About

Known credits:
78
Birthday:
1919-08-02
Place of birth:
Jerusalem, Palestine Mandate
Website:
N/A

Nehemiah Persoff

Overview

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

Acting
2022 Boris Karloff: The Rest of the Story Actor Self - Interviewee 59
Average
2012 Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom Actor Self 59
Average
2001 4 Faces Actor N/A
N/A
1999 An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster Actor Papa Mousekewitz (voice) 60
Fair
1998 An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island Actor Papa Mousekewitz (voice) 59
Average
1991 An American Tail: Fievel Goes West Actor Papa Mousekewitz (voice) 61
Fair
1988 Twins Actor Mitchell Traven 59
Average
1988 The Last Temptation of Christ Actor Rabbi 68
Fair
1986 An American Tail Actor Papa Mousekewitz (voice) 64
Fair
1983 Yentl Actor Rebbe Mendel 61
Fair
1982 St. Helens Actor Mr. Ellison 59
Average
1982 O'Hara's Wife Actor Dr. Fischer N/A
N/A
1980 Turnover Smith Actor Ashmed Amad N/A
N/A
1980 The Henderson Monster Actor Prof. Leo Tedeschi N/A
N/A
1980 F.D.R.: The Last Year Actor Josef Stalin 59
Average
1980 Condominium Actor Conlaw 70
Good
1979 The French Atlantic Affair Actor Col. Schreiner 69
Fair
1979 In Search of Historic Jesus Actor Herod Antipas 58
Average
1979 A Cry For Justice Actor Dr. Burke 59
Average
1979 The Rebels Actor Baron Von Steuben N/A
N/A
1978 Daniel in the Lions' Den Actor Malimar N/A
N/A
1978 The Word Actor Abbot Petropolous 68
Fair
1978 Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women Actor Charles Frohman 59
Average
1978 Killing Stone Actor Earl Stone N/A
N/A
1978 A Double Life Actor N/A
N/A
1978 The Making of a President Actor N/A
N/A
1977 Deadly Harvest Actor Mort Logan 58
Average
1976 Voyage of the Damned Actor Herr Hauser 59
Average
1976 Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident Actor Rudenko N/A
N/A
1976 McNaughton's Daughter Actor Vinnie Laine N/A
N/A
1975 Psychic Killer Actor Doctor Gubner 58
Average
1975 Eric Actor Dr. Duchesnes N/A
N/A
1974 The Stranger Within Actor Dr. Edward Klein 59
Average
1974 The Sex Symbol Actor Nick Fortis 58
Average
1973 Dracula Actor Dr. Van Helsing 59
Average
1972 Lieutenant Schuster's Wife Actor Champagne Joe Carroll N/A
N/A
1972 Lapin 360 Actor 59
Average
1972 Michael O'Hara the Fourth Actor Artie Moreno 59
Average
1971 Red Sky at Morning Actor Amadeo Montoya 59
Average
1971 Mrs. Pollifax — Spy Actor Berisha 59
Average
1970 The People Next Door Actor Dr. Salazar 59
Average
1970 Cutter's Trail Actor Santillo 59
Average
1969 The Girl Who Knew Too Much Actor Lieutenant Crawford 58
Average
1968 Escape to Mindanao Actor Capt. Kramer N/A
N/A
1968 The Treasure of San Bosco Reef Actor Captain Malcione N/A
N/A
1968 The Treasure of San Bosco Reef Actor Captain Malcione N/A
N/A
1968 Panic in the City Actor August Best 58
Average
1968 The Power Actor Prof. Carl Melnicker 59
Average
1968 The Day of the Owl Actor Pizzuco 60
Fair
1967 The Money Jungle Actor Lt. Dow Reeves 58
Average
1966 The Dangerous Days Of Kiowa Jones Actor Skoda 58
Average
1966 Too Many Thieves Actor Georgi 58
Average
1965 The Greatest Story Ever Told Actor Shemiah 60
Fair
1964 Fate Is the Hunter Actor Ben Sawyer 59
Average
1964 A Global Affair Actor Under Secretary Segura 58
Average
1963 The Hook Actor Capt. Van Ryn 58
Average
1961 The Comancheros Actor Graile 61
Fair
1961 The Big Show Actor Bruno Everard 58
Average
1959 Day of the Outlaw Actor Dan, Starret's Foreman 60
Fair
1959 The Killers of Mussolini Actor Benito Mussolini N/A
N/A
1959 Al Capone Actor Johnny Torrio 59
Average
1959 Some Like It Hot Actor Little Bonaparte 78
Good
1959 Green Mansions Actor Don Panta 58
Average
1959 For Whom the Bell Tolls Actor Pablo N/A
N/A
1959 Never Steal Anything Small Actor Pinelli 59
Average
1958 The Badlanders Actor Vincente (The Powder Monkey) 59
Average
1957 This Angry Age Actor Albert Legros 59
Average
1957 The Death of Manolete Actor Camera N/A
N/A
1957 Street of Sinners Actor Leon 59
Average
1957 Men in War Actor Sgt. Lewis 59
Average
1957 Mayerling Actor Police Officer 58
Average
1956 The Wrong Man Actor Gene Conforti 65
Fair
1956 The Wild Party Actor Kicks Johnson 59
Average
1956 The Rag Jungle Actor Leonard Brill N/A
N/A
1956 The Harder They Fall Actor Leo 61
Fair
1955 The Thief Actor D'Arnault-Olivier 58
Average
1954 On the Waterfront Actor Cab Driver (uncredited) 74
Good
1953 Marty Actor The Critic 59
Average