Nehemiah Persoff
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Nehemiah Persoff (August 2, 1919 – April 5, 2022) was an American actor and painter. He appeared in over 200 television series, films, and theater productions, and he also worked as a voice artist during a career that spanned 55 years.
His first acting role was as an extra in The Naked City (1948). Persoff is best known for roles as Leo in The Harder They Fall (1956), as Little Bonaparte in Some Like It Hot (1959), as Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik in The Untouchables (1959–1963), as Rebbe Mendel in Yentl (1983), and as the voice of Papa Mousekewitz in the animated film An American Tail (1986) and its sequels. He also made appearances on episodes of The Twilight Zone, Gilligan's Island, Hawaii Five-O, Adam-12, and Law & Order.
Early life and education
Persoff was born to Shmuel Persoff and Puah Holman in the city of Jerusalem in 1919.[2][3][4][5] His father, Shmuel, was a silversmith, jeweler, and art teacher born in Chernihiv, Russian Empire (now Ukraine).[6] His mother, Puah, was a Palestinian Jew. His father decided that there were better prospects for him and his family in the United States and in 1923 immigrated on his own. By 1929, he had become financially secure in New York City and sponsored the immigration of his wife and three sons (Boaz, Avraham, and Nehemiah himself) and two daughters (Tamar and Geula).[7] At first, the family lived in an apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, before eventually moving to The Bronx.[2] The family spoke Yiddish and Hebrew at home.[8] Persoff's parents later returned to Israel.
Military service
Persoff attended the Hebrew Technical Institute in New York City, graduating as a certified electrician in 1937. In 1942, he was drafted into the United States Army and served for the remainder of World War II; he was assigned to the Special Services for entertainment. After he completed his military service, he took up an electrician's job as a subway signal maintenance worker in New York City.
Personal life
In 1951, Persoff married Thia Persov, who had served as a nurse with the Palmach, the elite fighting force of the Haganah, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. She died of cancer in 2021. The couple had four children: Jeffrey, Dan, Perry, and Dahlia.
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Nehemiah_Persoff ]
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