Abraham Sofaer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Abraham Sofaer
|
|
|---|---|
Sofaer in a 1966 episode of Mission: Impossible
|
|
| Born |
Abraham Isaac Sofaer
1 October 1896 |
| Died | 21 January 1988 (aged 91) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1921–1974 |
| Spouse(s) |
Angela Psyche Christian
(m. 1920) |
| Children | 6 |
Abraham Isaac Sofaer (born October 1, 1896 – died January 21, 1988) was an actor from Burma who also held British citizenship. He started his acting journey on the stage and later became a well-known face in movies and on TV, especially as he got older.
Contents
Life and Career Highlights
Abraham Sofaer was born in Rangoon, Burma, which was then part of the British Empire. His family were Baghdadi Jews who had moved to India. His father, Isaac Sofaer, was a very successful merchant who built the famous Sofaer Building in Rangoon, which is still there today.
Abraham went to school in Rangoon and then continued his education in England. He first worked as a school teacher in Rangoon and later in London.
Becoming an Actor
Sofaer began his acting career on the London stage in 1921. He soon started acting in plays in both London and New York. In 1933, he appeared in the musical He Wanted Adventure. He became well-known on Broadway in 1935 for playing Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli in the play Victoria Regina.
During the 1930s, he also started acting in British and American movies. Some of his most famous roles include playing both the Judge and the Surgeon in the movie A Matter of Life and Death (1946). He also played Saint Paul in the film Quo Vadis (1951).
Television and Radio Work
Abraham Sofaer also appeared on television from its very early days in the late 1930s. He also acted on radio, including a small part in Dorothy L. Sayers' The Man Born to Be King.
Even though he appeared in fewer movies after the 1950s, he continued to have many guest roles on popular U.S. television shows throughout the 1960s. He appeared three times on Perry Mason. His voice was also heard in two episodes of Star Trek.
He also made guest appearances on shows like Wagon Train, Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone, Lost in Space, and The Outer Limits. Many people remember him best as Haji, the master of all genies, on the show I Dream of Jeannie. He also played The Swami who gave advice to Peter Tork in The Monkees' 1968 movie Head.
Personal Life
In 1920, Sofaer married Angela Psyche Christian. They had six children together: two sons and four daughters. He stopped acting in 1974.
The well-known jurist (a legal expert) Abraham David Sofaer is a distant cousin of the actor.
Later Years and Death
Abraham Sofaer passed away in 1988 at the age of 91. He died at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. His death was caused by congestive heart failure, a condition where the heart cannot pump blood well.
Selected Film and TV Roles
Here are some of Abraham Sofaer's notable roles in movies and on television:
- Dreyfus (1931) - Dubois
- Things to Come (1936) - Wadsky
- Rembrandt (1936) - Dr. Menasseh
- A Matter of Life and Death (1946) - The Judge
- Quo Vadis (1951) - Paul, Christian Evangelist
- The Naked Jungle (1954) - Incacha
- Elephant Walk (1954) - Appuhamy
- Bhowani Junction (1956) - Surabhai
- Omar Khayyam (1957) - Tutush
- The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) - Joseph of Arimathaea
- Head (1968) - Swami
- Chisum (1970) - Chief White Buffalo
- Perry Mason (1958) - Dr. Maitland
- The Twilight Zone (1960) - Dr. Stillman
- Star Trek (1966) - The Thasian (voice)
- I Dream of Jeannie (1967) - Haji
- Lost in Space (1968) - Sobram
- Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974) - Rakshasa Hunter (his last role)
