Nehemiah Persoff

Nehemiah Persoff (August 2, 1919 – April 5, 2022) was an American actor and painter. He appeared in more than 200 television series, films, and theatre productions, and also performed as a voice artist in a career spanning 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, both Palestinian Jews, in the city of Jerusalem in 1919. His father Shmuel, who was a silversmith, jeweler, and art teacher, decided that there were better prospects for him and his family in the United States and initially emigrated on his own. In 1929, Shmuel 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). At first, the family lived in an apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, before eventually moving to The Bronx. 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.

Career
Persoff began to pursue his acting career in New York theatre. In 1947, he was accepted into the Actors Studio and was one of the 26 members of the beginners' class taught by Elia Kazan, along with Martin Balsam, Julie Harris, Kim Hunter, Cloris Leachman, and James Whitmore. He began his acting career in 1948.

His first role was an uncredited bit part in the film noir The Naked City (1948).

Among his early film roles was as the taxi driver during Marlon Brando's "I coulda been a contender" scene in On the Waterfront (1954); Leo the accountant in The Harder They Fall (1956), with Humphrey Bogart and Rod Steiger; and the gangster boss Little Bonaparte (a parody of Rico/Little Caesar) in Billy Wilder's film Some Like It Hot (1959), and he appeared again with Steiger in Al Capone (also 1959). He also appeared in supporting roles in films such as The Comancheros (1961) and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965).

Persoff, alongside Dean Stockwell and Andrew Bloch, appeared as Darius the Great's wicked Babylonian administrators in the 1978 Greatest Heroes of the Bible episode Daniel in the Lions' Den.

In the film Yentl (1983), Persoff portrayed the father of Barbra Streisand's character. He appeared in the comedy film Twins (1988) and in the American Tail animated-film series as Papa Mousekewitz. His last movie was 4 Faces (1999), the last film to be directed by Ted Post.

His acting career included many appearances in television series, including six episodes of The Untouchables, three episodes of which he appeared as Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik (regarded by many as his signature role), and Gilligan's Island as the title character in the episode "The Little Dictator" (the favorite episode of the show's creator Sherwood Schwartz). Persoff appeared on the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Most Toys" and was the oldest living male actor to appear in a Star Trek production at the time of his death.

Retirement and memoir
Persoff retired from acting in 2003 and pursued painting, specializing in watercolors.

His memoir, The Many Faces of Nehemiah, was published by The Autumn Road Company in July 2021.

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.

Death
On April 5, 2022, at the age of 102, Persoff died of heart failure at a rehabilitation facility in San Luis Obispo, California.