Nehemiah Persoff
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- August 2, 1919
- Died
- April 5, 2022
- Birthplace
- Jerusalem, Palestine Mandate
Nehemiah Persoff was an American film and television actor. Persoff emigrated with his family from Palestine 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.
Filmography
- Boris Karloff: The Rest of the Story
Boris Karloff: The Rest of the Story 2022
as Self - Interviewee
Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom 2012
as Self
- 4 Faces
4 Faces 2001
Actor
An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster 1999
as Papa Mousekewitz (voice)
An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island 1998
as Papa Mousekewitz (voice)
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West 1991
as Papa Mousekewitz (voice)
Twins 1988
as Mitchell Traven
The Last Temptation of Christ 1988
as Rabbi
An American Tail 1986
as Papa Mousekewitz (voice)
Yentl 1983
as Rebbe Mendel
St. Helens 1982
as Mr. Ellison
O'Hara's Wife 1982
as Dr. Fischer
Turnover Smith 1980
as Ashmed Amad
The Henderson Monster 1980
as Prof. Leo Tedeschi
F.D.R.: The Last Year 1980
as Josef Stalin
In Search of Historic Jesus 1979
as Herod Antipas
A Cry for Justice 1979
as Dr. Burke
Daniel in the Lions' Den 1978
as Malimar
A Double Life 1978
Actor
Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women 1978
as Charles Frohman
Killing Stone 1978
as Earl Stone
The Making of a President 1978
Actor
Deadly Harvest 1977
as Mort Logan
Voyage of the Damned 1976
as Herr Hauser
Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident 1976
as Rudenko
Psychic Killer 1975
as Doctor Gubner
Eric 1975
as Dr. Duchesnes
The Stranger Within 1974
as Dr. Edward Klein
The Sex Symbol 1974
as Nick Fortis
- Dracula
Dracula 1973
as Dr. Van Helsing
Lieutenant Schuster's Wife 1972
as Champagne Joe Carroll
Lapin 360 1972
Actor
Michael O'Hara the Fourth 1972
as Artie Moreno
Red Sky at Morning 1971
as Amadeo Montoya
Mrs. Pollifax — Spy 1971
as Berisha
The People Next Door 1970
as Dr. Salazar
Cutter's Trail 1970
as Santillo
The Girl Who Knew Too Much 1969
as Lieutenant Crawford
Escape to Mindanao 1968
as Capt. Kramer
The Treasure of San Bosco Reef 1968
as Captain Malcione
Panic in the City 1968
as August Best
The Power 1968
as Carl Melnicker
The Day of the Owl 1968
as Pizzuco
The Money Jungle 1967
as Lt. Dow Reeves
The Dangerous Days of Kiowa Jones 1966
as Skoda
Too Many Thieves 1966
as Georgi
The Greatest Story Ever Told 1965
as Shemiah
Fate Is the Hunter 1964
as Ben Sawyer
A Global Affair 1964
as Under Secretary Segura
The Hook 1963
as Capt. Van Ryn
The Comancheros 1961
as Graile
The Big Show 1961
as Bruno Everard
The Killers of Mussolini 1959
as Benito Mussolini
Day of the Outlaw 1959
as Dan, Starret's Foreman
Al Capone 1959
as Johnny Torrio
Green Mansions 1959
as Don Panta
Some Like It Hot 1959
as Little Bonaparte
For Whom the Bell Tolls 1959
as Pablo
Never Steal Anything Small 1959
as Pinelli
The Badlanders 1958
as Vincente (The Powder Monkey)
This Angry Age 1957
as Albert Legros
The Death of Manolete 1957
as Camera
Street of Sinners 1957
as Leon
Men in War 1957
as Sgt. Lewis
Mayerling 1957
as Police Officer
The Wrong Man 1956
as Gene Conforti
The Wild Party 1956
as Kicks Johnson
The Harder They Fall 1956
as Leo
The Thief 1955
as D'Arnault-Olivier
On the Waterfront 1954
as Cab Driver (uncredited)
Marty 1953
as The Critic
Credits from TMDB.