
Nehemiah Persoff
Known for Acting · 170 credits
- Born
- 1919-08-02
- Died
- 2022-04-05
- Place of birth
- Jerusalem, Palestine Mandate
Biography
Nehemiah Persoff (August 2, 1919 – April 5, 2022) was an American film and television actor. He was born in Jerusalem, Palestine Mandate.
Born in what is now part of Israel, Persoff emigrated with his family 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.
Known For
TV Shows (99)

Law & Order
1990
as David Steinmetz

Columbo
1971
as Jesse Jerome

Star Trek: The Next Generation
1987
as Toff

Murder, She Wrote
1984
as Constantin Stavros

Mannix
1967
as Anton Wojeska

MacGyver
1985
as Sam Bolinski

Hawaii Five-O
1968
as Harry Cardonus / Winkler / Leo Paoli / Cordell / Victor Palua / Allie Francis

Chicago Hope
1994
as Rabbi Ben Taubler

Magnum, P.I.
1980
as Rabbi Asher Solomon

Wagon Train
1957
as Tiburcio Mendez

Little House on the Prairie
1974
as Mr. Olaf Lundstrom

Love, American Style
1969
as Mr. Stone

Adam-12
1968
as Angelo Covelli

Charlie's Angels
1976
as Anton

Quincy, M.E.
1976

Mission: Impossible
1966
as Igor Stravos / Phillipe Pereda / Prince Iben Kostas

L.A. Law
1986
as Rabbi Isadore Glickman

The Twilight Zone
1959
as Carl Lanser

Climax!
1954
as Lieutenant Cal Nourse

The Philco Television Playhouse
1948
as Ed Kagan

The Six Million Dollar Man
1974
as Major Popov
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963
as Alverian

Barney Miller
1975
as Carl Simms / Yacov Berger

Ben Casey
1961

Hotel
1982

The Untouchables
1959
as Jake 'Greasy Thumb' Guzik / Johnny Fortunato / Waxey Gordon

The Facts of Life
1979

Naked City
1958
as Barney Peters / Max Evar / Carlos Ruldan / Dominic Venussi / Berco Romanu / Merritt Griffin

Rawhide
1959
as Domingo / Michob

The Wild Wild West
1965
as Major Hazard / Gen. Andreas Cassinello

Highway to Heaven
1984

The Big Valley
1965
as General Vicente Ruiz

Scarecrow and Mrs. King
1983

Hunter
1984
as Harold Goodman

Route 66
1960

Burke's Law
1963
as Jason Flonder / Wilhelm Kasimer / Albert Indigo, 'Mr. I'

The Name of the Game
1968
as Ambassador

Marcus Welby, M.D.
1969
as Max Behrman / Nick Kolinski

The High Chaparral
1967
as Homero José

Gunsmoke
1955
as Jack Pinto / Mr. Dano / Alex Skouras / Driscoll / Ben Rando / Alejo Etchahoun

Baretta
1975

McCloud
1970
as Perry Cicero

The Streets of San Francisco
1972

Vega$
1978

Land of the Giants
1968
as Titus

The Bionic Woman
1976

Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
as Ralph Collins / Jeff Jensen

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
1964
as Valandros

The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
1977
as Vladimir

Playhouse 90
1956
as Pablo / Prisoners Father

Battlestar Galactica
1978
as Eastern Alliance Leader

The Mod Squad
1968
as Nick Master

Shirley Temple's Storybook
1958
as Ali Baba

The Time Tunnel
1966
as Prof. Anton Biraki

Gilligan's Island
1964

Police Story
1973

It Takes a Thief
1968
as Harry Lavender

McMillan & Wife
1971
as Clementa Habib

Ellery Queen
1975

Tarzan
1966
as Chembe Kunji
Movies (71)

On the Waterfront
1954
as Cab Driver (uncredited)

Some Like It Hot
1959
as Little Bonaparte

Twins
1988
as Mitchell Traven

An American Tail
1986
as Papa Mousekewitz (voice)

The Last Temptation of Christ
1988
as Rabbi

The Comancheros
1961
as Graile

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

The Greatest Story Ever Told
1965
as Shemiah

An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island
1998
as Papa Mousekewitz (voice)

The Harder They Fall
1956
as Leo

Voyage of the Damned
1976
as Herr Hauser

The Badlanders
1958
as Vincente (The Powder Monkey)

Green Mansions
1959
as Don Panta

The Wrong Man
1956
as Gene Conforti

Yentl
1983
as Rebbe Mendel

An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster
1999
as Papa Mousekewitz (voice)

Day of the Outlaw
1959
as Dan, Starret's Foreman

Al Capone
1959
as Johnny Torrio

Men in War
1957
as Sgt. Lewis

The Power
1968
as Prof. Carl Melnicker

Never Steal Anything Small
1959
as Pinelli

Fate Is the Hunter
1964
as Ben Sawyer

The Hook
1963
as Capt. Van Ryn

Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident
1976
as Rudenko

Mayerling
1957
as Police Officer

The Day of the Owl
1968
as Pizzuco
Boris Karloff: The Rest of the Story
2022
as Self - Interviewee

St. Helens
1982
as Mr. Ellison

A Double Life
1978

O'Hara's Wife
1982
as Dr. Fischer

F.D.R.: The Last Year
1980
as Josef Stalin

Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom
2012
as Self

Cutter's Trail
1970
as Santillo

Street of Sinners
1957
as Leon

Mrs. Pollifax — Spy
1971
as Berisha

Psychic Killer
1975
as Doctor Gubner

Red Sky at Morning
1971
as Amadeo Montoya

The Sex Symbol
1974
as Nick Fortis

The Dangerous Days of Kiowa Jones
1966
as Skoda

The Girl Who Knew Too Much
1969
as Lieutenant Crawford

Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women
1978
as Charles Frohman

Turnover Smith
1980
as Ashmed Amad

The People Next Door
1970
as Dr. Salazar

The Money Jungle
1967
as Lt. Dow Reeves

Daniel in the Lions' Den
1978
as Malimar

Michael O'Hara the Fourth
1972
as Artie Moreno

The Stranger Within
1974
as Dr. Edward Klein
4 Faces
2001

Lieutenant Schuster's Wife
1972
as Champagne Joe Carroll

Marty
1953
as The Critic

For Whom the Bell Tolls
1959
as Pablo

Killing Stone
1978
as Earl Stone

A Global Affair
1964
as Under Secretary Segura

The Thief
1955
as D'Arnault-Olivier

Deadly Harvest
1977
as Mort Logan

The Henderson Monster
1980
as Prof. Leo Tedeschi

The Treasure of San Bosco Reef
1968
as Captain Malcione

Eric
1975
as Dr. Duchesnes

The Killers of Mussolini
1959
as Benito Mussolini

Escape to Mindanao
1968
as Capt. Kramer

In Search of Historic Jesus
1979
as Herod Antipas

This Angry Age
1957
as Albert Legros

A Cry For Justice
1979
as Dr. Burke

Too Many Thieves
1966
as Georgi

The Big Show
1961
as Bruno Everard
Dracula
1973
as Dr. Van Helsing

The Making of a President
1978

The Wild Party
1956
as Kicks Johnson

Panic in the City
1968
as August Best

Lapin 360
1972

The Death of Manolete
1957
as Camera
About Nehemiah Persoff
Nehemiah Persoff (August 2, 1919 – April 5, 2022) was an American film and television actor. He was born in Jerusalem, Palestine Mandate. Born in what is now part of Israel, Persoff emigrated with his family 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… With 170 credits spanning from 1948 to 2022, Nehemiah Persoff has appeared in 71 films and 99 TV shows.
Fans searching for Nehemiah Persoff movies, Nehemiah Persoff filmography, or the latest projects starring Nehemiah Persoff can stream many of these titles on CineFlixo, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Nehemiah Persoff Movies
- On the Waterfront (1954) — as Cab Driver (uncredited)
- Some Like It Hot (1959) — as Little Bonaparte
- Twins (1988) — as Mitchell Traven
- An American Tail (1986) — as Papa Mousekewitz (voice)
- The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) — as Rabbi
Where to Watch Nehemiah Persoff Films
Most Nehemiah Persoff movies and series are available to stream on CineFlixo in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Nehemiah Persoff, check our movies catalogue and browse page.