
ACTING
Nehemiah Persoff
- Born
- Aug 2, 1919 in Jerusalem, Palestine Mandate
- Died
- Apr 5, 2022
Biography
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.
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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.
MOST-RATED TMDB CREDITS
Known for

Some Like It Hot
Movie · 1959
Little Bonaparte

Twins
Movie · 1988
Mitchell Traven

Star Trek: The Next Generation
TV · 1987
Toff

On the Waterfront
Movie · 1954
Cab Driver (uncredited)

An American Tail
Movie · 1986
Papa Mousekewitz (voice)

The Last Temptation of Christ
Movie · 1988
Rabbi

The Twilight Zone
TV · 1959
Carl Lanser

Little House on the Prairie
TV · 1974
Mr. Olaf Lundstrom

MacGyver
TV · 1985
Sam Bolinski

Columbo
TV · 1971
Jesse Jerome

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West
Movie · 1991
Papa Mousekewitz (voice)

Law & Order
TV · 1990
David Steinmetz
FILMOGRAPHY
173 movie & TV credits
- 2022Boris Karloff: The Rest of the StoryMovie · Self - Interviewee
- 2012Tony Curtis: Driven to StardomMovie · Self
- 2003Angels in AmericaTV · Rabbi (uncredited)
- 20014 FacesMovie
- 1999An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night MonsterMovie · Papa Mousekewitz (voice)
- 1998An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan IslandMovie · Papa Mousekewitz (voice)
- 1994Chicago HopeTV · Rabbi Ben Taubler
- 1991An American Tail: Fievel Goes WestMovie · Papa Mousekewitz (voice)
- 1990Law & OrderTV · David Steinmetz
- 1989Doogie Howser, M.D.TV · Max Wernick
- 1988TwinsMovie · Mitchell Traven
- 1988The Last Temptation of ChristMovie · Rabbi
- 1987Star Trek: The Next GenerationTV · Toff
- 1987J.J. StarbuckTV
- 1986An American TailMovie · Papa Mousekewitz (voice)
- 1986L.A. LawTV · Rabbi Isadore Glickman
- 1985
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