1. Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
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Nehemiah Persoff Biography (1920-)

Born August 14, 1920, in Jerusalem, Palestine (now Israel); son of Samuel (ajeweler) and Puah (Holman) Persoff; married Thia Persov, August 22, 1951; children: three sons, one daughter. Addresses: Agent--Bauman Hiller and Associates, 5757 Wilshire Blvd., Penthouse 5, Los Angeles, CA 90036.

Nationality

American

Gender

Male

Birth Details

August 14, 1920

Jerusalem, Palestine

Famous Works

• Credits; Film Appearances
• Naked City, Universal, 1948.
• A Double Life, Universal, 1948.
• Taxi driver, On the Waterfront, Columbia, 1954.
• Leo, The Harder They Fall, Columbia, 1956.
• Kicks Johnson, The Wild Party, United Artists, 1956.
• Gene Conforti, The Wrong Man, Warner Bros., 1956.
• Sergeant Lewis, Men in War, United Artists, 1957.
• Leon, Street of Sinners, United Artists, 1957.
• Vincente, Badlanders, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1958.
• Albert, This Angry Age (also known as The Sea Wall and La Diga sul Pacifico), Columbia, 1958.
• Pinelli, Never Steal Anything Small, Universal, 1959.
• Don Panta, Green Mansions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1959.
• Johnny Torrio, Al Capone, Allied Artists, 1959.
• Little Bonaparte, Some Like It Hot (also known as Not Tonight, Josephine!), United Artists, 1959.
• Dan, Day of the Outlaw, United Artists, 1959.
• Graile, The Comancheros, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1961.
• Bruno Everard, The Big Show, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1961.
• Captain Van Ryn, The Hook, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1962.
• Undersecretary Segura, A Global Affair, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1964.
• Ben Sawyer, Fate Is the Hunter, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1964.
• Shemiah, The Greatest Story Ever Told, United Artists, 1965.
• Pizzuco, The Day of the Owl (also known as Mafia and Il Giorno della Civetta), Euro-International, 1968.
• Too Many Thieves, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1968.
• Lieutenant Dow Reeves, The Money Jungle (also known as The Silken Trap and The Billion Dollar Caper), Commonwealth United, 1968.
• August Best, Panic in the City, Commonwealth United, 1968.
• Carl Melniker, The Power, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1968.
• Lieutenant Miles Crawford, The Girl Who Knew Too Much, Commonwealth United, 1969.
• Dr. Salazar, The People Next Door, Avco-Embassy, 1970.
• General Berisha, Mrs. Pollifax, Spy, Warner Bros., 1970.
• Amadeo Montoya, Red Sky at Dawn (also known as Red Sky at Morning), Universal, 1970.
• Mort Logan, Deadly Harvest, 1972.
• The Kirlian Effect, Mars, 1974.
• Dr. Gubner, Psychic Killer, Avco-Embassy, 1975.
• Mr. Hausner, Voyage of the Damned, Avco-Embassy, 1976.
• Herod Antipas, In Search of Historic Jesus, Sunn Classics, 1980.
• St. Helens (also known as St. Helens, Killer Volcano), Parnell, 1981.
• Dr. Fischer, O'Hara's Wife, Davis-Panzer, 1983.
• Papa (Reb Mendel), Yentl, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists, 1983.
• Voice of Papa Mousekewitz, An American Tail (animated), Universal, 1986.
• Mitchell Traven, Twins, Universal, 1988.
• Rabbi, The Last Temptation of Christ, Universal, 1988.
• Voice of Papa Mousekewitz, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (animated),Universal, 1991.
• Also appeared in The Dispossessed and Testament.
• Credits; Television Appearances; Series
• Victor Tauss, High Hopes, syndicated, 1978.
• Credits; Television Appearances; Miniseries
• Ernest Dettmer, Rich Man, Poor Man--Book II, ABC, 1976-77.
• Colonel Schreiner, The French Atlantic Affair, ABC, 1979.
• Credits; Television Appearances; Movies
• Captain Kramer, Escape to Mindanao, NBC, 1968.
• Santillo, Cutter's Trail, CBS, 1970.
• Champagne Joe Carroll, Lieutenant Schuster's Wife, ABC, 1972.
• Nikos Fortis, The Sex Symbol, ABC, 1974.
• Dr. Edward Klein, The Stranger Within, ABC, 1974.
• Andrei Gromyko, The Missiles of October, ABC, 1974.
• Rudenko, Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident, NBC, 1976.
• Abbot Petropolus, The Word, CBS, 1978.
• Charles Frohman, Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women, NBC, 1978.
• Baron Von Steuben, The Rebels, syndicated, 1979.
• Professor Leo Tedeschi, The Henderson Monster, CBS, 1980.
• Josef Stalin, F.D.R.--The Last Year, NBC, 1980.
• Conlaw, Condominium, syndicated, 1980.
• Leonid Brezhnev, Sadat, syndicated, 1983.
• Credits; Television Appearances; Specials
• Tiger at the Gates, CBC, 1958.
• Jerry, Clash by Night, BBC, 1958.
• Dr. Duchesnes, "Eric," Hallmark Hall of Fame, NBC, 1975.
• Marcus Hoff, "The Big Knife," American Playhouse, PBS, 1988.
• Also appeared in Dracula, CBC.
• Credits; Television Appearances; Pilots
• Skoda, The Dangerous Days of Kiowa Jones, ABC, 1966.
• El Primero, Hellcats, ABC, 1967.
• Earl Stone, Killing Stone, NBC, 1978.
• Sword of Justice, NBC, 1978.
• Mordecai, The 13th Day: The Story of Esther, ABC, 1979.
• Ashmed Amad, Turnover Smith, ABC, 1980.
• Also appeared in Manley and the Mob and The Barbara Eden Show.
• Credits; Television Appearances; Episodic
• Marty's friend, "Marty," The Goodyear TV Playhouse, NBC, 1953.
• Strup, "Reunion in Venice," Producers' Showcase, NBC, 1955.
• "Darkness at Noon," Producers' Showcase, NBC, 1955.
• "Anna Santonello," Kraft Television Theatre, NBC, 1956.
• "Mayerling," Producers' Showcase, NBC, 1957.
• "Death of Manolete," Playhouse 90, CBS, 1957.
• "Man in a Trance," Kraft Television Theatre, NBC, 1957.
• Ralph Collins, "Heart of Gold," Alfred Hitchcock Presents, CBS, 1957.
• "The Little Bullfighter," The U.S. Steel Hour, ABC, 1957.
• "Never Know the End," The U.S. Steel Hour, ABC, 1958.
• "On the Take," Climax, CBS, 1958.
• "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," Shirley Temple's Storybook, NBC, 1958.
• Pablo, "For Whom the Bell Tolls," Playhouse 90, CBS, 1958.
• Lanser, "Judgment Night," The Twilight Zone, CBS, 1959.
• "The Scorpion Story" (also known as "The Scorpion Sting"), Naked City, ABC, 1959.
• "The Killer of Mussolini," Playhouse 90, CBS, 1959.
• "Moment of Truth," Five Fingers, NBC, 1959.
• Jake Guzik, "The Empty Chair," The Untouchables, ABC, 1959.
• El Presidente, "The Magnificent Bribe," Mr. Lucky, CBS, 1959.
• Jeff Jensen, "The Cure," Alfred Hitchcock Presents, CBS, 1960.
• "The Young Juggler," Ford Startime, NBC, 1960.
• Johnny Fortunato, "Head of Fire, Feet of Clay," The Untouchables, ABC, 1960.
• "The Accomplice," Moment of Fear, NBC, 1960.
• "Down the Long Night," Naked City, ABC, 1960.
• Waxey Gordon, "The Waxey Gordon Story," The Untouchables, ABC, 1960.
• "Lt. Charles Becker," The Witness, CBS, 1960.
• "The Fingers of Fear," Thriller, NBC, 1961.
• "The Tiburcio Mendez Story," Wagon Train, NBC, 1961.
• "Make Believe Man," Naked City, ABC, 1961.
• Jake Guzik, "The Seventh Vote," The Untouchables, ABC, 1961.
• "Incident on a Bridge," Route 66, CBS, 1961.
• "The Glass Jungle," Bus Stop, ABC, 1961.
• "First Class Mouliak," Route 66, CBS, 1961.
• "A Corpse Ran down Mulberry Street," Naked City, ABC, 1961.
• "Death in a Village," The Dick Powell Show, NBC, 1962.
• "The Third Medallion," The Third Man, syndicated, 1962.
• "How Proud the Guilty," The New Breed, ABC, 1962.
• Mr. Yaeger, "The Stryker Brothers," The Untouchables, ABC, 1962.
• "And if Any Are Frozen, Warm Them Up," Naked City, ABC, 1962.
• "The Daring Durandos," Frontier Circus, CBS, 1962.
• "Double Cross," The Untouchables, ABC, 1962.
• "Image of a Toad," Sam Benedict, NBC, 1963.
• "Incident of White Eyes," Rawhide, CBS, 1963.
• "One, Two, Three, Rita Rahakowski," Naked City, ABC, 1963.
• "Incident of the Wanderer," Rawhide, CBS, 1964.
• "Echo of Evil," Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater, NBC, 1964.
• "Who Killed Cassandra Cass?," Burke's Law, ABC, 1964.
• "Enter a Strange Animal," Mr. Novak, NBC, 1965.
• "Act of Violence," The Nurses, part one, CBS, 1965.
• "Act of Violence," The Nurses, part two, CBS, 1965.
• "Who Killed the Grand Piano?," Burke's Law, ABC, 1965.
• General Cassinello, "Night of the Inferno," The Wild, Wild West, CBS, 1965.
• "Steam Heat," Amos Burke, Secret Agent, ABC, 1965.
• Rodriguez, "The Little Dictator," Gilligan's Island, CBS, 1965.
• "Run for Your Lives, Dr. Galanos Practices Here," Ben Casey, ABC, 1965.
• "Ten Little Indians," Gunsmoke, CBS, 1965.
• Convoy, NBC, 1965.
• "The Pretender," Gunsmoke, CBS, 1965.
• "The Bell," A Man Called Shenandoah, ABC, 1965.
• "Deadly Creature Below," Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, ABC, 1966.
• "Secret Weapon," Time Tunnel, ABC, 1966.
• "The Empty Town," The Legend of Jesse James, ABC, 1966.
• "Like Visions and Omens and All That Jazz," Honey West, ABC, 1966.
• "The Greatest Game," Trials of O'Brien, CBS, 1966.
• General Vincente Ruiz, "Legend of a General," Big Valley, part one, ABC,1966.
• General Vincente Ruiz, "Legend of a General," Big Valley, part two, ABC,1966.
• "Upbeat and Underground," Jericho, CBS, 1966.
• Prince Iben Kostas, "Odds on Evil," Mission: Impossible, CBS, 1966.
• "Secret Weapon," Time Tunnel, ABC, 1966.
• "Rome ... Take Away Three," I Spy, NBC, 1966.
• Mission: Impossible, CBS, 1967.
• "Night of the Deadly Blossoms," The Wild, Wild West, CBS, 1967.
• "The Honorable Assassins," I Spy, NBC, 1967.
• "The Master's Touch Affair," Man from U.N.C.L.E., NBC, 1967.
• "Deadly Passage," Maya, NBC, 1967.
• "Night of the Underground Terror," The Wild, Wild West, CBS, 1968.
• "Deadman's Law," Gunsmoke, CBS, 1968.
• "Trina," Tarzan, NBC, 1968.
• Dr. Salazar, "The People Next Door," CBS Playhouse, CBS, 1968.
• "The Treasure of San Bosco Reef," Walt Disney's World, NBC, 1968.
• "Death Watch," Hawaii Five-0, CBS, 1968.
• "The Revolutionary," The Name of the Game, NBC, 1968.
• "The Mark of Cain," Gunsmoke, CBS, 1969.
• Phillipe Pereda, "The Vault," Mission: Impossible, CBS, 1969.
• "The Great Chess Gambit," It Takes a Thief, ABC, 1969.
• "A Convent Full of Miracles," Flying Nun, ABC, 1969.
• Igor Stravos, "Fool's Gold," Mission: Impossible, CBS, 1969.
• "The Killer Instinct, or Star Billing," The Bill Cosby Show, NBC, 1969.
• "Homecoming," Marcus Welby, M.D., ABC, 1969.
• Titus, "Land of the Lost," Land of the Giants, ABC, 1969.
• "The Debt," Mod Squad, ABC, 1969.
• "A Woman of Principle," Insight, syndicated, 1970.
• Love, American Style, ABC, 1970.
• "The Color of Fury," Dan August, ABC, 1970.
• "Fiesta," High Chaparral, NBC, 1970.
• The Chicago Teddy Bears, CBS, 1971.
• "Love and the Gangster," Love, American Style, ABC, 1971.
• "Corbey," Mod Squad, ABC, 1972.
• "The Immigrant Taylor," Adam-12, NBC, 1972.
• "Assault on Gavaloni," Cool Million, NBC, 1972.
• "A Puzzle for One," Mannix, CBS, 1972.
• "Bitter Wine," The Streets of San Francisco, ABC, 1972.
• "The Eye of the Camel," Insight, syndicated, 1973.
• "Who Are You, Arthur Kolinski?," Marcus Welby, M.D., ABC, 1973.
• "The Twenty-Four Carat Hit," Search, NBC, 1973.
• "Will the Real Mr. Winkler Please Die," Hawaii Five-0, CBS, 1973.
• "The Million Dollar Roundup," McCloud, NBC, 1973.
• "Charter for Death," Hawaii Five-0, CBS, 1973.
• "Kiss and Kill," Police Surgeon, syndicated, 1973.
• "Love and the Generation Gap," Love, American Style, ABC, 1973.
• "Man without a Face," McMillan and Wife, NBC, 1974.
• "Like Good Old Times," Gunsmoke, CBS, 1974.
• "The Hunters," Police Story, NBC, 1974.
• "Hit Gun for Sale," Hawaii Five-0, CBS, 1975.
• "Manolo," Gunsmoke, CBS, 1975.
• "Tomorrow May Never Come, Marcus Welby, M.D., ABC, 1975.
• "Barnard Wants Out," The Invisible Man, NBC, 1975.
• "The Adventure of the Pharaoh's Curse," Ellery Queen, NBC, 1975.
• Jesse Jerome, "Now You See Him," Columbo, NBC, 1976.
• "The M.O.M. Principle," McNaughton's Daughter, NBC, 1976.
• "Soldier in the Jungle," Baretta, ABC, 1976.
• "Death Probe," The Six Million Dollar Man, ABC, 1977.
• "Formula 407," Wonder Woman, ABC, 1977.
• McCloud, NBC, 1977.
• "Dealer's Choice: Blackmail," Hawaii Five-0, CBS, 1977.
• "The Hit," Hunter, CBS, 1977.
• "A Blow to the Head, a Blow to the Heart," Quincy, M.E. (also known as Quincy), NBC, 1977.
• Anton, "Angel in the Wings," Charlie's Angels, NBC, 1977.
• "Death Game," Police Woman, NBC, 1977.
• "The Ghost," Barney Miller (also known as The Life and Times of Captain Barney Miller), ABC, 1978.
• "The Stranger," Little House on the Prairie, NBC, 1978.
• "Out of Body," The Bionic Woman, NBC, 1978.
• "Junk It to Me, Baby," Richie Brockelman, Private Eye, NBC, 1978.
• "Lady Ice," Vega$, ABC, 1978.
• "Defection to Paradise," The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, ABC, 1978.
• "The Story of Daniel in the Lion's Den," The Greatest Heroes of the Bible, NBC, 1978.
• "Stalag 3," Fantasy Island, ABC, 1978.
• "Number One with a Bullet," Hawaii Five-0, CBS, 1978.
• "Turnabout," Logan's Run, CBS, 1978.
• "Middle Age," Barney Miller (also known as The Life and Times of CaptainBarney Miller), ABC, 1979.
• "Queen's the Impossible Knight," Supertrain, NBC, 1979.
• Eastern Alliance leader, "Experiment in Terra," Battlestar Galactica, ABC, 1979.
• "A Cry for Justice," Police Story, NBC, 1979.
• "Aphrodite," Fantasy Island, ABC, 1980.
• Lukash, "Guardian Angel," The Littlest Hobo, 1980.
• "Riot," Barney Miller (also known as The Life and Times of Captain BarneyMiller), ABC, 1981.
• Brobich, "Dead Ringer," The Scarecrow and Mrs. King, CBS, 1984.
• Rabbi Asher Solomon, "Torah, Torah, Torah," Magnum, P.I., CBS, 1985.
• "Passports," Hotel, ABC, 1985.
• "Blair's Speech" (also known as "Concentration"), Facts of Life, NBC, 1986.
• "Summit," Highway to Heaven, NBC, 1986.
• "Eye in the Sky," Adderly, CBS, 1987.
• "Incident at Sam September," J. J. Starbuck, NBC, 1987.
• Sam, "The Ten Percent Solution," MacGyver, ABC, 1989.
• David Steinmetz/Jacob Skulman, Law and Order (also known as Law & Order), NBC, 1992.
• Rabbi Taubler, "Heartbreak," Chicago Hope, CBS, 1995.
• Tracey Takes On, HBO, 1996.
• Credits; Stage Appearances
• Minister of State, The Emperor's New Clothes, Heckscher Foundation, 1940.
• Candy, Of Mice and Men, Haverhill Playhouse, Haverhill, MA, 1947.
• Dean Frederick Damon, The Male Animal, Haverhill Playhouse, 1947.
• Dick Dudgeon, The Devil's Disciple, Haverhill Playhouse, 1947.
• Tutor, The Flies, President Theatre, New York City, 1947.
• Andrea, Galileo, Maxine Elliott's Theatre, New York City, 1947.
• Hay Fever, Haverhill Playhouse, 1947.
• Cecil, Sundown Beach, Belasco Theatre, New York City, 1948.
• Tyrell, Richard III, Booth Theatre, New York City, 1949.
• Antonanzas, Montserrat, Fulton Theatre, New York City, 1949.
• Cecco, Peter Pan, Imperial Theatre, New York City, 1950.
• Duke of Cornwall, King Lear, National Theatre, New York City, 1950.
• Ingrid's father and the Troll King, Peer Gynt, American National Theatreand Academy Theatre, New York City, 1951.
• Fowzi, Flahooley, Broadhurst Theatre, New York City, 1951.
• Tom, The Glass Menagerie, Chamber Theatre, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1951.
• Mosca, Volpone, Chamber Theatre, 1951.
• Street Cleaner, Camino Real, National Theatre, 1953.
• Charlie, Detective Story, Playhouse in the Park, Philadelphia, PA, 1953.
• The Road to Rome, Playhouse in the Park, 1953.
• The hairdresser, Mademoiselle Colombe, Longacre Theatre, New York City, 1954.
• Eddie Fuseli, Golden Boy, Playhouse in the Park, 1954.
• Dr. Hickey, Reclining Figure, Lyceum Theatre, New York City, 1954.
• Topman, Tiger at the Gates, Plymouth Theatre, New York City, 1955.
• Harry Golden, Only in America, Cort Theatre, New York City, 1959.
• Harry, Rosebloom, Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, CA, 1970.
• Aleichem Sholem--Sholem Aleichem (solo show), Oxford Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, 1971.
• Rabbi Azrielke, The Dybbuk, Mark Taper Forum, 1975.
• Handy Dandy, 1985.
• Two, Life on the Water Theatre, San Francisco, CA, 1991.
• Appeared as Fagin, Oliver!, summer theatre production.
• Credits; Major Tours
• John, "Snowangel," and Man, "Epiphany" (double-bill), Cages (renamed Lastof the Great Jelly Bellies), U.S. cities, 1974.
• Toured as Captain Hook, Peter Pan; toured in Death of a Salesman, Stratford, Ontario, Canada; also toured in Fiddler on the Roof, I'm Not Rappaport, and Man of la Mancha.