kids encyclopedia robot

Lou Jacobi facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Lou Jacobi
Lou Jacobi in Ivan the Terrible 1976.jpg
Jacobi in Ivan the Terrible (1976)
Born
Louis Harold Jacobovitch

(1913-12-28)December 28, 1913
Died October 23, 2009(2009-10-23) (aged 95)
Occupation Actor
Years active 1924-1994
Spouse(s)
Ruth Ludwin
(m. 1957; died 2004)

Lou Jacobi (born Louis Harold Jacobovitch; December 28, 1913 – October 23, 2009) was a Canadian character actor. Jacobi came to prominence for his role as Mr. Van Daan in the 1955 Broadway production of The Diary of Anne Frank which he reprised in the 1959 film version. He also acted in the films Irma la Douce (1963), Little Murders (1971), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About ...* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976), The Lucky Star (1980), Arthur (1981), My Favorite Year (1982), and Avalon (1990).

Early life

Jacobi was born Louis Harold Jacobovitch in Toronto, Canada, to Joseph and Fay Jacobovitch.

Jacobi began acting as a boy, making his stage debut in 1924 at a Toronto theater, playing a violin prodigy in The Rabbi and the Priest. After working as the drama director of the Toronto Y.M.H.A., the social director at a summer resort, a stand-up comic in Canada's equivalent of the Borscht Belt, and the entertainment at various weddings and bachelor parties, Jacobi moved to London to work on the stage, appearing in Guys and Dolls and Pal Joey.

Career

Jacobi's film debut was in the 1953 British comedy, Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary? with Diana Dors. Jacobi made his Broadway debut in 1955 in The Diary of Anne Frank playing Hans van Daan, the less-than-noble occupant of the Amsterdam attic where the Franks were hiding, and reprised the role in the 1959 film version. Other Broadway performances included Paddy Chayefsky’s The Tenth Man (1959), Woody Allen’s Don’t Drink the Water (1966), and Neil Simon’s debut play Come Blow Your Horn (1961), in which he portrayed the protagonist’s disappointed father. His reading of the film line "Aha!" stuck with the Times columnist William Safire so vividly that he cited it when writing about the meaning of the word 40 years later.

Lou Jacobi Star on Canada's Walk of Fame
Jacobi's star on Canada's Walk of Fame

Other notable films in which he appeared include Irma la Douce (1963), Penelope (1966), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About ...* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972) as Sam Musgrave, a middle-aged married man experimenting with women's clothes, Arthur (1981) as the lucky florist, My Favorite Year (1982) as Benjy's unsophisticated Uncle Morty, and in Amazon Women on the Moon (1987), as a man named Murray who got zapped into the television and is wandering throughout sketches looking for his wife. In Barry Levinson's Avalon (1990), in a semi-dramatic role, as one of four Russian brothers (elders) trying to build a future in Baltimore in the early 20th century, with the memorable comic relief catchphrase, "You cut the turkey!?" after he would notoriously arrive late to family Thanksgiving dinner, every year. His final film role was I.Q. (1994), playing philosopher/mathematician Kurt Gödel.

He guest-starred on such television shows as Playhouse 90, Too Close for Comfort, Tales from the Darkside, Love, American Style, That Girl, Sanford and Son, Barney Miller and The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and was a regular on The Dean Martin Show. In the summer of 1976, Jacobi was the star of a CBS comedy series Ivan the Terrible, in which he played a Russian headwaiter living with nine other people in a small Moscow apartment. The series only lasted 5 episodes.

Recognition

In 1999, Jacobi, who was 85 at the time, was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. On the occasion of the dedication, film critic Roger Ebert interviewed Jacobi, later writing, "I look at Lou, and I’m not afraid to be 85, if I can get there in Lou's style."

Personal life

Jacobi was married to Ruth Ludwin from 1957 until her death in 2004. Jacobi died on October 23, 2009, of natural causes, at his home in Manhattan. He was 95. He was survived by his brother, Avrom Jacobovitch, and sister, Rae Jacobovitch, both of Toronto.

Jacobi was one of the voice inspirations for the Futurama character Dr. Zoidberg.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1953 Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary? Captain Noakes
1953 The Good Beginning Bookmaker Uncredited
1955 A Kid for Two Farthings Blackie Isaacs
1956 Charley Moon Theatre Manager
1959 The Diary of Anne Frank Mr. Hans Van Daan
1960 Song Without End Potin
1963 Irma la Douce Moustache
1966 The Last of the Secret Agents? Papa Leo
1966 Penelope Ducky
1970 Cotton Comes to Harlem Goodman
1971 Little Murders Judge Stern
1971 The Battle of Love's Return Talking Head Uncredited
1972 Everything You Always Wanted to Know About ...* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) Sam
1976 Next Stop, Greenwich Village Herb
1976 Everybody Rides the Carousel Stage 1 Voice
1977 Roseland Stan (The Waltz)
1979 The Magician of Lublin Wolsky
1980 The Lucky Star Elia Goldberg
1981 Arthur Plant Store Owner
1981 Chu Chu and the Philly Flash Landlord
1982 My Favorite Year Uncle Morty
1984 Isaac Littlefeathers Abe
1986 The Boss' Wife Harry Taphorn
1987 Amazon Women on the Moon Murray (segment "Murray in Videoland")
1990 Avalon Gabriel Krichinsky
1992 I Don't Buy Kisses Anymore Irving Fein
1994 I.Q. Kurt Gödel (final film role)

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1953-1954 Rheingold Theatre Milton Cassal / Ben 2 episodes
1959 The Texan Joseph Varga Episode: The Peddler
1959 Playhouse 90 Puigdellevol Episode: Child of Our Time
1960 The Play of the Week Corvino Episode: Volpone
1962 The Defenders Mr. Schwartz Episode: Grandma TNT
1963 Sam Benedict August Brauer Episode: Season for Vengeance
1963 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Lieutenant Wolfson Season 1 Episode 30: "Dear Uncle George"
1964 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Dr. Glover Season 2 Episode 26: "Ten Minutes from Now"
1965 The Dick Van Dyke Show Lou Sorrell Episode: Young Man with a Shoehorn
1965 The Trials of O'Brien Archie Episode: The Trouble with Archie
1966 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Arum Tertunian Episode: The Nowhere Affair
1969 That Girl Leo Schneider 2 episodes
1969-1973 Love, American Style Performer 5 episodes
1971 Make Room for Granddaddy Mephisto Episode: Of Mice and Mini
1971 The Courtship of Eddie's Father Frank Episode: Tell It Like I'm Telling You
1971-1973 The Dean Martin Show Sketch performer 52 episodes
1975 Barney Miller Harry Tannenbaum Episode: Stakeout
1975 Sanford and Son Max / Bert Episode: Steinberg and Son
1976 Ivan the Terrible Ivan Petrovsky 5 episodes
1977 Captain Kangaroo Dandy Episode: Dandy
1979 King of Kensington Spivakofski Episode: Pawn to King Four
1982 Tales of the Unexpected Waiter Episode: In the Bag
1983-1985 Too Close for Comfort Paul 3 episodes
1984 Tales from the Darkside Harvey Turman
1985 Cagney & Lacey Aaron Seymour Episode: American Dream
1985 St. Elsewhere Rabbi Singer Episode: Cheers
1986 Melba Jack 6 episodes
1988 L.A. Law Sam Harber Episode: Leave it to Geezer
1988 Great Performances Jacob Glutz Episode: The Old Reliable

Theatre

Year Title Role Author Venue
1955 The Diary of Anne Frank Mr. Van Daan Albert Hackett Broadway debut
1959 The Tenth Man Schlissel Paddy Chayefsky Booth Theatre, Broadway
1961 Come Blow Your Horn Mr. Baker Neil Simon Brooks Atkinson Theatre, Broadway
1964 Fade Out – Fade In Lionel Z. Governor Betty Comden / Adolph Green Mark Hellinger Theatre, Broadway
1966 Don't Drink the Water Walter Hollander Woody Allen Morosco Theatre, Broadway
1970 Norman, Is That You? Ben Chambers Ron Clark Lyceum Theatre, Broadway
1971 Eli, The Fanatic Tzuref Philip Roth Plymouth Theatre, Broadway
1971 Epstein Epstein
1972 The Sunshine Boys Al Lewis Neil Simon Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway
1978 Cheaters Howard Michael Jacobs Biltmore Theatre, Broadway
kids search engine
Lou Jacobi Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.