Nehemiah Persoff facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nehemiah Persoff
Persoff in 1960
Born	(1919-08-02)August 2, 1919 Jerusalem, British Mandate of Palestine (present-day Israel)
Died	April 5, 2022(2022-04-05) (aged 102) San Luis Obispo, California, U.S.
Education	Actors Studio
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1948–2003
Spouse(s)	Thia Persov ​ ​ (m. 1951; died 2021)​
Children	4
Signature

Nehemiah Persoff (born August 2, 1919 – died April 5, 2022) was an American actor and painter. He was known as a "character actor." This means he often played interesting and different types of people, rather than the main hero.

He acted in over 200 TV shows, movies, and plays. He also used his voice for animated characters. His career lasted 55 years, starting after he served in the United States Army during World War II.

Some of his most famous roles include Leo in The Harder They Fall (1956). He was also Little Bonaparte in Some Like It Hot (1959). He played Rebbe Mendel in Yentl (1983). Kids might know him best as the voice of Papa Mousekewitz in the cartoon movie An American Tail (1986) and its follow-up films. He also appeared in popular TV shows like The Twilight Zone and Gilligan's Island.

About Nehemiah Persoff

His Early Life and Training

Nehemiah Persoff was born in Jerusalem on August 2, 1919. At that time, Jerusalem was part of a place called Mandatory Palestine. His father was a silversmith and art teacher. He moved to the United States first to find a better life.

Six years later, in 1929, his father had saved enough money. He brought his wife and five children, including Nehemiah, to America. The family first lived in Brooklyn, New York. Later, they moved to the Bronx. Nehemiah's parents eventually went back to Israel.

Nehemiah went to the Hebrew Technical Institute. He learned to be an electrician there and graduated in 1937. After serving in the army, he worked maintaining subway signals.

His Time in the Army

Persoff joined the U.S. Army in 1942. He served during World War II until 1945. He was part of a special acting group. Their job was to perform and entertain soldiers around the world.

His Acting Career

After the army, Nehemiah Persoff started acting in New York plays. In 1947, he joined the Actors Studio. This was a famous acting school where many great actors learned their craft. He was one of 26 students in the first class taught by Elia Kazan. Other famous actors like Julie Harris and Cloris Leachman were also in his class. He began his acting career in 1948.

His very first movie role was a small, uncredited part. It was in the film The Naked City (1948).

He played a taxi driver in On the Waterfront (1954). He was Leo the accountant in The Harder They Fall (1956). He also played the gangster boss Little Bonaparte in the comedy Some Like It Hot (1959). He appeared in other films like The Comancheros (1961). He was also in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965).

In the movie Yentl (1983), he played the father of Barbra Streisand's character. He was in the comedy film Twins (1988). He also voiced Papa Mousekewitz in the American Tail animated movies. His last movie was 4 Faces (1999).

Persoff was in many TV shows. He appeared in six episodes of The Untouchables. He played Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik in three of those episodes. He was also in Gilligan's Island as "The Little Dictator." He appeared on the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Most Toys." At the time of his death, he was the oldest living male actor to have been in a Star Trek show.

Retirement and His Book

Nehemiah Persoff stopped acting in 2003. After that, he focused on painting, especially with watercolors.

He wrote a book about his life called The Many Faces of Nehemiah. It was published in July 2021.

His Family and Passing

In 1951, Persoff married Thia Persov. She had been a nurse during a war in Israel in 1948. Thia passed away from cancer in 2021. They had four children: Jeffrey, Dan, Perry, and Dahlia. Before he died, he lived in Cambria, California.

Nehemiah Persoff died on April 5, 2022. He was 102 years old. He passed away from heart failure in San Luis Obispo, California.

Selected Film and TV Roles

See also

In Spanish: Nehemiah Persoff para niños