingBirthday
August 2, 1919Deathday
April 5, 2022Gender
MaleKnown Movie Credits
71Place of birth
Jerusalem, Palestine MandateCast credits
Some Like It Hot
Little BonaparteYentl
Rebbe MendelThe Greatest Story Ever Told
ShemiahAn American Tail
Papa Mousekewitz (voice)The Comancheros
GraileThe Wrong Man
Gene ConfortiAn American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island
Papa Mousekewitz (voice)Twins
Mitchell TravenAn American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster
Papa Mousekewitz (voice)The Harder They Fall
LeoAl Capone
Johnny TorrioDay of the Outlaw
Dan, Starret's ForemanMen in War
Sgt. LewisThe Power
Prof. Carl MelnickerGreen Mansions
Don PantaPsychic Killer
Doctor GubnerDeadly Harvest
Mort LoganFate Is the Hunter
Ben SawyerThe Girl Who Knew Too Much
Lieutenant CrawfordThe People Next Door
Dr. SalazarA Global Affair
Under Secretary Segura