Nehemiah Persoff

Early life

Born in Jerusalem, Persoff immigrated with his family to the United States in 1929. After serving in the United States Army during World War II, he worked as a subway electrician doing signal maintenance while he began to pursue his acting career in the New York Theater. In 1947, he was accepted into the Actors Studio and eventually began his acting career in 1948.

Acting career

One of his first notable roles was as the gangster boss "Little Bonaparte", a parody of Benito Mussolini in Billy Wilder's film classic Some Like It Hot (1959; since the death of Tony Curtis, Persoff is the last surviving member of the credited cast). He appeared in supporting roles in films such as The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) and The Comancheros (1961). In the film Yentl (1983), Persoff portrayed Barbra Streisand's character's father, also the comedy film Twins (1988) and the American Tail (animated-film series) as Papa Mousekewitz. His last movie was 4 Faces, which was the last film to be directed by Ted Post.

His many television credits include Five Fingers ("The Moment of Truth"), The Big Valley ("Legend of a General", Parts I & II, episode), Alfred Hitchcock Presents ("Heart of Gold" episode), The Twilight Zone ("Judgment Night"), The Untouchables, Naked City, Route 66 (two episodes), Seaway ("Last Voyage" episode, 1965), The Legend of Jesse James, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Gunsmoke, Gilligan's Island (1965), The Wild Wild West, The High Chaparral ("Fiesta" episode, 1970), Hawaii Five-O (7 episodes), Ellery Queen ("The Adventure of the Pharaoh's Curse" episode), Mission: Impossible (3 episodes), Adam-12 ("Vendetta" episode), and The Mod Squad.

In the mid-1980s, when health problems decreased his acting workload, Persoff pursued painting, specializing in watercolor.

Personal life

He retired from acting in 1999 and devoted his full-time to his painting. He currently lives with his wife, Thia, in Cambria, California. They have four children.