Nehemiah Persoff
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.
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Movies (71)
Boris Karloff: The Rest of the Story
2022 · Self - Interviewee
Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom
2012 · Self
4 Faces
2001
An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster
1999 · Papa Mousekewitz (voice)
An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island
1998 · Papa Mousekewitz (voice)
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West
1991 · Papa Mousekewitz (voice)
Twins
1988 · Mitchell Traven
The Last Temptation of Christ
1988 · Rabbi
An American Tail
1986 · Papa Mousekewitz (voice)
Yentl
1983 · Rebbe Mendel
O'Hara's Wife
1982 · Dr. Fischer
St. Helens
1982 · Mr. Ellison
Turnover Smith
1980 · Ashmed Amad
The Henderson Monster
1980 · Prof. Leo Tedeschi
F.D.R.: The Last Year
1980 · Josef Stalin
In Search of Historic Jesus
1979 · Herod Antipas
A Cry for Justice
1979 · Dr. Burke
Daniel in the Lions' Den
1978 · Malimar
A Double Life
1978
Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women
1978 · Charles Frohman
Killing Stone
1978 · Earl Stone
The Making of a President
1978
Deadly Harvest
1977 · Mort Logan
Voyage of the Damned
1976 · Herr Hauser
Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident
1976 · Rudenko
Psychic Killer
1975 · Doctor Gubner
Eric
1975 · Dr. Duchesnes
The Stranger Within
1974 · Dr. Edward Klein
The Sex Symbol
1974 · Nick Fortis
Dracula
1973 · Dr. Van Helsing
Lieutenant Schuster's Wife
1972 · Champagne Joe Carroll
Lapin 360
1972
Michael O'Hara the Fourth
1972 · Artie Moreno
Red Sky at Morning
1971 · Amadeo Montoya
Mrs. Pollifax — Spy
1971 · Berisha
The People Next Door
1970 · Dr. Salazar
Cutter's Trail
1970 · Santillo
The Girl Who Knew Too Much
1969 · Lieutenant Crawford
Escape to Mindanao
1968 · Capt. Kramer
The Treasure of San Bosco Reef
1968 · Captain Malcione
Panic in the City
1968 · August Best
The Power
1968 · Carl Melnicker
The Day of the Owl
1968 · Pizzuco
The Money Jungle
1967 · Lt. Dow Reeves
The Dangerous Days of Kiowa Jones
1966 · Skoda
Too Many Thieves
1966 · Georgi
The Greatest Story Ever Told
1965 · Shemiah
Fate Is the Hunter
1964 · Ben Sawyer
A Global Affair
1964 · Under Secretary Segura
The Hook
1963 · Capt. Van Ryn
The Comancheros
1961 · Graile
The Big Show
1961 · Bruno Everard
The Killers of Mussolini
1959 · Benito Mussolini
Day of the Outlaw
1959 · Dan, Starret's Foreman
Al Capone
1959 · Johnny Torrio
Some Like It Hot
1959 · Little Bonaparte
Green Mansions
1959 · Don Panta
For Whom the Bell Tolls
1959 · Pablo
Never Steal Anything Small
1959 · Pinelli
The Badlanders
1958 · Vincente (The Powder Monkey)
This Angry Age
1957 · Albert Legros
The Death of Manolete
1957 · Camera
Street of Sinners
1957 · Leon
Men in War
1957 · Sgt. Lewis
Mayerling
1957 · Police Officer
The Wrong Man
1956 · Gene Conforti
The Wild Party
1956 · Kicks Johnson
The Harder They Fall
1956 · Leo
The Thief
1955 · D'Arnault-Olivier
On the Waterfront
1954 · Cab Driver (uncredited)
Marty
1953 · The Critic
TV shows (102)
Angels in America
2003 · Rabbi (uncredited)
Chicago Hope
1994 · Rabbi Ben Taubler
Law & Order
1990 · David Steinmetz
Doogie Howser, M.D.
1989 · Max Wernick
Star Trek: The Next Generation
1987 · Toff
J.J. Starbuck
1987
L.A. Law
1986 · Rabbi Isadore Glickman
MacGyver
1985 · Sam Bolinski
Murder, She Wrote
1984 · Constantin Stavros
Highway to Heaven
1984
Hunter
1984 · Harold Goodman
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
1983
Hotel
1982
American Playhouse
1982 · Marcus Hoff
Magnum, P.I.
1980 · Rabbi Asher Solomon
Condominium
1980 · Conlaw
B.A.D. Cats
1980
The French Atlantic Affair
1979 · Col. Schreiner
The Facts of Life
1979
The Rebels
1979 · Baron Von Steuben
Supertrain
1979 · Max
The Word
1978 · Abbot Petropolous
Vega$
1978
Battlestar Galactica
1978 · Eastern Alliance Leader
Fantasy Island
1978 · Horst Von Stern
Logan's Run
1977 · ASA
Hunter
1977 · Sheik Farakbi
The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
1977 · Vladimir
Quincy, M.E.
1976
Charlie's Angels
1976 · Anton
Rich Man, Poor Man - Book II
1976 · Charles Dietrich
McNaughton's Daughter
1976 · Vinnie Laine
The Bionic Woman
1976
Wonder Woman
1975 · Professor Moreno
Ellery Queen
1975
The Invisible Man
1975 · Dr. Leon Barnard
Barney Miller
1975 · Carl Simms, Yacov Berger
Baretta
1975
Little House on the Prairie
1974 · Mr. Olaf Lundstrom
The Six Million Dollar Man
1974 · Major Popov
Police Story
1973
Purple Playhouse
1973 · Dr. Van Helsing
Cool Million
1972 · Karinakis
The Streets of San Francisco
1972
Search
1972
McMillan & Wife
1971 · Clementa Habib
The Chicago Teddy Bears
1971
Columbo
1971 · Jesse Jerome
Dan August
1970 · Leo Cussoni
McCloud
1970 · Perry Cicero
Love, American Style
1969 · Mr. Stone
Marcus Welby, M.D.
1969 · Max Behrman, Nick Kolinski
The Bill Cosby Show
1969 · Mr. Byron
Hawaii Five-O
1969 · Harry Cardonus, Winkler, Leo Paoli, Cordell, Victor Palua, Allie Francis
The Treasure of San Bosco Reef
1968 · Captain Malcione
The Mod Squad
1968 · Nick Master
Land of the Giants
1968 · Titus
Adam-12
1968 · Angelo Covelli
The Name of the Game
1968 · Ambassador
It Takes a Thief
1968 · Harry Lavender
Mannix
1967 · Anton Wojeska
The High Chaparral
1967 · Homero José
CBS Playhouse
1966 · Dr. Salazar
Mission: Impossible
1966 · Igor Stravos, Phillipe Pereda, Prince Iben Kostas
Jericho
1966
The Time Tunnel
1966 · Prof. Anton Biraki
Tarzan
1966 · Chembe Kunji
Honey West
1965 · Faustini
The Wild Wild West
1965 · Major Hazard, Gen. Andreas Cassinello
The Big Valley
1965 · General Vicente Ruiz
The Legend of Jesse James
1965 · El Carnicero
Gilligan's Island
1964
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
1964 · Valandros
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963 · Alverian
Mr. Novak
1963 · Henry Selkirk
Burke's Law
1963 · Jason Flonder, Wilhelm Kasimer, Albert Indigo, 'Mr. I'
Sam Benedict
1962
The New Breed
1961 · Louis Morley
Ben Casey
1961
Bus Stop
1961
The Wonderful World of Disney
1961
Route 66
1960
Mr. Lucky
1959
The Untouchables
1959 · Jake 'Greasy Thumb' Guzik, Johnny Fortunato, Waxey Gordon
Startime
1959 · Prior Andry
The Twilight Zone
1959 · Carl Lanser
Rawhide
1959 · Domingo, Michob
Naked City
1958 · Barney Peters, Max Evar, Carlos Ruldan, Dominic Venussi, Berco Romanu, Merritt Griffin
Shirley Temple's Storybook
1958 · Ali Baba
Wagon Train
1957 · Tiburcio Mendez
Playhouse 90
1956 · Pablo, Prisoners Father
Playwrights '56
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955 · Ralph Collins, Jeff Jensen
Gunsmoke
1955 · Jack Pinto, Mr. Dano, Alex Skouras, Driscoll, Ben Rando, Alejo Etchahoun
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954 · Artie Moreno
Climax!
1954 · Lieutenant Cal Nourse
The Motorola Television Hour
1953
The United States Steel Hour
1953 · Dr. Arnault / Oliver
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951 · Dr. Duchesnes
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951 · Jules Dreise
Armstrong Circle Theatre
1950
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948 · Ed Kagan